i have a 1999 ranger that has a lot of life in it left, but no heater, and it is winter. i can't afford the replace the core so i am wondering if anyone has tried an electric heater and if so which one might be best? i appreciate it. i am at 8000 feet in colorado and just want to see out the window. being warm would be a nice bonus.

 

Is the heater core leaking?
Or "blocked", if blocked then back flush it and fill core with vinegar a few times and back flush again

Most common reason for "no heat" in a 1995 and up Ford, 99%, is a broken Blend door actuator, not hard to fix or by-pass
Other reason is heater by pass valve in engine bay, stuck closed

Google: Ford Ranger blend door actualtor
LOTS of videos and how-tos


You can get electric heated seat pads
Also 12volt camping heaters

 

interesting. i was simply told by my mechanic that it was plugged and he tried to flush it but it didnt work. i was not aware it could be something else. just did a little bit of google and there should be a noise associated with a bad actuator. is that right? there is no noise like that in this vehicle however.
thank you for mentioning that though. my mechanic has it right now for an alternator and radiator replacement so he's going to double check everything again. it was a full year ago he looked at the heater core

 

No, there can be no noise, Blend Door is an electric motor with plastic gears inside, if a gear strips then there would be noise, if electric motor fails then no noise

If the core can't pass water in either direction then it is blocked, he/you can try blowing it out with air, just your lungs using heater hose, then refilling core with warm water vinegar or CLR solution, let it sit for 20min then blow it out again, repeat
Reverse directions as well

Heater cores have no "direction of flow", no dedicated IN/OUT, they flow and work the same in either direction, which is why you should reverse heater hoses every 2 years on any vehicle, to reverse the flow
So your core was probably never reversed which means any larger debris coming in can get stuck in the smaller passages, which cuts off flow in that passage
This does two things, reduces heat transfer but worst part is that it block or reduces flow of coolant, and coolant has anti-corrosion chemicals, so now that passage can start to build corrosion which blocks it even more and can cause it to leak if the metal passage corrodes to much

Back flushing mean reversing the flow to try and push out any larger debris the way it came in, which is what reversing the heater hoses every 2 years does, but on the fly

 

Very descriptive and I really appreciate that. Doesn't this require the dashboard to be removed?
EDIT: had a minute to look at a similar ranger and the connections are right on the firewall of course. Thanks for all your help i will try flushing and reversing

 

Blend door actuator can be changed by folding the glove box door down all the way, its tough and tight but many have done it

Google: DIY Fix Blend Door on 96'-00' Ford Ranger

Watch the video, this is a manual fix so not really a "fix", lol

But in the video you can see the while plastic actuator above the hole he cuts
Those colored lines are vacuum hoses that control vents in the cab, just FYI

 

i wanted to let you know that your advice helped quite a bit. while the heater is functioning 'okay' now it's far better than venting in freezing cold air like it was doing. i really suspected the heater core was not the problem all along. but i did flush it. and, a very easy to access vacuum actuated valve was replaced and that really helped. the heater is warm, not hot but that's ok. this engine runs extremely cold anyway ( barely a quarter up the dial). in a way that's good because it's nearly impossible to overheat. what i did do, is block off the front of the radiator with cardboard and that helped a bit too.
thanks everyone :-)

 

Good work

The 4cyl Rangers ran colder than they should, the 2.3l and 2.5l SOHC Lima engines
And putting cardboard in front of radiator was often done in colder climates in winter time, same as the zipper or snap on grill cover semi-trucks use in winter

The V6s didn't have that issue, the 3.0l and 4.0l, so your thermostat may be broken, stuck open, normal "failsafe" mode
Correct thermostat is 190-195degF range, this will give best MPG and engine life
Cooler running engine is actually not good for the engine, not as bad as over heating for sure but also not great
The oil in the engine needs to be heated up to burn off any water vapor and blow by to stay clean
They(SAE) did a study back in the 1970s which found that 160 and 180degF thermostats were not getting the oil warm enough to burn off contaminants, so at the end of the 1970's most car makers switched over to the 190-195degF thermostats
Which makes the oil cleaner and actually improved MPG

 

i have been thinking the same and i agree. but unfortunately i am tapped out right now. and it will have to wait. at least for the moment we have two running trucks. (i also own a 98 with the lima engine. it's my main vehicle and water/wood hauler and it's got less than 130k on it), both are running and not leaking anything. that 3.0 eats oil like mad and i should have known it would since when i bought it it came with a free case of oil. haha. but for $1000 it has been a real good truck for the past 4 years.