The heater is supplied hot water via the coolant system... it's plumbed right into it. If your heater system is dry and the rest of the system is still full of coolant you've got bigger problems than burping a few cc's of air.

You always have to top off the coolant after a flush and fill. There will ALWAYS be air trapped in the system, doesn't matter what car it is.

what problems could I have if there's no water in the heater hose? cause short of no working heater, I don't see, feel or hear any other issues...:crazy2:

If the coolant system was full and your heater hoses didn't have any coolant in them you'd be looking at some very serious blockages... frankly, I don't see how it's possible for the system to get that clogged up as it would have to be clogged on both sides. How did you determine the heater circuit was empty? And was the coolant system actually full?

Lack of hot air when the heater is on is usually due to the VSV for the heater control valve dying. It's easily bypassed until it can be replaced... it's been posted on here before, try searching for the specifics if you think that may be relevant.

http://i640.photobucket.com/albums/u...a/P1000055.jpg

Once I removed the "Prestone" cap in the picture, I could see inside to an empty hose w/ the puddle I described in an earlier post.. dunno if it helps, hopefully I'm lookin in the wrong hose cause I don't want any more blockages... I've spent almost $500 just trying to get my cooling fixed... atm, it's better than it ever has been, but if that IS the heater hose and it SHOULD have water in it, I'd have to guess that my cooling SYSTEM is still in need of TLC... :\ :'(

That's the highest point in the cooling system.... it's more likely that you had air trapped in the system and it collected there once the vehicle was off and cold. (It's also the best place to "burp" the system if you need to. ;) )

so I might just need to run the car and see if I feel the fluid going thru there? That'd be awesome... and I don't know if it helps, but the only time I've felt my heater pump out any warm/hot air was immediately following my coolant system flush the first time around... after I parked the car and turned her off, the heater went back to blowing air... whatever temp is in the atmosphere at the time.

update:
started her up, cranked the heat to 85 on high and started by feeling the two coolant hoses plugged into the VSV... it really did not feel like there was any water going thru the hose into the vsv, which would explain why the return hose is also dry and why the heater core isn't working right... sounds like blockage? or is that the effect caused by a vsv w/o vaccuum? fun stuff.. :\

Feeling the hoses? Eh? What you just squeezing them? :p

You can bypass the VSV so the HCV is open full time by running the vacuum line that runs to the VSV along the firewall directly to the HCV's diaphragm (the bell looking thingy). If you need a diagram, I may be able to find one, but it's a very simple task.

If the HCV is closed only a trickle of water will flow through the heater core; So, naturally, you wouldn't feel much of anything.

yup.. nail on the head there... after running out and getting lunch (at 5:30pm), and warming up the engine and cooling system, I tried again, same result... blew chilled air and felt no water flowing (when feeling for vibrations) and also felt no water pressure (squeezing the hose).... however, when I lift the valve under the HCV (yup, I gotta do it manually, so sounds like vacuum line), I feel slight vibrations and can only assume that's water finally moving thru the system. Sadly, I can't hold that valve up long enough to warm my cab and confirm... so perhaps rerouting the vaccuum hose will prevent that task (holding the valve open) for me. Thanks again Cre...

As long as the diaphragm isn't cracked, rerouting the vacuum hose will keep the valve open for you... no holding it while curled up under the hood while someone else drives required. :naughty: