I am considering bypassing the heater core to increase A/C efficiency in the summer. I'll need heat in the winter, so I'd like to simply turn a valve or two, rather than move hoses (and spill coolant).
So I was looking at the cooling system layout. I see a line running from the back of the block to the heater core, then to the pump. From there, it goes back into the engine, right? So hot coolant is coming right back into the engine? That seems non-optimal...well, in the summer. Seems like it should go to the radiator for cooling before returning to the engine.
Obviously this is different from the winter...where (a) if the heater is on, the coolant will be much cooled coming back to the engine and (b) total cooling system efficiency is not as critical due to ambient air temps.
If I just put a valve on the line from the back of the manifold to the heater core, then no coolant is leaving the back of the block. Assuming the engine was not designed for that, then perhaps a bad idea? In which case, I need a by-pass, not a cut-off, so the loop is still completed. Correct?
But would it not be better to run that directly to the radiator (in the summer)? Perhaps that would lengthen the engine warm-up duration.
I'm not confident in my understanding of the full path of coolant flow. I can see the hoses, but I don't know how it flows in the pump and heads (and manifold?). Has anyone diagrammed that?
TIA!
Chris