a problem of no cabin heat

reble

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I got this 2008 Pontiac Torrent SUV about 2 to 3 months ago used. I tested everything. like the air, with the air on full blast it is like driving inside a mobile refrigerator. I also tested the heat. The heat worked back then. It was about 30° when I went to the store earlyer tonight. I went to turn the heat on and no heat. The thermostat was all the way to the right, in the red for max heat. When I turn the heat/cooling controls I can hear small electric motors turning and flaps opening and closing. 1 thing I am going to check in the morning before I start the engine I am going to check the radiator fluid level. The temperature gauge reads fine, about a hair under half way up the scale. And the temp stays there. There is no signs of boiling over. She drives like a dream. Very quiet and smooth. I don't know why there is no heat. OOO there is no leaks on the passengers side floor board.
 
assuming you have no leaks and thus have no air in the cooling system it sounds like one of the blend door actuators is not working
 
When I move the temperature and the control to change were the air is going. I can hear the motors and the flaps moving. I haven't been able to check the radiator fluid yet. I have to take a facade off that covers the top of the radiator before I can get at the radiator cap. I may not be able to get to it before Tue or Wed. It is raining now and will be raining most of the day Sunday

assuming you have no leaks and thus have no air in the cooling system it sounds like one of the blend door actuators is not working
 
I got the facade over the radiator off and found no radiator cap. I put some radiator coolant in the surge tank and I am now getting a bit of heat. How am I suppose to check and add coolant if need be without a radiator cap?

PS: I looked at the users manual at http://www.vadengmpp.com/owners-manual/pontiac/2008-Pontiac-Torrent.pdf There is nothing in there about the engine cooling system. Also that users guide for my Pontiac is very poorly writen and useless.

you dont have a radiator cap your coolant surge tank has the only cap.
I gave you a link to the owners manual, please download it and read it.

http://www.vadengmpp.com/owners-manual/pontiac/2008-Pontiac-Torrent.pdf
 
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page 5-24 explains how you check the coolant level
 
If you keep a level in the overflow tank the radiator should be full. That's assuming it is drawing fluid into the radiator as it cools
 
The overflow tank had nothing but bit of water at the bottom of the tank. The overflow tank is very dirty from years of service. I have slowly been adding antifreeze to it. That by it self has started bring in some heat into the cabin. My
mechanic thinks that the temperature control flapper is not completely closing and thuse the flapper doesn't close off the cold outside air.

Now I should be able to fix it. I just need some drawings and instructions as how to get at it.

As far as the motor goes (temperature wise) the motor is happy as a well fed puppy dog.

If you keep a level in the overflow tank the radiator should be full. That's assuming it is drawing fluid into the radiator as it cools
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you so far have verified that you have air in the system. After driving the vehicle for a long enough period for it to get to full operating tempearature and then letting it fully cool overnight is the fluid level in the bottle at the full level?
 
It is hard to tell were the fluid level is in the over flow tank. The over flow tank is dirty and grimy, both inside and outside. The tank it self should be replaced. Weather the whole system needs to be flushed, I have no idea. My mechanic thinks it is the temperature flapper that isn't closing all the way. Because there is no signs of the engine over heating. He looked in and around as much as he could without making an official work order and putting the rig in the shop. So were can I find a diagram as to how to get at the temperature flapper to see if it realy is closing all the way.

you so far have verified that you have air in the system. After driving the vehicle for a long enough period for it to get to full operating tempearature and then letting it fully cool overnight is the fluid level in the bottle at the full level?
 
I will get back to you as far as the coolent level is after I look at it in the morning. That diagram at https://www.tonkinonlineparts.com/s...odel=15881&modelYear=2008&ukey_category=22553 doesn't tell me how to pull what panels and were. I have never worked on such a computer controlled vehicle as this in my life. Without my AA degree in electronics, 2 way radio, tv, vcr and Windows based computer repair. I would be like trying to walk through a minedfield without a map.

the various door actuators are shown in the diagram below. Even if the tank is dirty on a cold engine using a flashlight you should be able to tell if the coolant is at the proper level.

https://www.tonkinonlineparts.com/s...odel=15881&modelYear=2008&ukey_category=22553
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I don't know why my last post about the over flow tank didn't get posted. Anyways I checked the coolant level when the engine was stone cold and the over flow tank is full of coolant. We are going on a trip this weekend and thank God the route we take doesn't go over any pass's that are above the current snow level. The door actuators I will get to next week when I have more time and pray it isn't raining and/or snowing.

the various door actuators are shown in the diagram below. Even if the tank is dirty on a cold engine using a flashlight you should be able to tell if the coolant is at the proper level.

https://www.tonkinonlineparts.com/s...odel=15881&modelYear=2008&ukey_category=22553
 
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This summer I took my heads off because I wanted to be sure that I got all the leaks. I couldn't keep enough coolant and then literally that week before started to find condensation in my oil. The heads were fine, but i had a machine shop slightly cut them. The leak was at the intake/head surface nearest the brake booster. I went through the lifters and anything else I could while it was open. After finishing I had no coolant leaks and could hold pressure again.
When I turned cold, I had no heat unless I kept 2500 rpm. I even blocked the bypass. I changed the thermostat and even removed the water pump to make sure it was the correct one and not a cheap one. The last thing I did was to flush the heater core back and forth a few times. WOW! now I have tons of heat quickly. It is likely all the crap that I scraped off the block head surface ended up in the heater core. I suppose I should unblock the bypass now.
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