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Pontiac Montana Heating / Cooling Problems

96 messages,  Last post on Jun 02, 2013 at 2:15 PM

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What is this discussion about? Pontiac Montana, Pontiac Montana SV6, Heating / Cooling, Van

Messages Page 3 of 10

#21 of 96 Heater Issues by mrall

Apr 16, 2007 (7:13 am)

I have a 2001 Pontiac Montana with about 130,000 miles. A couple of weeks ago the heat stopped working and the temp guage was running on the high side. I started looking around for some information on this particular issue on the internet to see what could be causing it. Based on what I could find, I decided to start with some of the minor parts first to see if they would fix the problem. I bought a new waterpump (less than $30 at the local auto parts store) and a new thermostat. At the same time I bought a new serpentine belt because you have to take the old one off to fix the waterpump. The waterpump on these cars is actually pretty easy to replace as it is up front at the top left of the engine. I think most mechanically inclined people could tackle it themselves. The thermostat is another story. I bought an AC Delco replacement for $15 at the auto parts store. It is really hard to get to. I think I saw another post mentioning this but it is on the right side of the block behind one of the exhaust manifold pipes/shield. The screw at the back is very difficult to get to. I did manage it but I have small hands and I could bend my arm (very uncomfortably) to get to it. I don't know how they do it at the dealer but I wouldn't be surprised if they take off some parts to get in there. I took off the air filter and the hose that runs from it to the throttle body which helped. While I had that off, I replaced the air filter which is not easy as anyone knows who has these vans. At any rate, so far, the temp guage is running more in the normal range so I'm hopeful it is fixed. I think the thermostat may have been the issue as the waterpump I replaced did not look bad and still turned freely. Now my concern is that I may have a manifold gasket leak. The lower manifold gasket seems to have some seepage. I haven't noticed a large loss of coolant though so if it is leaking, it may be slow. I'm anticpating it going at some point based on the history of these engines. If anyone wants more details on what I did for these repairs, let me know. I'm just a shadetree mechanic so what I know is limited.

#22 of 96 Rear Air is Hot and Loss of Blower Power Up Front by mlkutter

May 02, 2007 (9:14 pm)

The rear air blows hot air.
The front air works but doesn't seen to blow at full force on high anymore.
Any suggestions?

#23 of 96 Re: Rear Air is Hot and Loss of Blower Power Up Front [mlkutter] by richardp2

Jul 25, 2007 (2:34 pm)

Replying to: mlkutter (May 02, 2007 9:14 pm)
I am having somewhat the same problem with my 1998 Montana. It just started a few days ago not blowing any air of any temp out of the A/C vents. I read another blog here and am thinking a vacuum hose maybe loose or broken that controls the linkage of the blower. I can hear the blower fan blowing it just doesn't come out of the vents properly. If the vacuum trick works I will write back.

#24 of 96 Two cold by fixcar

Oct 19, 2007 (3:59 am)

I have a 2000 Montana that I purchased from a neighbor two years ago. It runs great now, but I am not looking forward to winter, as the so called "heater", puts out such a little amount. Everything in the climate system has been checked/replaced (including the thermostat)and still no heat! I am thinking that there might be an aftermarket electric type auxiliary heater available? These were available years ago, but I think there were fire related problems, so they took them off the market? Are there any new realistic ideas of how to get more heat? What was GM thinking; making a car with no heater?

#25 of 96 2002 no warm air by jim639

Nov 27, 2007 (4:06 pm)

Help! My 2002 Montana will not put out any warm/hot air. With the temp control at full cold the air moves just fine. The engine runs just fine and at normal temperature. When I turn the temp to hot the air flow goes to nothing and I hear the fan running just fine. Is there a door directing air over the heater coil? Where is it and how do I get to it to see if it is working? Thank you for your help!!!

#26 of 96 Re: Heater Issues [mrall] by mail

Jan 17, 2008 (7:25 pm)

Replying to: mrall (Apr 16, 2007 7:13 am)
Hi Mrall, your posting was Really helpful for me. I was wondering if you had to drain coolant from the engine in some way in order the change the thermostat? I can't seem to find any information on that and I was really impressed that you were able to replace it with only having to take off the air filter and tubing to the throttle body ! Thanks again !!! K

#27 of 96 Re: Heater Issues [mrall] by kjwerner01

Feb 19, 2008 (6:06 am)

Replying to: mrall (Apr 16, 2007 7:13 am)
We replaced the thermostat in our 2001 Montana. Now it seems even worse! The temp goes up very fast when your driving and you have to turn the car off and release pressure/steam from the bleeder vavle by the thermostat. Is it possible to put the thermostat in wrong? Any suggestions you might have would be greatly appreciated!

#28 of 96 Re: AC problems in 2000 Pontiac Montana! Help! [tanjo] by 24randyo

Apr 14, 2008 (6:28 pm)

Replying to: tanjo (Aug 04, 2006 6:40 pm)
I have a 1998 Trans Sport Montana. Was having the same problem, it kept losing all of it's refridgerant, over about a two week period, and blowing warm air. Had it recharged with dye, still couldn't see a leak, but it still leaked out in two weeks. When recharged with dye a second time, the mechanic finally found that one of the pipes in the cooling manifold in front of the engine had been rubbing against a part of the transmission and rubbed a hole. The hole was against the transmission and the dye was undetectable as it leaked out because it was such a slow leak. He changed the manifold ($80.00 part, 1 hour labour) and it has worked ever since.

#29 of 96 Re: 2002 no warm air [jim639] by MKshjjcarr

Dec 13, 2008 (3:51 pm)

Replying to: jim639 (Nov 27, 2007 4:06 pm)
I'm having the same problem. i have replaced the thermostat and still no heat. I have the same year of van and would like to get this problem fixed as it is quite cold here in canada. Can anyone suggest any ideals or fixes to this problem.

#30 of 96 Re: 2002 no warm air [MKshjjcarr] by 24randyo

Feb 08, 2009 (5:02 pm)

Replying to: MKshjjcarr (Dec 13, 2008 3:51 pm)
Mine is a 98 Trans Sport Montana. I live in Canada as well, and have had very little heat when it gets below freezing. I was driving on the highway in December, with very little heat, and my temp guage went way up. I pulled over, shut it off, checked the coolant in the reservoir, seemed OK. I thought it might just be the thermostat. Started it up, temp was back down, drove down the highway a couple miles, and it was right back up again. This time, it didn't want to run very well. Had it towed to a garage, found that one cylinder was full of anti-freeze. Once he tore it apart, found that one cylinder head was cracked. It had never been using anti-freeze in the past, and had never been overheated that I know of, so somehow this head must have cracked as I was driving. It was $1500.00 Canadian to do the repairs (which I have found out since was a pretty goood deal). I thought that this may have solved the lack of warm air problem, but it didn't... it hasn't changed at all. Apparently, the no heat and the cracked heads or blown head gaskets are very common for this type of GM engine (3.4 litre V6). All I can say is, you are either lucky or you're not when it comes to this kind of thing with any vehicle. Always pay attention to your coolant level, and don't just look in the reservoir, take the rad cap off and check there too!

Messages Page 3 of 10

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