Hello All,

I would like to start by asking "Car 54 Where Are You?, but this is serious business so without further adieu,

93 244 with 115K.

Sonny boy borrowed the car for a 500 mi trip. Yesterday, he complained that the heater wasn't working when it was first started in the AM. He said it suddenly began to work (I think he may have been talking about the blower), and smelled rancid.

Today when I used the car for a 50 mile ride, I noted that the blower motor does not appear to be as quiet as it used to be, but in the garage, it did go through the 4 speeds. When I ran the car, and used the defroster, I couldn't obtain a good assessment as to whether the defrosters were contributing to the moisture, because we just had a few inches of snow and there was a lot of moisture in the car. There seemed an odd odor (I can't say whether it was sweet or otherwise), which got my attention. However, later in the trip, it seemed to go away, so I can't be sure about any odor.

I will likely run the car some more to see if anything develops, but I'd like to know a little more from informed people here on the BB.

In reading the FAQ's, it seems it would be unlikely that the heater core went (or is going). I pulled both side kick panels off to get a look see, but being kind of inexperienced, don't know exactly what I'm looking for except I saw no wetness, nor is there any wetness around drivers or passengers feet. Further, I'm really not losing any coolant (except a small leak at the water pump o-ring (that's for another day). In addition, I pried the console back to get a look in that way (without disconnecting any of the connectors), without seeing anything particularly disturbing. I've seen posts on the heater valve, but through the birds nest of wires, relays, etc, it's tough to know what I'm looking for and where.

If someone could provide a step by step, it would be most helpful. There may actually be nothing wrong with the heater, I'm not sure, but I'd like to know how to better diagnose the system.

Thanks very much for sharing your know-how.

Marty Wolfson
--
93 244 185K, 93 244 112K, 93 245 116K (in California now), 99 V-70 89K

extra moisture (steam?) - heater core leaking.

chainsaw method for either motor or heater core isn't necessary, you can take apart the dash. It takes a while, and wear gloves. Make sure you get all the clips; the guys who put it together did it before it was in the car.
--
Stef (81 245 B21A SU M46 3.91) 327000km - in the garage for the winter, 81 244 BW55 3.31 on the road)

Sounds like your in for replacing the heater fan blower motor; a labor intensive and challenging job. Here's a web site with great instructions and pictures: www.cleanflametrap.com (don't know why it's titled Flame Trap). jp

Bruce and Frank,

Thanks for your posts. I drove the car some more today and it appears the cooling system is OK. Holds pressure. I still have the small leak from the water pump o-ring, but other than that, the system appears OK.

However, the blower motor is another story. The rancid smoke that sonny boy smelled was from either burning insulation or motor. Apparently, when cold the motor bound up and the smoke he saw was not from a combination of water vapor and antifreeze. I know cause it repeated this malfunction this morning when I turned on the blower.

It seems the blower will run (very noisily) on Position 4. If you simply place the speed selector on Position 1, 2 or 3, you get nothing except motor lockup. If you start on 4, it will run and then you can then turn it to position 3, even to 2 and the motor will sort of work. I observed that blower operation is pretty sad as the speed varied and sometimes the blower would stop on its own.

So for now, I instructed sonny boy to use only blower position 4 or 0 for heat. 0 actually works pretty well once the car heats up. 4 sounds like a jet taking off!

So now I'm researching blower motor replacement. From what I understand, the "chainsaw" method is the way to go. Since the heat works "good enuf" on position 0, this may be a suitable sprint-time project when the weather warms up.

If anyone has any thoughts about this, I'd appreciate hearing about it.


Thanks,

Marty Wolfson
--
93 244 185K, 93 244 112K, 93 245 116K (in California now), 99 V-70 89K

The 'normal' method really isn't that difficult as compared to the 'chainsaw' technique, and you actually have more room to work since everything's removed (rather than having to work through two holes with sharp edges!).

-b.

Hello Marty: It may just be a lack of lube for the bearings. Look through the 200 forum posts from the last couple of weeks. Someone had posted on succesfully lubing the bearings in place without removing the motor.
--
Gary Gilliam Sumerduck VA, '94 940 Regina 165k '86 240 195k

Gary,

Thanks, I'll check it out. I think I remember seeing those posts.

Marty
--
93 244 185K, 93 244 112K, 93 245 116K (in California now), 99 V-70 89K

Step 1. Make sure you cooling system is maintaining pressure. When the coolant gets hot the pressure will force it out if there is a leak Squeeze a hose when the engine is hot. If it is soft start looking for the leak while it is hot. It will leak more and be easier to find.

Frank

That reminds me -
How to quickly test for presence of a leak.

The coolant reservoir cap maintains a certain amount of pressure (releases pressure above this limit).

So -
As long as thermostat is allowing full warmup, there will be some pressure in a non-leaking system. With engine hot and freshly turned off, undo the reservoir cap. You should hear some hiss. Not a huge amount, but easily audible. If no hiss, there's a leak somewhere, and it's not holding pressure. In my experience it does hold the pressure for a while, I suppose how long depends on the outside temperature.
--
Sven: '89 245, IPD sways, electric rad. fan conversion, 28+ mpg - auto tranny. 850 mi/week commute. '89 245 #2 (wifemobile). '90 244 (spare, runs).

I think you should be a little more clear on this. Some people might interpret 'undo the reservoir cap' as meaning 'remove the reservoir cap' which, I don't need to tell you, is a real bad idea when the engine is hot.
'Barely crack open the reservoir cap' is a better description.
--
'80 DL 2 door, '89 DL Wagon

Don,

Got it. Thanks. System is holding pressure, however as of this morning, blower doesn't work at all. However, I noticed when I turn the selector knob to 4 (to check for hopeful operation), there's a serious enough power draw to dim the dash lights!

Marty
--
93 244 185K, 93 244 112K, 93 245 116K (in California now), 99 V-70 89K