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Pontiac Montana Heating / Cooling Problems

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Comments

  • montanaownermontanaowner Member Posts: 2
    Montana van 2001, front heater fan, little air flow, but lots of noise from fan pushing air. You can feel the heat coming from the heater core. One person said, its the motor, that drives the doors. Fortunately, I have some air flow for the front defrost and heat in the rear to warm the van. I am told I have to take the dash apart to fix this problem. This van has a number of electrical (wiring short) problems when the van runs through water. The radio stops, the LED lights for the parking, fuel guage, fail to work. When the van dries out in the warm sun in Saskatoon, everything starts working again. When the weather gets warm in Saskatoon, maybe in May! I will crawl under the van, to seal the wiring which is shorting. Same with the front head lights, which I also read, allow water in because the sealant fails after 5 years. I just used silicone to fix a failed drivers window. For me, as long as the van engine runs, the front wipers and lights work all that electronic can fail. I am surviving without have lots of air flow in the front heater, don't need the traction control, ABS, radio, etc.
    I have to admit, that I like having a van fully loaded with temperature guage showing me, its -1C outside, because thats when the road is most icy. Driving in Saskatoon is a real challenge with all the potholes, and ice. I will feel a real loss when this simple temperature monitor fails.
    For all you reading this threads, I found it useful to call the GM dealer. I had a very serious problem with my brakes freezing. A guy at the dealership in Saskatoon recommended I take my van to the heated garage on 1 Avenue, to dry out the brakes. I found another trick. I bought a propane torch which I used to heat the rear brake drum. I then sprayed in a small hole in the brake drum cleaner. This worked every time. Obviously, when the weather gets warmer, I will take the drum off, and clean and repair the brake shoes. I bought this Montana van for $1,000, and if I can fix these minor problems, I will have a great van, to get to work. My last comment is about replacing the spark plugs. Apparently, it costs $400 because of the cost of removing the alternater etc to get at the 3 spark plugs at the rear of the engine. I tried to find a YouTube video on this. Anyone know.
  • montanaownermontanaowner Member Posts: 2
    JJallen07 comment was very useful, as on my Montana 2001, the van switch failed completely this week, but then started again. Also, my radio light failed yesterday so I hit the dash, and the light came on again. Obviously, all the connectors in the dash, are dirty (0xidized), and need cleaning or replacing.
    Its great, you can go the local auto wrecker and find the replacement for the heater and AC wiring and replace it.

    I also, had the rear tail brake light socket melt and fail. I put in a new bulb and cleaned the socket. Again, dirt and oxidation of these sockets cause heating and melting of these parts. Thats why quality components have GOLD plating to avoid these oxidation problems. Even having nickel alloy contacts would be an improvement. When we buy a vehicle, I don`t think anyone asks this question of the dealer, what kind of electrical connectors are on the brake lights, heat lights, signal lights, as these are critical components. As long as the vehicle passes the 100,000 kilometer warranty, that is sufficient. Personally, as I fix wiring which does not operate at -50C with silicone wiring, I see this stuff, as a challenge. You know, its a cheap crapy designed wiring, but how, can it be fixed to last another 2 or 3 years when the engine craps out.

    Thanks for jjallen07 comment, as I will be going to the local wrecker to fix my AC heater control. It would be nice to know, what you payed for the part....
  • corndog1772corndog1772 Member Posts: 1
    I was wondering if anyone could tell me how difficult it would be to replace the a/c suction hose. I am a shade tree mechanic and mechanically inclined enough to do this. Do you have to pull the radiator out to do this?
  • tdchenauskytdchenausky Member Posts: 1
    Did you ever find out what the problem was? I am having the same problem.
  • meghan101meghan101 Member Posts: 2
    the regulator valve for the vaccum you got one in the front and one in the back it the one in the front was clogged but we replaced the one in the back which was still good so we switched them and it was working fine, the other part was the radiator hose was not long enough. my van is not totaled because 2 days before xmas a tree landed on it.
  • di_adamsdi_adams Member Posts: 1
    I recently had some work done on my van. I have not had A/C for over 5 years so I thought I had better get that fixed (new condenser). While working on that, the mechanic called and said that the radiator had a bunch of small holes in it. Okay - put a new one on. The A/C works great - I didn't realize how much I had missed it! My problem is that now it overheats - sort off. I took it back to the original mechanic and he thought it was the thermostat - Okay, put a new one on. It is still overheating! It will be running fine then all-of-a-sudden PEGGED! I took it to a second mechanic and he bled the lines and it worked great for a day. What could be causing this?
  • thehawk62thehawk62 Member Posts: 1
    I have a 2009 Montana SV6, and the AC doesn't work. The AC LED on the HVAC dash panel doesn't illuminate when pressed, nor does the system work on the MAX AC or defrost settings. Also the rear defroster won't work, which may or may not be related. Replaced the dash HVAC control panel - same problem. Replaced the BCM under the left side of the dash - same problem. Could this be as simple as low refrigerant? Any ideas? Vehicle has been to a mechanic, what's next? Thank you.
  • olmstead25olmstead25 Member Posts: 1
    Has your mechanic checked the actual temp of the van while it "overheats"? I ask this only because my temp gauge was pegging out as well however with a scan tool plugged in it showed that the computer was right at 194 or so. the real problem was the gauge and not the van over heating. to have the dash fixed can be very expensive and GM is known for having the little stepper motors go bad in the dash. Thankfully I was able to fix it my self for much less than any other option. I noticed it most when I had drove the van until it was warmed up then turned it off for a short time and turned it back on. another way to diagnose this is if the temp gauge does not drop to zero when the van it turned off.
  • thinkaboutit2thinkaboutit2 Member Posts: 1
    Owner's Manual Page 6-16: Passenger Compartment Air Filter Replacement.
  • wholmwholm Member Posts: 1
    I read the article and the discussions you have posted for the no heat and I would like to tell you what I have done and what I could possibly missing that has not fixed the problem.
    I put on new head gaskets, new timing chain and gear along with rear crank seal, new plugs, wires, thermostat and now a MAP sensor. I have taken off the heater core hoses and put a hose up to it and flushed the inlet and watch the water come out as fast as the water pressure going in. I did not open it up full blast and flush but it seemed the water was flowing sufficiently.
    I then did the rear hose the same way. I put them all back on, I started the engine after I topped it off and then bleed both bleeders. Is there a sequence to doing that. Both spit a little air and then antifreeze came shooting out if I open it far enough.
    When the car is hot and the cooling fans are running I turned on the heater inside, front and back. Bleed the bleeders again. NO HEAT. I touched the inlet to the heater core and it is warm, not hot. What am I missing or did I do something out of sequence or wrong?
  • rgroeninkrgroenink Member Posts: 1
    I have 2000 Montana overheats changed therastat tried to bleed it won't work no heat but van overheats
  • KCRamKCRam Member Posts: 3,516
    ...it is against the forums rules to post your phone number. Posts are visible to the entire internet, and we can't protect you from malicious use.

    KCRam - Pickups/Wagons/Vans+Minivans Host
  • momof3boys5momof3boys5 Member Posts: 1

    Hello,
    I have a 2000 Montana and have experienced many of the same problems. Just under a year ago, I had the condenser and related parts replaced as my a/c quit blowing cold air. Even after this, I continued to have problems, so mechanic bypassed heat (I live in Florida, so not a huge issue for me). Everything worked fine for a while...My problem now is that the front a/c stopped blowing. It is still getting cold (as I feel it come through vents when I'm driving) and the rear still blows. Any ideas what I should check???

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