HVAC not blowing air and always low radiator fluid

[Josh]

Hello all,

I have a 1998 Oldsmobile Cutlass with 120 000 miles never really driven hard or even much on the freeway.

A while back my HVAC stopped working.

-I set the switch from 1-5 but no air and not even a new sound
– ive put my had over the front vent and it was cold with the ac set to cold, and hot when set to hot but nothing pushing the air as far as i can tell.
-this dose not change winter or summer
-I have not as of yet changed the cab air filters but could this restrict airflow that much?

-> after looking it up quite a bit im under the impression that the culprit is the blower motor but i wanted to get a second opinion before tearing into the underside of my glovebox (yay for horrible placement)

About my radiator losing its liquid all the time…

so for quite a while now (more than 6 months) my car has lost alot of radiator fluid, the light comes on almost everytime i start it.

-Ive been refilling the tank with water or the premixed jugs of antifreeze.
-there is never a visible leak on the ground
-the liquid would disapear more slowly in the winter time
-now that it is spring and already quite hot here in california when stuck in slow or not moving traffic on hotter days the car starts to heat up more than my limited experience says it should
-ive opens the oil cap on the top side of the motor and no visible foam or any other irregularities(no head gasket problem?)

-> my best take on this one would be a bad seal on the cap of the reservoir? otherwise i am really clueless

I am very novice at auto repair and have most of my mechanical knowledge from small engines but i am hoping with your advice i can fix my problems at home and much cheaper than the local garage (wanted 200$ to tell me what the problem is)

if there is any more information needed please let me know

thank you very much for any and all input
Josh

Topic

[Timothy Salomon]

I’ve pulled blower motors from junkyards before with good results.
Now the real issue, the one that makes the blower motor immaterial, is losing coolant. I have heard some GM v6 engines have intake gasket issues, but whether it’s the intake, the head gasket, or a cracked head or block, you would have white smoke.
Other possibilities if there is no white smoke: external leak, either leaving calcium deposits or dripping on the ground, or heater core leak soaking the interior carpet, or milky oil, transmission fluid,from a radiator or head gasket leak.
Let’s hope it’s a small external leak from a hose or something similar, that’s leaving white stains or calcium deposits, but only leaking while the engine is running.

[Josh]

thanks for the help!

theres never been any white smoke either from the exhaust or under the hood, though once there was steam under the hood from overloading the car with stuff and driving up the mountain on a hot day. The wife just told me shes had to replace the coolant reservoir cap before, could that be the problem? tomorrow i will run the car in a paved parking for a bit and see if anything leaks. Ill also give the local junkyard a call about the blower motor…. Are they universal or will it take a special brand/part number?

Thanks again for the help!

Edit: also the oil on the dipstick and when i look inside the motor all looks like regular motor oil, no strange colors or anything of that sort

[zero]

Blower motors are pretty easy to diagnose. Here’s the article:

http://www.ericthecarguy.com/faq/solving-automotive-hvac-problems?start=7#BlowerMotorProblems

And here’s the finding coolant leaks article. The first video includes the process for finding a leak.

http://www.ericthecarguy.com/faq/finding-and-fixing-leaks/finding-coolant-leaks

While you’re fiddling around, there should be a cabin air filter too. Not the same car, but your filter should be in the same spot as in this video. Again assuming it’s there:

[Nicholas Clark]

Just make sure to stay on top of the coolant leak. If you don’t it’s real easy to melt your motor down. Additionally, it’s possible that because you have low coolant the HVAC isn’t kicking on. I know some vehicles will not turn the AC on if they overheat or have low coolant.

[Josh]

found a blower motor at a semi local junkyard for 20 bucks and theyl guarantee it for 12 months so that good i guess… im ordering a resevoir cap for my coolant tank (reservoir holds pressure in the cooling system on my car) the old cap looks dryed out and hasent been changed in 20 years.. if that dosent fix my issue im going to get a cooling system pressure test (as the cheapest tool for the job that i can find is 100$)

so i guess my last question for the moment is.. should i go to a junkyard for the cabin air filters too? i called napa and they say they cant find the part in their catalog or is this a universal part?

-edit may not be as lucky as i taught… under a difrent oil cap theres a little layer of white mush covered in oil does this mean i should expect to have buy a new engine/car in the not so far future?

[zero]

Unless the car is otherwise coming near the end of it’s life, you can probably find a new one blower motor for a few more dollars. According to Rockauto, there’s one for $30 Canadian. So that would be about $20 US.

Your local auto parts store might have a tester and the proper adapters (one for the system and one for the cap) as part of their loan a tool program. Properly testing the system should be the first step, before any parts are replaced.

It looks like they cheaped out on the Oldsmobile on that platform, most of the other models have them but there doesn’t appear to be a listing for the Cutlass.

Depending on the climate and drive cycles of the car, it isn’t uncommon for moisture to condense on the oil filler cap.

[Josh]

When looking on rockauto there is “use when replacing a two terminal motor” type should i tear into my car and take the old one out to be sure before ordering?.. and is driving with the blower motor not installed a bad idea that could cause any negative effects?

[Greg]

If I were a betting man I would bet you are loosing the coolant from a bad intake gasket. I have replaced many over the years. If the intake is leaking you will see coolant in the V of the block where the intake mates to the heads. Replacing the gasket is a pretty straight forward job just be careful with the push rods because the are different lengths for intake and exhaust valves.

[Josh]

alright got the blower changed and the coolant isint dsapearing on a day to day bassis anymore thanks for the help everyone!

[Author]

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