91 Chevrolet Corsica

I' am college student who just bought a used 91 Chevrolet Corsica for $1,200 dollars, with 90,000 miles on it. Any helpfuls tips? For some reason the heat will not get hot, but warm air is coming out of the vents, there is static somewhere in the speakers and there is a wind whistle coming from the door. Help!:uhoh:

Moving this to the Corsica forum, where you might get some better answers on these technical questions.

I would ask what the temperature guage shows when fully warmed up. How far up does it go, 1/4, 1/2 etc? Have you checked the radiator fluid level? Is the overflow bottle level OK? If the fluid levels are OK I would suspect you have either a stuck (open) thermostat or clogged heater core. Maybe the door on your heater core is not opening either. To help us out check what you can on the fluid levels etc. Do the controls seem to work OK? Will air come out of the defroster when set on it or does it simply come out the vents all the time? Should be able to have air blow out to the floor, vents, or window. Possible you have a vacuum leak if no control. My guess is you have a bad speaker but not for sure. Corsicas are great little cars. they do have some problem areas like all cars, but are usually easy to fix. As for the noise i would assume the door seal might be torn somewhere.

I know what you need, JerseyGirl. You have a problem with your heater core. That is the little motor and fan that blows warm air from the engine to the vents inside your car. It is located inside your engine. Open the hood, look for a round metal housing on the passenger side at the top of the firewall. Check to see if all the pins are properly plugged in and making contact. I just picked up a replacement from an auto wrecker's for my faulty heater core. Same problem - slight heat wisping through the vents inside the car, but no strong blowing air. No real defrost and no warm air, which can be a bummer with winter approaching. If you know someone who's handy, the cheapest way to fix the problem, assuming the fuses are fine is to do what I did - find an auto wrecker with a similar car and part that you can cannibalize. Get the part and remove the blower motor on your car (about 5-6 little screws that require a rachet) and you need to pull off two electrical connections and a small rubber hose that sends the air into the squirrel-like treadmill that you will remove with the motor. As long as you don't have to remove the part in a car that has power steering (which is likely) and then you need to loosen the power steering motor, which offers an extra level of difficulty in locating the pulley tensioner bolt. On the other hand, if you bring a replacement blower motor (heater coil) to an mechanic and ask him to replace it, that would be your 2nd cheapest option. My heater coil cost $35. Good luck! David