Heater Problem

Greetings,

First off let me introduce myself. I am a new member to this forum. My name is Dylan and I live up in Portsmouth, NH. I own a 95 Aurora with about 130K miles. Glad I find this place.

Anyhow, I have 2 problems. I searched the archives, but was unable to find anything related.

First. I have a real strong smell of gas in my vehicle. I've looked around and been unable to find the source. There are no gas spills on the ground, etc.. I do notice that when the hood is lifted, the smell is stronger on the passenger side of the motor, but the fuel lines are on the drivers side. ??? Any thoughts?

Second, My heater does not blow hot air. It is warm, but nowhere near what it should be. Generally, this does not bother me, but with the recent cold spell, it has become noticeable. Long drives (hours) does not seem to increase the temps. Any thoughts??

Thanks in advance for any help.

-Dylan

Check your level of coolant. Make sure the radiator is full and not air bound... If coolant level is where it should be then change out your thermostat. Fuel smell, Have you taken the engine cover off to check for leaks? Pressure regulator diaphrams can leak as well as injector O-rings. Very low engine temps can create poor performance and unburned fuel issues leading to fuel smell.

Check your level of coolant. Make sure the radiator is full and not air bound... If coolant level is where it should be then change out your thermostat. Fuel smell, Have you taken the engine cover off to check for leaks? Pressure regulator diaphrams can leak as well as injector O-rings. Very low engine temps can create poor performance and unburned fuel issues leading to fuel smell.


Keith1. Thanks for the suggestions. I am generally a motorcycle rider and do not spend a lot of time in the car. Although, with temps at 9 degrees and wind chills in the - 's, I drove the car.
I would say that my engine temps are usually under the 150 mark. That sounds a bit low to me, but I'm not so familiar with the Aurora.

Thanks

-Dylan

Greetings,

First off let me introduce myself. I am a new member to this forum. My name is Dylan and I live up in Portsmouth, NH. I own a 95 Aurora with about 130K miles. Glad I find this place.

Anyhow, I have 2 problems. I searched the archives, but was unable to find anything related.

First. I have a real strong smell of gas in my vehicle. I've looked around and been unable to find the source. There are no gas spills on the ground, etc.. I do notice that when the hood is lifted, the smell is stronger on the passenger side of the motor, but the fuel lines are on the drivers side. ??? Any thoughts?

Second, My heater does not blow hot air. It is warm, but nowhere near what it should be. Generally, this does not bother me, but with the recent cold spell, it has become noticeable. Long drives (hours) does not seem to increase the temps. Any thoughts??

Thanks in advance for any help.

-Dylan
Check your fuel rail! SOON........they are plastic and known to leak

150 is kinda low. It's cold here to and my temp is around 220 on the gauge. See if your upper rad hose is getting hot might be a thermostat problem.

Thanks Jim.

What and where is the fuel rail?

-Dylan

Thanks Jim.

What and where is the fuel rail?

-Dylan
It distributes the high pressure fuel to the individual injectors. Take the 4 nuts off that are holding the plastic engine cover on. You will see it,
black plastic going to all the cylinders...start the car with the cover off and check for leaks.

Check your level of coolant. Make sure the radiator is full and not air bound... If coolant level is where it should be then change out your thermostat. Fuel smell, Have you taken the engine cover off to check for leaks? Pressure regulator diaphrams can leak as well as injector O-rings. Very low engine temps can create poor performance and unburned fuel issues leading to fuel smell.

Keith was right about the thermostat. With 130K on the engine, and if the thermostate has never been replaced, it could be stuck open. If your thermostat is stuck open, it will prevent the coolant from staying in the engine long enough to get hot. The water pump will continue to pump coolant through the entire cooling system constantly. Replacing the thermostat is a good place to start. Your temp should be around the 200-220 degree level.

Well this weekend I replaced the thermostat and the engine temps are now running just under 200 degrees.

One point of interest. When I wen to my local auto parts dealer, he gave me the listed item for my 95 but it was not the correct part. I ended up having to get the listed part for a 96. The 95 was far to small.

Now that the engine is operating at the proper temp, the heater still is not blowing hot air. Any other suggestions?

FYI.... al the electronics are working, temp guages....etc..

I would check the heater hoses going into the firewall. See if they are getting hot If one is hot and the other isn't try to backflush the heater core with a garden hose.

I am having the same problem with my 1995 Aurora - cold air on the driver side, lukewarm air on the passenger side. Actuators appear to be working properly. Coolant level O.K. In process of checking coolant temperature. Have checked coolant temperature. Is in the 200 range. Car ahs about 60K miles on it. What now?

I have a 95 Aurora with 110,000. I had three tubes break on my fuel rail before the recall came out. Now its all stainless steel. A cheap way to temp. fix the fuel rail if its spraying gas out is to cut out the plastic tubing that is defective and install rubber fuel hosing with screw clamps holding it in place. Cut it about the same length as the plastic tubing you cut out. Mine lasted for 2 years like that until the recall.
Also, my car was blowing cold/lukewarm air last winter. I flushed my heater core. Find the hoses running into and out of the firewall. Mine are on the driver side. Disconnect both hoses and turn on your water hose into one coolant hose that you disconnected. (point the other hose coming from the firewall down so it doesn't spray everywhere) Start your water hose slowly and build pressure. Then repeat spraying into the other hose. Go back and forth a few times to make sure it circulates through the heater core. The water should be clear. When I cleaned mine the green gooey glop came out at first, but then the water shot through. After it was hooked back together my heater was HOT HOT HOT! The whole process took an hour.

I flushed my heater core. Find the hoses running into and out of the firewall. Mine are on the driver side. Disconnect both hoses and turn on your water hose into one coolant hose that you disconnected. (point the other hose coming from the firewall down so it doesn't spray everywhere) Start your water hose slowly and build pressure. Then repeat spraying into the other hose. Go back and forth a few times to make sure it circulates through the heater core. The water should be clear. When I cleaned mine the green gooey glop came out at first, but then the water shot through. After it was hooked back together my heater was HOT HOT HOT! The whole process took an hour.

I looked at my car this weekend and the hoses are on the driverside, but in a real odd place to get a hose too. Is there some trick or easy method to get to these hoses?
Maybe from below.... ??? where the hose drop down ???

thanks

Yes, the hoses come through the firewall on the driver's side. I just walked out to my car to make sure that I'm telling you the truth.

What I did was trace those hoses out from the firewall. I found that both hoses bend toward the driver's side, go through a foil/insulation wrap, and then they come up right under the brake fluid reservoir. They run together side by side until they come up below the reservior. Then they split. One goes toward the engine (there is a joint right there). The other goes to a joint along-side the coolant reservoir.

I unhooked them at those joints and was then able to stick the hose up in the air, out of the engine compartment. It makes it easy to spray the water hose into it. Stick the other hose down, so that the waste water goes down to the ground (try to miss as many engine components as possible, but if some stuff gets wet, its ok). Spray water until it comes out clear on the other hose, then switch hoses and spray through the other way. Start with low water pressure and gradually spray the water harder. Once the water runs clear out of both hoses, hook it all back up. My biggest problem was getting the hoses unhooked in the first place. A good pair of channel locks should do the trick, but those hose clamps are a pain. As I said before, when I first sprayed water in there, all this green, gooey, slime came out the other hose. It was like molasses. After this project is done, keep an eye on your coolant level. It shouldn't drop that much, but it will have to work out the air bubbles that got in the lines when you are hooking it all back up.

I hope this helps. I thought it would take forever to do, but except for unhooking the hoses, it took less than an hour, and I'm slow. I had instant heat when I took it for a spin afterward.

LEt me know if it fixes the problem.

PS...if you are still smelling gas, take off your engine cover, start up the engine, and look for any gas spraying from the fuel rail. Sometimes the hole in the fuel rail is so small that its hard to see the gas spraying. Look for a wet spot around the fuel rail. Mine sustained 3 holes in the fuel rail before the recall. Now its all stainless steel. If you are still smelling gas, check it out right away. It could be dangerous.

I found that both hoses bend toward the driver's side, go through a foil/insulation wrap, and then they come up right under the brake fluid reservoir. They run together side by side until they come up below the reservior. Then they split. One goes toward the engine (there is a joint right there). The other goes to a joint along-side the coolant reservoir.

stickboy101:

Thank you. I did see the lines going down into the foil insulator and they appeared to come up towrds the brake reservoir/master cylinder. However, I was not positive if those were still the heater lines. There is a lot of engine in this compartment.

I hope to try it out tonight as we are expecting temps in the 30's overnight and it is getting cold on the motorcycle.

Thanks a bunch.

As for the fuel rail, I did a repair similar to yours and need to get the recall work completed.

I unhooked them at those joints and was then able to stick the hose up in the air, out of the engine compartment. It makes it easy to spray the water hose into it. Stick the other hose down, so that the waste water goes down to the ground (try to miss as many engine components as possible, but if some stuff gets wet, its ok). Spray water until it comes out clear on the other hose, then switch hoses and spray through the other way. Start with low water pressure and gradually spray the water harder. Once the water runs clear out of both hoses, hook it all back up. My biggest problem was getting the hoses unhooked in the first place. A good pair of channel locks should do the trick, but those hose clamps are a pain. As I said before, when I first sprayed water in there, all this green, gooey, slime came out the other hose. It was like molasses. After this project is done, keep an eye on your coolant level. It shouldn't drop that much, but it will have to work out the air bubbles that got in the lines when you are hooking it all back up.

I hope this helps. I thought it would take forever to do, but except for unhooking the hoses, it took less than an hour, and I'm slow. I had instant heat when I took it for a spin afterward.

LEt me know if it fixes the problem.

stickboy101,

Sucess !!! I follwed the above instructions and it worked like a charm. Instant heat. A great thing considering we got our first snow on Friday night and the defroster is key to being able to see.

Thank you for your help. This forum is an excellent source for tech tips and DIY'ers.