1991 Camaro RS with no heat!

I have recently purchased a 1991 RS, 5.0. 5-speed. Couple of little problems, but the one that has me stumped :banghead: is the heater. This car has no heat! Turn on the defroster with temp set to "hot", and it's cold air. Turn it to vent with temp set to "hot", and it's cold air. Any setting and know what I get? You guessed it: Cold air. (I'm trying to keep a positive and comical attitude) Car runs at about 190 - 200 degrees. Coolant is full and it has great circulation. I can take the radiator cap off and see the lovely neon green anti-freeze swirling around. I thought about replacing the thermostat (start cheap and work your way up), but to the best of my knowledge, the thermostat is working fine (swirling water after running for 15 mins= good thermostat, right?). I've considered the heater core, but don't know if a heater core could go bad. Normally, when a heater core goes bad, it leakes anti-freeze in the car. I've also considered the diverter valve, but I don't know if these cars have one. I know there's a heater valve on top of the motor, but I don't know enough about them to know if it would cause this problem. Any ideas would be GREATLY appreciated, especially considering we're expecting some more cold weather soon! Thanks for your suggestions. James

If the coolant has good color and circulation, then the problem isnt a dirty heater core...but you might want to check and see if the heater core has been bypassed (some people do that to avoid having it fixed then they forget about it and sell it...)
Just open the hood, walk to the passenger side of the car and look down behind the engine...there should be two black radiator hoses going through the firewall...(from engine to core and from core to engine)
If both hoses seem to follow the path I mentioned, then the core wasnt bypassed, which means the problem lies eather in the control panel or in the air select...but I dont know much about that stuff, so someone else would have to post it...:)

If my knowledge on these cars is correct, one of the heater core lines goes back into the radiator. There is a constant flow coming from that line. I just replaced the radiator, and when it was running low in anti-freeze, you could see the coolant returning from the heater core. I will double check the lines just to make sure it hasn't been bypassed. Thanks for the prompt reply. James

Problem solved. For some reason, the heater core had been by-passed. I hooked it up, and have driven the car a couple of times and it works. It takes a little while to get hot air, but it works nonetheless. Now, by hooking up the heater core, something peculiar has happened: the engine temp is lower than what it previously was. I'm thinking the prev. owner installed a 160 degree thermostat. No worries though. I've got heat now. WOOHOO! Thanks mallet for the assist.

Your welcome, but try to keep in mind that the previous owner bypassed the core for a reason...and you need to find out what that was...Otherwise you need to do some work on it and replace it as a precaution(real pain in the ass)
If you can get in contact with the previous owner, give him a call and ask why it was bypassed...This is something you need to know.
Also, the reason it is running cooler now is probably because you are using the heater.
Try to find out why it was bypassed and take a look at your coolant(if there was rust in the core, then you may need to flush the whole system)

OK. I did some research and analysis. RESEARCH--previous owner bought the car with no heat. Didn't know why heater core had been bypassed. I found the 2Xprevious owner's name/number in the awesomely kept maintenance records, to no avail. So, by using "what I know about the car" and my cranium, I came to this conclusion: ANALYSIS--car has a "water/rain" leak. Only leaks during a heavy rain or if the car is put through a car wash. 2Xprevious owner thought the water/rain leak was the heater core and he bypassed it. (NOTE: 2Xprevious owner isn't very bright. I'm fixing little things he half-assed and am almost done) So, there's my conclusion. I have kept a very close eye on this thing. I have had the heater core connected since 24 Feb and it hasn't leaked (no anti-freeze smell inside the car, no wet floorboard other than when it rains, and no "tell-tale" fog on the windshield when I run the defroster). Thanks Mallet for the info. I have had an oil pressure issue, but I fixed it. Will post my findings/fixings in the other "oil pressure" problem posts.

I have that same rain leak and when I first found water there, my step dad said to bypass the heater core and I said NO! Turned out I was right...after all, the carpet was wet, not green(like coolant)...I bought a full set of weather seals for my car off ebay...but am going to wait till I have my car repainted to put them on, hopefully that will fix the problem.
Just a hint...when it rains, take out your floor mat on passenger side so the carpet can dry...let it sit in the sun and crack the window so it can evaporate...but you probably already thought of that...lol

LOL...yeah, I thought of that. I even put a towel down to soak some of it up and then take the towel out after it's done raining. I haven't found the leak yet, but I'm determined. We bought this car just to keep "for now", but the more I drive it, the more I'm considering keeping it and drive it until the wheels fall off. It's a fun car!

Shure is...mine is just the 2.8 V6...and it is still fun :grinyes:
I have tried the towel too...putting it at the base of the side kick panel(where the water seems to come in) and that works on the drivers side because it actually is coming through the roof rail weather strip, but its not as effective on the passenger side.
If you have one of those big, red, "shop vacs" you can use that to suck up the initial pond that forms there(thats what I do), then just let evaporation do the rest...
If you do ever find where it is coming from, send me a message, ok :grinyes: