No heat

Not getting any heat out of my 98 riv.. it was fine until I drained the radiator & reservoir refilled with 50/50 dexcool did I do something wrong?

Dan B wrote:

Not getting any heat out of my 98 riv.. it was fine until I drained the radiator & reservoir refilled with 50/50 dexcool did I do something wrong?

Radiator level is probably low. Wait until cool, then remove the cap and check.

Radiator & reservoir are full so dug deeper here on the board, led me to this located behind glove box, I'm guessing that crack isn't by design.. oh so backing up a little only driver side had no heat, passenger side has it.. I actually thought I had a rodent problem with all the noise under the dash.. this actuator I believe operates a blend door

fairly common problem and the aftermarket actuators sold via Amazon are fine actually. Just look for them using the GM part number(s) on the sticker on your actuator. OR you can also just get the gear - there's a couple people who 3D print the things and also see https://www.amazon.com/Blend-Door-Actuator-Gear-Rebuild/dp/B01BKW3AKI/ref=sr_1_1_sspa.

Most likely installing one of those $13.- gears will 100% fix your problem once-and-done.

Thanks for the tip!

Well crap all 5 actuators are cracked like that what the hell??

Dan B wrote:

Well crap all 5 actuators are cracked like that what the hell??

...dont overthink it, just replace the gears.

used to be able to get the older actuators with metal gears from junkyard(out of 80s GM pickup trucks for instance) and swap the old gears into the newer actuators.

not anymore really

Albertj

Not really over thinking just curious as to why they all broke.. it's a m.f.'er to reach 1 of them on the driver's side got the whole dash ripped out oh boy

The plasticizers gas out over time, making the part brittle. The hole in the factory gear is a bit smaller than the metal cylinder it's pressed on to, that's what holds the gear in place when it's new, and what causes the gear to split when it's old.

Surprised myself.. between adjusting positioning of blend door shafts & actuator holes, ripping out dash/re-assembling thought for sure I was gonna have a mess on my hands BUT with the help here both new & archived I got it done & HVAC is working perfect. Bit the bullet & got new dorman replacement actuators, so far so good. Got the tough one (upper) on driver's side removed without removing front seat but had to remove it to install new actuator as I'm 50 & weigh 255, in other words old & fat.. was nice to lay on back and be able to look up, project took a toll on my back but a nice long drive with seat heater on high fixed that haha..

NEW ISSUE.. stupid gas gauge isnt working now wonder if I screwed up a wire putting dash back together? Gonna live with it for now, our tanks are what 18 gallon? Figure just use the trip meter at fillups & not go over 250-300 miles..

Just want to say thanks for the help!

Dan B wrote:

Surprised myself.. between adjusting positioning of blend door shafts & actuator holes, ripping out dash/re-assembling thought for sure I was gonna have a mess on my hands BUT with the help here both new & archived I got it done & HVAC is working perfect. Bit the bullet & got new dorman replacement actuators, so far so good. Got the tough one (upper) on driver's side removed without removing front seat but had to remove it to install new actuator as I'm 50 & weigh 255, in other words old & fat.. was nice to lay on back and be able to look up, project took a toll on my back but a nice long drive with seat heater on high fixed that haha..

NEW ISSUE.. stupid gas gauge isnt working now wonder if I screwed up a wire putting dash back together? Gonna live with it for now, our tanks are what 18 gallon? Figure just use the trip meter at fillups & not go over 250-300 miles..

Just want to say thanks for the help!

If you scrounge around you should find a replacement level sending unit that will fit on your fuel pump.  Pull the fuel pump then take a cell phone snapshot of the sending unit, and use google image search to find one, or take the snapshot to your local NAPA, Advance Auto, or other full-line auto parts store and ask.

Albertj

albertj wrote:

Dan B wrote:

Surprised myself.. between adjusting positioning of blend door shafts & actuator holes, ripping out dash/re-assembling thought for sure I was gonna have a mess on my hands BUT with the help here both new & archived I got it done & HVAC is working perfect. Bit the bullet & got new dorman replacement actuators, so far so good. Got the tough one (upper) on driver's side removed without removing front seat but had to remove it to install new actuator as I'm 50 & weigh 255, in other words old & fat.. was nice to lay on back and be able to look up, project took a toll on my back but a nice long drive with seat heater on high fixed that haha..

NEW ISSUE.. stupid gas gauge isnt working now wonder if I screwed up a wire putting dash back together? Gonna live with it for now, our tanks are what 18 gallon? Figure just use the trip meter at fillups & not go over 250-300 miles..

Just want to say thanks for the help!

If you scrounge around you should fine a replacement level sending unit that will fit on your fuel pump.  Pull the fuel pump then take a cell phone snapshot of the sending unit, and use google image search to find one, or take the snapshot to your local NAPA, Advance Auto, or other full-line auto parts store and ask.

Albertj

Probly mentioned before I have an 04 regal gs parts car wonder if that sending unit would work. Thanks for the clever ideas..

Dan B wrote:

albertj wrote:

Dan B wrote:

Surprised myself.. between adjusting positioning of blend door shafts & actuator holes, ripping out dash/re-assembling thought for sure I was gonna have a mess on my hands BUT with the help here both new & archived I got it done & HVAC is working perfect. Bit the bullet & got new dorman replacement actuators, so far so good. Got the tough one (upper) on driver's side removed without removing front seat but had to remove it to install new actuator as I'm 50 & weigh 255, in other words old & fat.. was nice to lay on back and be able to look up, project took a toll on my back but a nice long drive with seat heater on high fixed that haha..

NEW ISSUE.. stupid gas gauge isnt working now wonder if I screwed up a wire putting dash back together? Gonna live with it for now, our tanks are what 18 gallon? Figure just use the trip meter at fillups & not go over 250-300 miles..

Just want to say thanks for the help!

If you scrounge around you should fine a replacement level sending unit that will fit on your fuel pump.  Pull the fuel pump then take a cell phone snapshot of the sending unit, and use google image search to find one, or take the snapshot to your local NAPA, Advance Auto, or other full-line auto parts store and ask.

Albertj

Probably mentioned before I have an 04 regal gs parts car wonder if that sending unit would work. Thanks for the clever ideas..

Maybe - but if the contact wiper on the rheostat is worn (it probably is) it won't work long. Your best move is find a new (probably NOS) one. The slick move is - not that long ago they used to sell just the contact wiper, which is the part that really wears out If you go to an auto parts store that has old stock around you might luck up on one -- whcih is why you relly need to pull the pump and take pictures.

I just found this thread, so it's too late for Dan, but I would share something else when replacing the flat-pack motors.  I replaced the easy passenger-side blend-air door motor with a $25 eBay special with the 1-piece plastic gear.  It worked perfectly smoothly & quietly... for a year.  I opened it up and found that they had put so much grease in it that it simply got on the position-sensor rheostat and isolated the brushes!  Simple fix and it's been running fine for another couple years.  Thus, I would recommend that anyone buying new motors should open 'em up and check the grease as well as the gears...

ALSO, don't forget that there are two different fuel pumps:  One for the supercharged engines with a 2-speed module in the LH side of the trunk, and another for the normally aspirated L36...  Years ago I was lucky enough to buy a pair of discrete sending units for maybe $20-25 apiece, and a hi-flow L67 pump for $65 or so - instead of an entire $400 spring-loaded 'module'.   I needed the dumb sending unit right away because they used a HUGE brass ferule to connect it to the printed rheostat that didn't get pressed quite tight enough, but I still have the original fuel pump running fine at 146,000 miles, probably because it spends most of its time running at 1/2 or 2/3 power...

Hey Eldo just saw & responded to your pm. My fuel gauge seems ok now.. does seem to stay on full for 100 miles or so but then reads accurately, weird..