Hey y'all. My heat isnt working. What could the problem be? 92 v6 firebird.

 

Broken diverter valve.
Coolant not hot enough.
Plugged heater core.

Something else?

I think it's probably the heater diverter valve. It's a little box you will find connected to the heatercore hoses somewhere between the core and motor, I believe it's vacuum operated. It keeps the hot coolant away from the heater core unless you turn the heat on, unlike older thirdgens where the coolant is always circulating through the core.

Edit: Might get more help next time if you're a little less brief. It seems like you just want something for nothing by only posting one line.

 

well does the fan turn on and blow air just not hot air?

alot of poeple down south take out the thermostat and when thats out you wont get hot air, do you know for sure you have one in the car?

but yeah but like Alphius said you need to give a little more info on the car.

 

Another thing; check the level of antifreeze. If the antifreeze is very low, your temp gauge will skyrocket but you won't have any heat.

 

I just wanted to keep it simple and brief.

Coolent level is good, new rad cap.

Wheres the t-stat at? I'll start there.

 

ok, to find the thermostat. follow the upper rad hose. the end thats attached to the engine has a thermostat housing. your gonna have to remove the throttle body with only has 2 bolts and a few hoses to make this job much esier. then there are two bolts holding the thermostat housing onto the intake manifold. then just pull it off and the thermostat is just sitting there.

 

Sweet! Thank you!

 

yeah, its reall easy to do. im gonna make a sugesstion though, before you do this go to auto zone or napa or what ever is near you. get a new thermostat 180degree, and get a thermostat gasket. since your going this far you might as well just change them both, should only be about 15-20 bucks.

 

isnt there any gasket at the throttle body, and if yes, shouldnt you replace that as well???? (if you remove it)

 

good point, ive taken mine off and kept the orignial gasket before , but you could change it if you wanted to, just depending how good of shape its in.

 

You can most definitely change the t-stat and gasket without unbolting or removing the throttle body, it's really easy. Two bolts to undo with a ratchet and swivel, and you're golden. I'd still put my money on the heater diverter valve, since it's a '92. I can't remember what year they started using the diverter, but a '92 should have one unless it's been bypassed in the past.

 

yes thats true, but its about 100 times easier to just take of the throtlle body. there are only two bolts and some plugs to in anyway. then you have a wide open clean shot at the thermostat housing.

 

I also agree with it being the diverter valve. I had to change mine for a no heat situation.

 

Put a thermometer in the radiator and see what the temp is when it should be at normal operating temp. Then deccide if you need a tstat or diverter. A lot of guessing averted.

 

be sure to not over tighten the bolts on reassembly.. mine was aluminum cast and cracked.
chevy dealer suggests to not use a gasket due to newer models having a smooth mount base and use black hightemp rtv.( said the gasket supplied by the parts store was extremely thick and helped in causing the cracked housing ). thats what i used on my 88 2.8 and its holding tight.
btw.. the housing if needed is 18.00 and change at the dealer.. a small fyi incase ya need to get one.

 

CRAP!!!! my thermostat is stuck closed...discovered this on my way to work today...funny that this happens to me after I've been following this thread for the past few days.

 

Good plan, why didn't I think of that? Of course, a thermostat is so cheap anyway, it would be a good plan to just replace it on general purposes first before the diverter, then if that doesn't fix it, replace the diverter.