1997 sc2 heater problem...

Hi all...
I recently got stuck in the snow and needed my towed. There was a lot of
snow buildup. (Even inside). Now my heater does not work. Everything else
seems to be running fine. The temp gauge seems normal. Any ideas what it
could be? Should I get it serviced immediately? Obviously it's not very
comfortable driving.

Thanks.

 

Hi!
No expert I (I'm only replying because it's been four hours since your
post and no one else has) but last time I had a problem with no heat it was
due to a bad thermostat.
Good luck!

 

Yeah, turns out the thermostat was cracked and coolant tank was leaking.
Also a leak in the water pump.

Took it to a Saturn dealer.

Everything would cost 700 bucks so I'm just having them fix the first two.
Taking my chances with the water pump.

 

In my humble opinion, "taking a chance" on a leaky water pump is not a good
choice. That pump not only circulates water through the heater, but through
the engine as well (well, duh). I know, seems trivial right - but if that
water pump fails, you can heat the engine up to a level where the heads will
warp fairly easily.

It's your engine, hope you made the right choice ...

 

$700 seems a bit high. I bought a thermostat housing two years ago, it was
approx $50.
According to NAPAonline, a water pump is $32.
By coolant tank,I presume you mean the plastic reservoir. Lets figure $50
for it new.

$132 in parts. $568 in labor seems pretty high, I would get a second
opinion from an independant shop.

-David

 

the alldata manual rates the labor as 2.0 hours for the pump and .9 hrs
for the housing.. the container would probly be around .5hrs for a
total of 3.4 hours or 167.00 per hour.. I would find a good shop that
would probably charge you 50 to 60 per hour.

 

I agree, when a water pump starts leaking, it will only get worse and
could suddenly sieze if coolant gets in pump bearings. If that
happens you will have a very bad day.