Pontiac Repair: pontiac heater not working..., coolant level, change pitch

Question
i have a '93 pontiac grand am...v6..3.3L
recently since the cold weather settled in...the heater has not worked...the engine temp...iz in the normal range...but the vents are not putting the heat out...when i turn the knob from cold to warm..warm to cold...i can hear the vacums sucking and releasing...but still no heat...is it a fixable problem...to do i need to take it to a local pontiac dealer...

Answer
Hi Junior:

well first off I would check to make sure the coolant level is full if not then what happens is the heater core can get bound up with an air pocket and then it will not allow the hot water to pass through it thu give you heat. if the coolant is really dirty in this car the dirt may have plugged up the heater core and the same result would happen no heat. The temapature door on this car is not vacuum operated it works off a cable if that cable came off and the door was stuck on full cold then you would have no heat. do you feel resistance when you turn the temp knob? and if the fan is on high you may hear the fan change pitch when you go from hot to cold that whould indicate that the door is moving. Good luck :)