Heater Blowing Cold Air at Idle

2007 CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO
130,000 MILES • 3.5L • V6 • FWD • AUTOMATIC
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TJK1026
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When the car is first started and warms up, the heat should begin to blow warm air. My problem is that the blower will only blow cold air, but when you apply gas and rev up the engine, the air will begin to get warm, but if brought back down to idle, the air will slowly become cold again. Please note that when gas is applied it sounds as if you can hear fluid flowing somewhere under the dash area. Any ideas?
Nov 29, 2013 at 6:30 PM
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CARADIODOC
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Coolant level is low and is not circulating well. You're hearing the air flowing through the heater core. The water pump has to spin faster to build enough force to push the coolant through the heater core.
Nov 29, 2013 at 7:23 PM
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TJK1026
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The coolant level is fine in the car. Could it be that there is air in the coolant lines? Or possibly a bad water pump? Any suggestions on how to trouble shoot this?
Nov 29, 2013 at 7:27 PM
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CARADIODOC
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If the level is okay, where did the air come from? The most common suspect would be a leaking cylinder head gasket. To verify that, your mechanic can do a chemical test, but GM made that somewhat difficult by not putting a cap on the radiator. Air from the radiator is drawn through a glass cylinder with two chambers partially-filled with a special dark blue liquid. If combustion gases are present, the liquid will turn bright yellow.

You can often borrow the tool from an auto parts store, but since the fluid is rendered useless if it gets contaminated with coolant, they make you buy your own bottle of fluid. It may be less expensive to just have a mechanic do the test.
Nov 29, 2013 at 8:21 PM