[Anonymous]

I have a Alero with a 3.4 v6 and recently was driving down the road and stopped to get gas and when i got back in the car and turned it back on it started knocking. It also lost power. The noise sounds like its coming from heads and speeds up with engine when i hit the gas. I have already replaced oil pump, oil screen, knock sensor, flushed engine changed oil, it was still making noise. So a couple days ago we tore apart engine and found that 2 valve springs were broke(one on each side) but no bent pushrods, and we took out the hydraulic lifters and they all looked good.

We figured it was something with the springs so we replaced all 12 and went and got a new gasket set then put it back together. Started it up and its still making noise. And now its idling high and slight whistle.

How do you check lifters? And what else should I check? And we are thinking about buying two new heads will that help?

Reply: Assuming everything was installed correctly, correct 3.4L pushrod location order and you still have a top end noise, i have not had springs break on this engine. Have had a lot of rocker arm bolts pull out of the cylinder head. Re-tapping and installing a heli-coil fixes that. Lifters should not be able to be compressed by hand using a pushrod. That is about the only way to check them. A whistling noise is usually a vacuum leak.

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I have a 2000 Alero and the thing has been in and out of repair shops for about twenty different things since purchasing last year. Originally though the issue was the fuel pump but when the car starts the pump is fine and has pressure and new fuel lines and everything. I took it to a repair shop today and the mechanic explained the whole security light and ecm concept. he told me if the security light wasn’t blinking on startup that it would start. Well it did it a bunch of times for him. Two hours later at home the thing does not want to start even though the light is still on. Any suggestions????

REPLY:
If the security light is on, it will not start due to a theft deterrent problem. Most likely cause is a bad ignition cylinder. Replacement will also require re-learning the theft since you’ll be installing a new Passlock Sensor as well.

[Anonymous]

I have a 2001 Oldsmobile Alero, and the other day my air was working just fine, (it was blowing air out the vents), i shut off the vehicle, later that day i turned the car back on, and the blower wasn’t working. No air came from the vents, the heater and the a/c still work, i mean when I’m driving done the express way i can feel the air coming from outside the car into my car, like if i have the heat on, i can feel heat, i just wanted to know if i need a new blower or if it might be one of my fuses, if it is the fuse, where are they located at in my car? Thanks for your time. Samantha

REPLY:
More than likely, you have a bad blower motor resistor. The resistor controls the speed of the blower motor and handles all of the power delivery to the motor. When it goes bad, you may have one or more speeds that don’t work. This can be verified with a test light and also can tell you if the blower motor itself went out. Located under the right side of the dash, it is a pretty easy repair if you can do it yourself.

hey thanks alot, i fixed the problem i think. it works now. i kind of got really mad at it and kicked under my dash in the passenger seat and it started to work. now does that mean the blower is dirty? or is there something else wrong?

REPLY:
Doubt it’s a dirty blower motor, and whatever was wrong will go out again you can bet.

[Anonymous]

I can’t seem to get my heat or ac to work properly. No matter where I set the temperature or selector it only blows from the floor. I can’t make it hotter or cooler nor switch to vents or front defroster. All the fusses seem to be good. Any suggestions?

REPLY: The Cutlass/Malibu platform had big issues with the heater control head. There would be internal electrical failures that would make it act crazy and turn the air conditioning or heat off at will, or switch modes by itself, or just flash the lights on the unit. I would bet you have a faulty control head assembly, but if that’s not it, you’re probably looking at a mode door actuator that has failed.

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