Pontiac Montana

My 1999 Pontiac Montana would seem to "skip a beat" while driving. It then started stalling and restarting, all while driving at highway speeds. My mechanic found that an electrical cable that carried an engine sensor signal was leaning against a hot part of the engine. The cable insulation had melted or worn through, causing intermittent shorts. The shorts confused the engine computer, which then stalled the engine. He simply rerouted the cable and all was fine after that.

you will need to take the fuel tank out because it is inside of the tank.just put a new fuel sending unit in and you should be good to go.

The parking pawl probably has a broken spring and is not working correctly. The pawl is a 1.25" long piece of metal external to the motor and is part of the Stack-O-Plates on the output shaft of the motor and to which the wiper push rods are attached. When you turn the wipers to "Off" the motor will reverse direction and the pawl will catch on a stationary tab that is part of the motor/wiper frame. This will hold the wipers in the down position while the motor continues to run and allow the parking Stack-O-Plates-Spring-Wrapped gizmo to do its magic which drags the wiper arms down into the extra low "parked" position. If the tiny spring that holds the pawl in the out position breaks then the pawl will not engage the stationary tab. The wipers will then continue swinging upward through half a swing at which point a cam/switch that is internal to the pulse board (the cover on the motor output gear (three T20 Torx screws to remove) will tell the motor to stop because it thinks the parking Stack-O-Plates gizmo has finished doing its job but instead the wiper arms will be stuck in the "Hello, I'm a dork" raised flag position.

WARNING: Use caution while working around the wiper mechanism. If the key is on and the wiper lever is set to "Intermediate" then the motor can start unexpectedly. If your fingers are down there in the wrong place, the mechanism has more than enough power to break bones and/or peal the skin right off of them. Don't be afraid, just be deliberate and methodical and always be aware if the motor/electronics are energized.

It is very easy to remove the motor/wiper assembly so do not hesitate to do so:

Remove the plastic covers off the wiper arm retaining nuts.

Remove the wiper arm nuts with a 13mm socket.

Twist and pull with your finger tips and finger nails at the base of the small rubber squirt tubing off the hard plastic squirt delivery tubes.

You may have to yard up and down on the wiper arms pretty hard to get them loose from their tapered shafts. Don't be a mindless gorilla but be brave and keep at it. They will come loose.

Remove the cowl cover by pulling or prying out the center of the six retaining push pins. Then lift the cowl cover up then out at a 45 degree angle. You will find the cover is a very tight fit between the right hand wiper shaft and the weatherstrip at the base of the windshield. Be brave and keep pulling and prying until it comes loose.

Reinstalling the cowl cover and getting the rubber weather strip over the cover is the hardest part of the whole job. Use putty knifes (slowly and carefully!) or a very small slender screwdriver. It took me half an hour just to do this part of the job that. ugh.

Remove the 3 bolts holding the wiper assembly.

Disconnect the electrical connector by squeezing the retaining tab that you cant see on the backside of the connector. You have to squeeze real hard.

Lift the wiper assembly out.

Remove the Stack-O-Plates assembly from the motor output shaft (T30 Torx) to access the pawl to put on a spring. I wrapped one and a half loops of spring around one protrusion on the end of the pawl and around one tab of the stationary clip that limits the swing of the pawl to hold it in the "swung out" position. The loop of spring applies very light pressure but that is all it needs. This will all make sense when you are looking at the pawl mechanism. I cut off one and a half loops from a spring like what you would find in a retractable ball point pen but bigger. Use what spring you can find even if it from a ball point pen. When the motor runs in the forward direction the pawl harmlessly swings out of the way as it passes by the stationary tab. Bend the stationary tab in or out as necessary so the pawl engages straight on to it. I will try and post pictures of all this.

Before remounting the whole Stack-O-Plates gizmo assembly you will need to set the motor into the correctly timed position. Plug the motor in, then turn the wipers to "Intermediate". When the motor stops then turn off the ignition switch or quickly disconnect the motor. The motor is now in the correct position. Remount the Stack-O-Plates so there is about 1/4" to 1" space between the pawl and the stationary tab. Tighten down the T30 Torx bolt (blue lock tight recommended) then test the unit to see if the pawl engages to the stationary tab and lets the parking Stack-O-Plates do all its parking gyrations before you remount the whole wiper assembly. When you are all done try not to wear out the wipers by constantly turning them on and off for the next few hours of driving just so you can marvel at your handy work. :O)

Buy the way, if you turn the wipers off and they just wiggle a little bit while the motor goes click-click-click-click trying to do its parking thing then you need to alter (slightly) the relationship between the cam/switch arm inside the pulse module (again, the cover on the motor output gear, three T20 Torx screws to remove). There are two switch/contact arms in the center of the pulse board. The one closest to the board that engages the plastic cam mounted to the board is the one you want to change slightly. The other free floating arm is driven by the cam on the big motor output gear and is the contact to let the electronics know the output gear has rotated half a turn and the wipers are now parked. I bent the one arm closest to the pulse board away from its cam just slightly so that only about 3/4 of the "hook" on the end of the arm (you will know what I mean when you look at it) is hitting the ramp on the cam (the cam spins clockwise). Verify that the electrical contact actually opens a bit when the arm is riding on the high part of the cam. You may have to adjust and verify a number of times to find that sweet spot where it runs reliably. It took me half an hour of fiddling. O_0

it is in the rear of the van. open the back hatch and look to the left, it is behind the lighter 12v accesory panel...good luck

p134

If your engine light comes on and your temp gauge is lower then normal. listen for cooling fans. if they are also running chances are you need a new thermostat

It's the same resevoir. The hose may be clogged or sediment in the bottom of the resevoir. See if the front still work and hope for the best. The motor for the back might not be working.

GOOD LUCK

its a relay switch

I would check in the engine compartment around the fire wall for a broken vacuume hose

I just had that same problem..I took it in to have it fixed and they replaced the blower motor resistor and that seems to have fixed the problem

My 1996 Pontiac Transport has a "Dome Light Over-ride Switch" in the dash near the ash tray. It refers to lights coming on with the Doors are Open and allows you to switch it to "Off". Mine quit working so I went to a wrecking yard and picked one out of a wreck for $5 and everthing started working again. Hope this is helpful.

Look at your CD player and search for a tiny hole near the CD player. This is designed to allow you to open the CD player when it is stuck. Insert a small pin or paper clip into the hole and the CD player should open up.

I assume your seat belt is stuck (locked in place and will not come out). First, to access the place where the seat belt rolls up: For the rear seat belts, the plastic pops off easily. For the front mechanisms, simply pry off the plastic guard near where the seat belt enters. If that's not enough leverage, remove the plastic guards on the floor near the doors and you can pry the plastic wall toward the center of the vehicle. On my own Pontiac Montana I employed 3 strategies to straighten out twisted belts: 1. Short and quick tugs on the belt. Sometimes this jarred the belt loose. 2. Screwdriver into the seat belt mechanism. If the seat belt won't simply come loose, there is most likely a fold in the belt deep inside the roll. Pushing and prying with a screwdriver I have been able to straighten out the turn in the seat belt enough to let the seat belt pull out fully. Afterward, make sure there are no twists in the belt as you feed it in to the mechanism. (Alternatively, use the screwdriver to force the belt in "just a little farther" and the mechanism may come loose. There are metal ridges on either side of the roll you can push.) 3. Remove your daughter's necklace Yes, um, the seat belt somehow ate my daughter's beaded necklace. Removing the obstruction in the roll allowed it to flow freely. If your belt is ripped or frayed, simply replace the entire seat belt. The seat belt can lose up to 50% of its strength after receiving a 5mm cut into the belt (1/2 a centimeter).

If you're running a jumper across 2 of the three terminals and it starts then you need to check for power to the 3rd terminal (key in crank position) that triggers the relay. Maybe a broken wire in the relay plug or further up the circuit?

I have a 2004 Pontiac Montana Van.. The air conditioner has always taken so long too cool off the van.. I am not to happy with the Pontiac cooling system anyway.. I realize it is a big vehical and it takes longer. It has been blowing warm air.. I took it in to a realible shop and found out that my freon is low.. They shot die into it and found a leak .. The shop called and said the quote was 1200.00 dollars to fix. The whole dash needed taken off and I think they said it was like a radiator for the air conditioner was leaking and only 3lbs of freon showing.. I hope I am relaying the correct way she had put it to me.. What do you think i should do .. Is that sound like a right quote to you . I am sure it is all labor. Need someone to give me advice

about 18" to the front end of the fuel tank on the inside of the frame. be very careful removing the retaining clips on the fuel lines if you break them the connection will not stay together

Ours had a bad instrument cluster. It cost around $300 to fix by replacing the whole instrument cluster. There was nothing actually wrong with the temp it was just the cluster malfunctioning. Ours usually occured in the winter and then worked fine in the summer.

Check the tire balance. Also check the tie rod ends and ball joints for wear. These are the most common places to start.

The 2002 Pontiac Montana takes 24" wiper blades on both sides front and a 16" rear wiper. See sources and related links below for more information. Since there are over 22 different wiper arm attachments, do not buy wipers just by length only - be sure to lookup exact wiper blade part numbers by vehicle make, model and year for the brand wiper you decide to purchase. This ensures correct length AND correct attachment.

Put a brick on the accelerator pedal

you will need to call a pontiac dealer and get an activation code, because of the anti-theift system.

its in a plastic housing on driver side top and side of the engine. its right in front of the coil pack where all the spark plugs wires are. you dont have to take it loose from the engine block. remove the three star headed screws on front of the housing. then pop it out. it has a gasket around it and looks like its inside the housing but isnt. it took the housing loose from the engine and theres a gasket there too and its giving me problems leaking now.

Try ebay. They usually have a variety of used owner's manuals probably for about 10 bucks with cost of manual plus shipping.

Not knowing what year your car is I'll have to guess that it's a post 1996 with a VATS OEM anti-theft device. That would indicate that the VATS signal was correct at startup but failed while you were driving the vehicle. The constant light indicates that the VATS is in "Failed Enable" mode meaning that there is no more immobilizer protecting your vehicle usually caused by a worn ignition barrel. If your car is 10 years old and aren't worry by theft then don't worry about it, it won't leave you stranded. If you have several hundred dollars burning a hole in your pocket then take it to a repair shop. There's nothing you can do yourself.

==Answer 1 == Not having worked on your particular make and model, I can only give a generic answer, which GENERALLY APPLIES to most, if not all, automotive engines, and should help until an expert provides a more definitive answer. To the best of my knowledge, the only place where spinning motion of the crankshaft is observable and accessable is the CRANKSHAFT DAMPENER PULLEY which is mounted on the crankshaft at the "front" of the engine. On a transverse [crosswise] mounted engine, the front is considered the end that has the drive belt(s). Generally, the SENSOR size is usually no more than 1/2 to 3/4 inch in diameter, and 1 to 2 inches in length, and it will have one or two wires attached. The sensor will be mounted on a metal bracket attached to the front of the engine, and very close to the CRANKSHAFT DAMPENER PULLEY. The bracket locates the sensor IN THE "PLANE" of the pulley, in other words, "looking" at the EDGE of the spinning pulley. I hope this helps, until someone else contributes a more specific answer.