[PLEASE HELP] 1985 Leone/Legacy Freezer

[Joshu]

Hey guys, this is my first post on these forums. I'm a computer nerd by trade, not a car nerd, so forgive me if I use funny words for things.

 

Now I've got a car problem that I can't seem to help myself with, and nobody really knows what's up with it. I loaned a service/repair manual from my local library (Gregory's Automotive, Subaru 1979-1994, No 501) but that hardly helps me; my all-car-knowing Dad doesn't have much of a clue, and searching the internet brought me here. SO! I figured I'd ask you smart people.

 

 

The car in question is a 1985 Leone (it seems to be called a "Legacy" lots too), and I'm in love with it. It has its quirks; knobs-on-the-dash instead of knobs-on-the-indicator-sticks for wipers and lights, semi-automatic choke, central locking in a 1985 car, but that's all good! It goes, it growls, it makes damn good mileage, and I could fit 6 bodies in the trunk.

 

What I'm really worried about is my heater. (I like to call it my freezer.)

 

Where I live it's been around -2 to 6 degrees C (30 to 40 F) outside, so when it gets cold I crank the blower up to 4 (full bore!) and push the "face" button and I get nice hot toasty air... out of the passenger vents!!! The vent next to the ignition blows nice chilly air out to freeze my hand. (I now have a habit of driving with one hand on top of the wheel and one hand on the gearstick.)

 

I press the recirculate button, doesn't fix the problem. The air coming out of the vent varies according to my speed. The vent can close but cold air still comes through at any decent speed (60kph/35mph) - but I would like hot air to come out of that vent.

 

 

Can anybody help me? I realise that it's not super-appropriate for me to just sign up for a forums and demand help in my first post, but I guess that's the reason I'm here. You guys seem fairly tolerant of people asking for help, I'm pretty cluey, I just need to be pointed in the right direction cause all this car-fixing stuff is new to me!

 

Thanks if you can help!

[calebz]

Welcome to the board. your car isn't a legacy.. Our legacy is your Liberty;)

 

If you are getting warm air from any of the vents, Its safe to say that the actual heating process is working fine. If you are having vent troubles, the first place I would check is the vacuum canister on the passenger side firewall. Its a little white thing that holds vacuum and one of its purposes is to work the vacuum controlled vents.

[Joshu]

  calebz said:

the first place I would check is the vacuum canister on the passenger side firewall

What exactly is a firewall? :-\ Also, what would I be checking for?

[NorthWet]

The canister is located in the engine compartment, on the back wall of the compartment, behind the strut tower on the "right" side (as viewed from the driver's seat). It is a milky-white canister of perhaps 250ml capacity with vacuum lines running to it. Its purpose is to "store" vacuum for use when the engine is not producing strong enough vacuum to operate the ventilation controls.

 

The canister develops cracks that admit air into the vacuum reservior. Check it for visible damage, and check to see if it will leak if pressure or vaccum is applied to it.

[hooziewhatsit]

do the vent controls work? ie, does hitting defrost make the air come out onto the windshield, bilev makes it come out of the dash & floor? If so the vacuum canister is probably alright. There could still be something stuck/blocking the air vents.

my gut reaction, since the air varies with speed, is that it's set to 'vent' instead of 'A/C'. there should be somesort of control thingy right under the vent to switch between the two.

 

Does the amount of air that comes out change if one of the rear windows is open? It could also be the flapper inside the vent housing to switch between outside air & inside air is broken/stuck and needs to be taken apart and fixed :-/

[TROGDOR!]

I think I may be able to shed some light on this...

 

Is your ignition on your right or left? If it's on your right- you'll find a selector handle underneath the rightmost vent. If it's on the bottom, it's allowing the car to draw in air directly from outside via that one vent. Pull it up to the top, problem solved.

 

Remember people, they drive on the wrong side of the car in Australia.

[Joshu]

Thanks for your replies guys.

 

  hooziewhatsit said:

do the vent controls work?

They sure do. Hit the windshield button, hot air to the windshield. Hit the "face" button, hot air to the face vents. Hit the "feet" button, hot air to my feet. Works just fine.

 

  TROGDOR! said:

Is your ignition on your right or left? If it's on your right- you'll find a selector handle underneath the rightmost vent. If it's on the bottom, it's allowing the car to draw in air directly from outside via that one vent. Pull it up to the top, problem solved.

I've seen this selector handle, but it's really poorly labelled. I'm also pretty sure it's on the top setting.

 

  TROGDOR! said:

Remember people, they drive on the wrong side of the car in Australia.

Also the wrong side of the road. So do American versions of my car not have this selector handle?

[555Ron]

I have an Australian Leone. It's the handle below the vent that is causing the problem. Flick it up like he said, if you keep getting outside air then the mechanism is broken. It will source air from outside without going through the heater unit

  Quote

The car in question is a 1985 Leone (it seems to be called a "Legacy" lots too), and I'm in love with it. It has its quirks; knobs-on-the-dash instead of knobs-on-the-indicator-sticks for wipers and lights, semi-automatic choke, central locking in a 1985 car, but that's all good! It goes, it growls, it makes damn good mileage, and I could fit 6 bodies in the trunk.

I love this description:cool:

 

Make sure you look after it, all my friends bag it... but i absolutely love it and use the most expensive parts i can find. Only the best for my car:)

[ausubaru92]

Only 6 bodies,... you should have bought a wagon:brow: Yeah my right hand vent is a bit like yours and i think my labels are wrong, especially the passenger side rotating wheel one.

 

Joshu,.. Where are you from?

 

 

Gannon

[Joshu]

  555Ron said:

if you keep getting outside air then the mechanism is broken.

I played with the switch on the highway today while the blower was on 4, but at all settings the air was still cold out of that one vent.

 

Any clue how to repair the choose-a-vent mechanism?

 

  ausubaru92 said:

Joshu,.. Where are you from?

Victoria, Australia. If you're familiar at all with the weather here you'll understand my desire to fix the vent.

[TROGDOR!]

You should be hearing a pretty decent thump when you move the handle as the vent opens or closes. If all you hear is the click of the handle, then yes, your mechanism is broken. I think the handle attaches to a cable, but I'm not sure.

 

And yes, the US cars have it too- but it's on the left side.

[stephenw22]

It could also be that there is something in there that is preventing the flap from closing completely. Courtesy of little brothers and sisters, I've had everything from peanuts to pencils jammed into my air vents, blocking those doors from closing.

 

If you're careful, you can pry the vent louvres out of the dash, and then you'd be able to get a better look at what might be blocking it (if anything)