Heater problem solved

In January, I mentioned a heater problem I was having with my Grand Cherokee. The air from the fan wouldn't keep blowing where I wanted it to. For example, if I had the air turned to the floor for heat, as I accelerated, it would cycle through the vent and up to the defroster position. Then as I evened off on the gas, it would cycle back down to the floor. It kept getting worse until it was on the defroster level most of the time.

At the same time, my cruise control was not holding steady. It would go down about 10 mph just a small hill. And it wouldn't stay where I set it even on the level.

Neither of these problems was an emergency, just a nuisance. So I kept putting off getting it checked, especially since it took five times to get it fixed the last time I had a heater problem. And I don't really care for expensive auto repairs.

However, with summer coming, I didn't want to face hot weather without the vent area working for cooler outside air or with the air conditioner. My wife mentioned the problem to our daughter-in-law who happens to have two brothers who are mechanics. My daughter-in-law immediately phoned her brothers. They both said it sounded like a problem with the vacuum system. (I thought it acted like that, but I didn't realize the heater controls or cruise control relied on vacuum. Obviously I'm not a mechanic!) They also had a suggestion as to where to take it to get it fixed.

So I made a phone call to Autocare Specialists in Omaha. They said to bring it right in. So I drove the 35 miles happy that they could check it so fast. Within about an hour, they had the problem fixed. It was an $0.83 part. That's right, 83 cents. And that fixed the cruise control problem as well. Now I'm kicking myself for putting it off so long.

As a coincidence, "Jack of all trades" left a comment the next day on the original post suggesting I have my mechanic check the vacuum lines. He was right also.

So if any of you are having a similar problem, don't put if off forever like I did. Have the vacuum lines checked already!