Heater core? is it out or not?

[dsm1212]

alright i was picking up a friend and when he got in the car he noticed the passenger side carpet was soaked. i didn't notice it because it was only the passenger side. thought it was just water but later i removed my entire interior except dash to clean up the mess. I had a pool of anti freeze under where the passenger seat would be. i have been reading on here that means its something to do with the heater core but from what i have read everyone else whos heater core thats gone out does not make any heat. i still have heat just leaking coolant inside my car what should i do?

 

[4g63and420a]

It sounds like to me its just leaking. That would still let you have heat. I would replace it.

 

[92AWDHX40]

Sounds like a leak, fix it.

 

[MichaelSuch]

Heatercore is leaky, happened in my dad's truck definately get it replaced.

 

[ccb21]

Fix the leak and best of luck, mine had 2 minor leaks at the same time... can be a pain to trace. Best of luck

 

[dsm1212]

hmm deffinetley not something that i am looking forward to i saw someone on here talking about a dye kit. is that fine to put into your coolant. the ones that you use a black light to see where the leak is coming from

Fix the leak and best of luck, mine had 2 minor leaks at the same time... can be a pain to trace. Best of luck

so you fixed the leaks on yours, was the heater core cracked or were the hoses just leaking

 

[Butterfinger]

How much water? Have you had to add coolant?Does it have a smell? Could it be rain? Most the time when your lowe on coolant your heater does not work as well, or at all. and will fog the window's when turned on. just my experience anyway.

 

[Jeff99GS]

Your heatercore is DEFINATELY BAD

You can't repair the heatercore. The inlet and outlet tubes are made of plastic. Just buy a NEW one and Install it. Don't waste your time or money on dye.

Some guys will try to tell you to JB weld it and shit like that, but the Heatercore is SO hard to get to you're NOT going to want to get at it again when the JB weld comes off. Remember the Coolant/Heater system is Under PRESSURE. 13-14psi when the car is running at op temp. Repairs will NEVER hold.

NEEDS REPLACED!

 

[dsm1212]

damn ya thats what i was afraid of just seems like such a PITA. I have my interior completely stripped now i just have the dash left and i gotta order the core for 140.

 

[tyger1]

i just replaced my heater core last week...it wasn't as bad as they say. it took me about 6 hours from start to finish. could have been less but i took too many breaks.

my advice to you is to make sure you have some sandwich bags and a marker to collect all the screws and mark them accordingly. this will help with the re-assembly being done quicker.

quick question does your interior smell sweet when you turn on the heater? does your window fog up?

 

[dsm1212]

it doesnt really smell sweet it just smells bad. i think my windows did fog up if i used my heater but i just always use my defroster.

 

[tyger1]

replace heater core...

 

[dsm1212]

alright so i ordered the heater core today but i was just wondering what my windows fogging up has to do with the heater core. when i turn my heater on the don't fog up right away it takes a little bit and its only when its cold and rainy out.

 

[Jeff99GS]

It fogs up cause there is wetness in the heater box. When the wetness heats up it creates steam/fog. It does it MORE in the defrost mode cause the Ducts are blowing humid moist air directly ON the glass.

Also Once you fix the heater core remember to ONLY use the defrost with the FRESH AIR....DON'T Recirculate the in cabin air, or else the defrost WON'T work well.

 

[dsm1212]

so wait when i use my defroster it does not fog up it works perfect? the only thing wrong is the antifreeze on the passenger side. to late now its already ordered but now im wondering if maybe its a just a leaky hose or something.

 

[Redwidow]

Should have taken it apart first and found out exactly what the problem was.

 

[dsm1212]

i know i should have, but everyone kept saying oh just replace it, oh well i will take it all apart and see what it is if its just a hose i'll replace that and sent the core back and pay the 15% restocking fee.

 

[Jeff99GS]

I KNOW for SURE its NOT a hose. The hoses are sticking OUTside the firewall. The only thing inside the car is the heater core.

ITS bad 100% if there is coolant on the passanger floor.

The inlet and outlet pipe on the core are plastic and I'm sure it's cracked on the plastic.
Don't worry about the heat or the defrost...it will be fine once you replace the core.

Now would be a good time to change the heater hoses too.

Remember to NOT tighten the clamps on the heater core pipes TOO tight. You can crack the plastic just from over thightening them.

 

[dsm1212]

thanks for the advice. man they really should make something a little more heavy duty so that plastic isn't cracking and leakingn coolant all over the floor.

 

[Jeff99GS]

Yeah you would think....Unfortunately our radiator also has plastic cores and inlet/outlet pipes as well

Most new cars use plastic