need help..i think my heater core in my car went bad (1 Viewer)

[Ken Bentley]

well this am while driving to work. my windows started to fog up and i smelt antifreeze.. so i get to work and there was antifreeze leaking from the back side of the engine, i think it is the heater core. any one else have ideas of what it could be.. i have no fluid coming in the car. i hear when a heater core goes you also get fluid in the car and i don't have that...

question is if its the heater core. will i still leak as long as i don't use the A/C or heater i use the heater this am cause it was chilly out side. or will it leak even if i don't use the heater. it cost like 500-600 bucks to fix them things i would but its a pain in the ass to fix one...


thanks ken

 

[Kyle McKnight]

My heater core went bad twice so far. First time I got it fixed, 2nd time it was covered under warranty. First signs for my 2nd time were the smell of antifreeze, and it was burning off the engine coming through the defrost vents, even when they weren't blowing. No fluid inside car. Took it in and it had gone bad.

 

[Ken Bentley]

thanks for the info i am having it towed to the garage to get fixed.. there goes my dvd money for awile...lol....

i should have grown up a car mechanic

 

[brentl]

Usually if it's the heater core you get water inside the car. It tends to be because a piece of hard plastic tubing broke.

Is it leaking off the engine?? If it is it's not the heater core, the heater core is inside your car.

I had almost 2" of water in the back seat of a Skyhawk I owned years ago, what a mess!

B

 

[Karl_Luph]

Could it possibly just be one of the heater hoses leaking near the heater core? Replacing a heater core can be expensive, let us know what you find out.

 

[Philip_G]

doesn't sound like a core to me either, sounds like a hose leaking. What kind of car is it?

If it's the heater core it depends on the car, but some circulate coolant through the core always, with no regard to heat or A/C operation.

 

[Ken Bentley]

its a 95 Chevy Corsica and i just looked at it again an it looks to be draining from were there might be a hose, theres a solid peice of tubing the comes out 1inch then goes down thats is were it is leaking from. to me it looks like there should be a hose there?? i read there is supposed to be a a upper and lower hose. i only see a thick hose coming from the top, but don't see one near the bottom that would connect to the engine...



i wont be towing till this weekend. has to save money up first.. but if anyone can give m ideas and what to look for i might fix it my self if its something simple...


thanks.. ken

 

[Philip_G]

You'll need to be more specific as to where that bit of tubing is, pics would help. I dunno anything about corsicas, but maybe someone else does.

There is an upper and lower hose from the radiator, if that's what you mean.

 

[brentl]

Had one of those.

It does circulate coolant through a baby sized rad in the car. It's right in the center of the dash at the bottom. If you have any skill it's an easy fix.

You need to remove all the plastic covering between the footwells right at the firewall.

You'll need to get under the car to unhook the rubber lines(2) that run to it core. I think there are like 4 screws holding a bracket that holds the unit up against the firewall.

pretty simple, but it's easier to start the car and wait to see where hot coolant is coming from.

Worst thing is that it's just a line, run to GM and they can get you the EXACT line. It may cost you a little more, but you are sure it will fit.

B

 

[Cary_H]

Classic symptoms of a bad heating core.
Where you want to be looking is at the firewall behind the engine. The core will usually be fed by two rubber hoses of a diameter not much more than an inch, coming not from the rad, but from lines off the engine itself. They'll go into the core mounted up under the dash.
I'm guessing the hole you see the water coming from is simply a moisture drain on the plenum for the heating/cooling system.

 

[brentl]

"I'm guessing the hole you see the water coming from is simply a moisture drain on the plenum for the heating/cooling system."

tRUE, i HAD FORGOTTEN ABOUT THE DRAIN.

Whoops

B

 

[Todd Hochard]

Sounds like a bad heater core.

The heater core is always pressurized with coolant, even when you have the heater slide set to cold.
The hose that is dripping is the condensation drain, that normally drips water from the condensation on the evaporator coils when running the AC.

I don't know the Beretta, but most heater cores require some disassembly of the dash. PITA is right.

Two things you can do to prevent future failures-
1. Make sure you change your coolant as scheduled.
2. Make sure the ground from your engine to the chassis is good.

Todd

 

[StephenHa]

it could be heater core if coming off the tube sticking out of the firewall (that is the heater core) could also be the rubber hose, but with the fog I doubt it

 

[Chu Gai]

Well I'm curious what the problem is/was. Just say it's not a blown head gasket.

 

[Ken Bentley]

ok well i fixed it my self and it was the heater core.. was it a pain to get to.. but easy to fix....

thanks for all the help....

it was leaking fromt he overflow

thanks ken

 

[gene c]

Glad you got it fixed but for the benefit of others, sometimes it's the control valve and not the core. And as a quick fix, you can run the outlet hose from the block right back into the inlet on the block. This bypasses the heater until you can get it fixed. Did this on my Fiat when the valve started leaking 150 miles from home.

 

[Philip_G]

if they have one
some cars don't, some circulate all the time and control the temp with a flapper valve to divert the airflow.

 

[brentl]

"This bypasses the heater until you can get it fixed. Did this on my Fiat when the valve started leaking 150 miles from home.
"

I did that and never got around to replacing the heater core till the following summer.

YEP, I went through a whole winter without a heater!!!!

By the way I live North of Toronto, and it got mighty cold that winter!

B

 

[gene c]

I only went about three weeks in the summer. But all winter in Toronto? OUCH!!

 

[DonnyD]

I thought I had a heater core failure on my F150 a coule of years ago.... fogged my windshield badly and the smell was very strong..... This just happened at a time that I didn't have time to take it to the dealership so I just shoved some Bars-Leak in (pellet type) the radiator. Since I have 2 F150s, I just parked this one and drove the other. About a month later, I had the time to take it into the dealership. They pressurized it to confirm where the leak was and COULDN'T MAKE IT LEAK! This was 2 years ago and I've had no problem since..... Yeah I know it's probably gonna fail again someday but that stop leak has definitely done its job.....
Very few mechanics will ever recommend using a stop leak substance and I would have never used it if I had the time to take my truck to the shop... just glad to worked this time............saved MAJOR bucks........ Those F150s are hard to work on the heater core!