FastZinTennessee

Well sounds like a busted heater core to me. Low coolant light came on today after I changed the thermostat and topped off/bled coolant last night. Car began running warmer, up to 215* and the low coolant light came on. Next I notice a faint coolant smell in the cabin. I could have sworn it was coming through the vents. Also when I turned on the vent and turned the fan on high I got some condensation forming on the inside of my windsheild right about the defroster vent

Alright guys, tell me what to do now Any online guides for checking heater cores? removal/installation? Help me get this turd back running right again!

John <--- just glad it's not a blown headgasket

FastZinTennessee

New info, need some help here.......... My brother hooked up a pressurizer pump to the radiator to put the cooling system under pressure. We pumped it up to 18psi and it held it.... Did not leak at all. How can I track down a leak if I can't find it?

HM Murdock

Possibe heater core leak or malfunction. Check it out, it'll cause these symptoms. And it might only be a small leak, too.

FastZinTennessee

It looks like the system is leaking down very, very slowly...... This is starting to tick me off.... I'm going after the heater core first.

joeSS97

Yeah,I hope thats your problem.

BAD97SS

Could also be that you may have an air pocket some where. Even if you pressurize the system if the air pocket moves you will get a different reading. Did you get coolant coming out of the bleed off screws on the two hose on the front. Sound to me like that. If your heater core was leaking the passenger floor would be wet and smell like antifreeze.

FastZinTennessee

Well, heater core was leaking. The insulation under the carpet was damp and the plastic cover that goes around the heater core had some coolant in it. However, I don't think that there is enough coolant leaked out to be the cause of my problem

Basically, I'll add about half a gallon of water to the cooling system, and then a day and a half later, it's back to the low coolant light coming on and the car running hot. If that much was coming out of the heater core the floor would be drenched. It also appears that my radiator cap isn't doing it's job. Even when the coolant level gets low it doesn't pull any coolant from the overflow tank. The level stays the same.

Also, I do bleed the system every time I top it off. I get about two seconds of air, then some bubbles and then a steady stream of coolant.

Damn this sucks!!

NewbieWar

a few weeks ago i sprung a leak on one of my hoses, the one that connects to the heater block... that lost a lot of coolant really quick about 1 1/2 galons in 30 minutes

shoebox

If you have any coolant inside the core cover, replace the heater core. If you don't you are just asking for more trouble.

lbrowne

Heater core easy to get at? Its behind the glovebox ain't it?

viperkiller

when there is a leak it is no longer a sealed system, meaning it loses pressure, and/or vacume. it may not pull water in from the overflow.

also, the overflow is for when it gets hot, water expands and ries to boil, builds pressure and fille the overflow. if there is a leak it wont hold the vacume to suck it back in. it will just suck air from the hole. also couse the car to run hot becouse lowere pressure in the system water boils faster and vapor dont cool engins.

FastZinTennessee

I plan on it, but I'm afraid that when I get it back together I'll still lose coolant. It looks as though the heater core has been leaking for a while.

lbrowne

is it right behind the glovebox like I asked?

FastZinTennessee

Yea it is, sorry I overlooked your questions. To get to it, remove the plastic piece that is on the underside of the dash below the glovebox- it is held in place by a plastic snap on each side. Then remove three 7mm screws from the underside of the glovebox so you can remove it. Work the glovebox out. The black plastic shroud right in front of you if you're looking into the hole where the glovebox used to be is the piece you need to take off to get access to the heater core. It is held in place by some small gold hex head screws. I think there is three of them, give or take one. Remove screws, and any wiring harness(es) attached to the shroud and then you can work it out through the bottom of the dash. Whole process takes less than fifteen minutes even if it's your first time. Also, a Haynes manual might be helpful for removal, they have illustrations.

John