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Posted by Ari [Email] (#2847) [Profile/Gallery] (more from Ari) on Mon, 12 Dec 2005 05:55:52 Share Post by Email
In Reply to: Is myHeater Core leaking?Slight whiff/loss of Antifreez, 9Shenandoah, Sun, 11 Dec 2005 04:32:07
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You may need a new heater core, but possibly not quite yet.

When the core first starts to leak, it develops little microcracks. The amount of coolant that comes out is measured in molecules. But coolant has a very noticeable smell, and it doesn't take a lot of warm coolant to smell it. Especially when it's dumped into the airstream and blown into your face. And if the heat has been off for a while, the leaking continues (the heater core is always hot), but with no airflow over it, the stuff accumulates.
The point I'm making is that if you have a large coolant leak from the heater core, a slight whiff doesn't describe it. It is a very noticeable odor. And as others have said, you'll get fogging on the windshield with a liquid that wipes off greasy and leaves smears.
You might have a very slight leak from the core, and the coolant loss is from a leak in the engine compartment. Or, just a leak in the engine compartment, and as it evaporates it's pulled into the vents, especially at idle. Or a heater core leak.

Here is what I would do - buy a bottle of Bars Leaks and grab your nutdriver. There is much said on this BB about Bars Leaks, both pro and con, but you'll see the majority is pro. This isn't the stop leak you put in to stop a massive coolant hemorrage just before selling a car. It works best on the very small microleaks of an early failing heater core. And it DOESN'T gum up your cooling system. Shake well, and put 4 ounces of the liquid into a cold expansion tank, and drive the car for about 20 minutes. Don't expect instant gratification - it may be a few days to a week before the smell goes away.

Next - take your nutdriver or screwdriver, and with a cold car, go around and tighten up all of the cooling system hose clamps. The ones on the water pump are hard, but try. It is very common for clamps to loosen up, especially at the beginning of the cold season. Everything shrinks in the cold (no nasty remarks!), and then expand greatly when the car heats up. This thermal expansion is worst in the winter because of the temperature extremes. This causes hose clamps to loosen. And you get the effect of the leak with no evidence. When the system is cold, the coolant pressure is low, and nothing leaks. As the car warms up, the coolant pressure increases before the nipples and hoses expand. So some coolant presses out through the loose connection. When the car is warm, everything has expanded, and the leaks are sealed. So you lose some coolant while you're driving off, and it leaves no drips in your driveway or your destination.

If after a couple of weeks you're still losing coolant and the heater core is pushing fog onto the windshield, thn it's time to replace the core. It's an involved job - not easy at all. That's why it's nice to try the easy stuff.

I've held off changing the heater core in my '92 for about 4 years now by using a half-bottle (4 oz) of Bars Leaks every year. It'll happen eventually, but I'm not hurting anything. And on every car I go around and tighten the hose clamps after the first cold snap in the late fall, and again in mid-spring.

posted by 192.249....
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