Just replaced the water pump on Sunday, and on Tuesday I had what I think must be a heater core blow-up. While waiting in traffic a a metered freeway on-ramp I heard some gurgling, saw my temp gauge pegged and saw steam coming up onto the windshield. Pulled over and got a tow home. Don't see any coolant in the engine compartment anywhere, but there was plenty on the flatbed (drove the car up on it) and there is none in the reservoir.

I didn't get any coolant on the floor in the car. Looking in the aquarium I don't see any coolant (though I can't see down to the bottom of it. Heater hoses are intact and attached.

Obviously I want to be absolutely sure it's the heater core before I go in to replace it, since I know by experience how ugly a job it is. It's been years since I first started smelling coolant in the cabin, but I've been using leak-stop effectively since then. I wonder if having the coolant drained for more than a week weakened the leak-stop plug. I did add some more when I added coolant after the water pump job, but I used what was on the shelf - the kind with the pellets instead of the silver flakey kind I had been using, and I didn't add the full amount.

Is this classic heater core failure? Can the core literally blow out dumping coolant out into the aquarium with none draining into the cabin? Is there any possibility that this could be something other than the heater core? When I replaced the heater core in my Aero a few months ago, I could see that there had been a small leak for quite a while, but it's hard to imagine how that could become a gusher.

posted by 69.241.124...

• How does a heater core die?, techlectic, Mon, 21 Dec 2009 12:25:36 <-- Viewing This Message
  • Did you bleed system?, Marvin Stockman, Tue, 22 Dec 2009 18:48:58
    • Didn't think there was such a thing, techlectic, Mon, 28 Dec 2009 16:57:18
  • Re: You can bypass the htr core temporarily, DanaH, Tue, 22 Dec 2009 12:14:46
  • Re: I had a similar failure..., Street, Mon, 21 Dec 2009 17:25:29
  • Important Clue: Just replaced the water pump on Sunday,, Bill Homer , Mon, 21 Dec 2009 13:55:26
    • Re: Important Clue: Just replaced the water pump on Sunday,, techlectic, Mon, 21 Dec 2009 19:21:57
      • Re: Important Clue: Just replaced the water pump on Sunday,, bob bitchen, Mon, 21 Dec 2009 21:21:37
        • think it's coincidence with the pump, techlectic, Thu, 24 Dec 2009 01:28:57
        • Yes, might be plastic joining tubes in heater core hose, Bill Homer , Tue, 22 Dec 2009 07:52:56
          • Re: Yes, might be plastic joining tubes in heater core hose, F. Davalos, Wed, 23 Dec 2009 05:21:47
    • clarify the steam bit..., Mr. Bubble, Mon, 21 Dec 2009 15:16:10
  • Re: How does a heater core die?, Mr. Bubble, Mon, 21 Dec 2009 13:08:29

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