Questionmy jimmy's heater (149000 miles) is blowing cold air and it also has a radiator fluid smell.
i flushed the radiator yesterday. it is blowing warm air but not hot air. my radiator does not appear to be corroded. I saw some white flakes outside of the cap so thinking that it might be a leak, i changed the radiator cap and overflow hose.
two things i think it might be...plugged heater core, or possibly a stuck flap when it switches from cool to hot. I took the dash apart last night but could not find the flap. If possible, do you have a diagram or a website where I could obtain a diagram?
thank you for all your help.
Scott
AnswerHi Scott,
OK, In 90% of cases when you can smell coolant coming out of the dash vents and or you get a sticky misty residue on the inside of the windshield when you have the defrosters ON this is classic signgs of a HEATER CORE leaking of which will require replacement.
Occassionally I have seen under the hood in the engine compartment where the heater hoses attach to the heater core tubes at the firewall one or both of the hoses is loose and is spraying a small stream of coolant into the heater core compartment.
Check the tightness of these clamps on the hoses and look for signs of coolant leaks at the hoses in the engine compartment. If you cannot find any leaks you most likely have a HEATER CORE leaking.
To be SURE, You can take the vehicle into a reputable relaible reapir facility and have your cooling system PRESSURE TESTED of which will cause the leaking component to expel coolant at the leak site. The cost for this PRESSURE TESTING runs about $30.00.
Replacing the heater core runs about $00 to $600 for parts and labor. These costs vary upon repair facility and geographical location of the vehicle.
let me know.
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Sometimes when you have to replace a part, I will askyou if I can have the old part, As I rebuild them and sell them for extra income. I will pay the shipping costs as long as it does not exceed $10.00.
Retired in New Mexico and teaching my son to learn the trade.
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