GM-GMC: 99 GMC Suburban, cadillac northstar, bars leaks

Question
Yesterday noticed anti-freeze type smell inside suburban while driving. Carpet on front passenger side wet. I want to confirm my suspicion that it is a heater core gone bad or hoses to/from it. I'd like to know how-to fix & degree of ease/difficulty of that project. Thx. John

Answer
John,

Yes, your heater core has a leak.  I cannot tell you how ro replace it as I have not worked on any new vehicles.  I can tell you that replacing a GM heater core on older vehicles is one of the worst jobs to have to do.  The dashboard and/or the housing on the firewall side often have to be taken apart or removed to replace the core.

You might want to try a bottle of Bars Leaks to see if you can stop the leak.  This product is not the one made from powdered aluminum.  It is a brown liquid with pea-sized chunks in it.  It is made from ginger root and crushed walnut shells and it will not harm you engine or cooling system.  GM specifies this type of product for routine maintenance of Cadillac Northstar V-8 cooling systems.

I used it to seal a leak on a cylinder head stud on a GM 6.5 diesel and it worked very well.