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I have a 2000 Ford Crown Victoria. Recently, the heat in my car has smelled like coolant and the windows fog up. I took it to a shop and the guy told me the heater core is leaking. He said it would be about $650-$700 to do it.
Does the price sound about right? Is he right that is is the heater core that is bad and isn't something else? I just want to make sure the the heater core is the problem before I pay a few hundred dollars.
The symptoms that you report are the classic symptoms of a leaking heater core, and it is very unlikely that anything else is causing the problem.
As to cost, this is one of the classic--cheap parts, very expensive labor--situations. The heater core itself is most likely less than $50, but gettting to it is...a really big job on most modern cars. If yours is like many others, it will actually require removal of the entire dashboard, and that involves disconnecting and later reconnecting, an incredible number of electrical connectors, and possibly also vacuum hoses and other components.
I suggest that you shop around a bit on this job. While the price that was quoted is actually pretty typical for this job, you may be able to get it for less.
Incidentally, I would suggest that you NOT delay this repair, simply because you are breathing the same greasy fumes that are smearing your windows. Many years ago, I had a leaking heater core that I was not aware of for a couple of weeks, and I wound up with some really serious lung problems as a result. Those fumes are very bad for your lungs, and if you have children in the car, the fumes are particularly dangerous to them.
If you want to postpone the repairs (and spending big money), you can simply bypass the heater core. This way you will have no heating inside, but won't have to breathe the fumes either.
Typical poor design by Ford. They put the heater core deep inside where it is almost inaccessible, despite the core being a common item that fails. Also, I have heard stories where the dash never fits back right after being dismantled by a shop.
Subram is correct. Your mechanic can just make a loop in the heater hose, from the engine's water outlet back to the engine's water inlet, without any connection to the heater. That will buy you some time, assuming that you don't live in an area of the country that makes a heater/defroster necessary at this time of year. If you get windshield icing at this time of year, disconnecting the heater core is not a safe way to go.
And, yes, getting the dashboard back into place correctly is not always that simple. With my '86 Taurus, I had to take the car back twice, following heater core replacement. The first time was to properly reposition the dashboard, and the second visit was to reconnect wiring to the instrument cluster that had been left disconnected when everything was put back together.
Typical poor design by Ford. They put the heater core deep inside where it is almost inaccessible, despite the core being a common item that fails. Also, I have heard stories where the dash never fits back right after being dismantled by a shop.
I've heard this on every type of vehicle. Two friends own mechanic shops, and they and their guys have complained about heater cores for years, on anything they've had in their shops, mostly Euro imports.
Given that the OP is in Rustylvania, he might want to evaluate the overall condition of the car, and how much remaining service he expects out of it, before going for this repair.
Typically a heater core R&R means taking the dash apart pretty thoroughly - frankly a lot of mechanics do a poor job of this, it's fiddly work, time consuming, they don't like it.
Given that the OP is in Rustylvania, he might want to evaluate the overall condition of the car, and how much remaining service he expects out of it, before going for this repair.
Typically a heater core R&R means taking the dash apart pretty thoroughly - frankly a lot of mechanics do a poor job of this, it's fiddly work, time consuming, they don't like it.
It has about 141,000 miles on it and is starting to show some rust. Repairs have been kept up to date. I hope to get a few more years out of it.
Estimated labor time to do this is about 6.5 hours, which includes removal of the dash to access the heater core, with a factory list price of $150 for the heater core.
Due to the labor involved, this is not a job you want done with a "cheapie" aftermarket heater core installed. I've seen way too many of these which fail in a much shorter time than the OE quality heater cores; often within a year or two of replacement.
FWIW, this scope of work isn't limited to Ford design, per asubram3 ... it's typical of many car brands on the road today, including GM, Chrysler, and many imports.
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