Heater Core replacement?

[brethern3]

Originally Posted by Deez Nuttz

brethern it sounds like you're seeing a steam cloud of antifreeze. Does it fog up your windshield/hard to wipe off and have a sweet smell to it?

Ya, it smells like coolant and my windows fog up a little but I didn't know if it was smoke or steam.

[Deez Nuttz]

If that's the case, then your heater core is leaking. You can either have it bypassed for now so it will stop steaming up the windows (you won't have any heat though) or you can have it fixed.

[brethern3]

I'm gonna most likely get it fixed because it is leaking coolant but I have yet to find where it is leaking too.

[TechGromit]

Originally Posted by brethern3

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?

I had the same exact issue and was short on money, so I was able to bypass the heating core by attaching the rubber hoses to a short piece of copper pipe and ran without a heater core. Worked fine, but I didn't have any heat in the van that winter. A heater core is just a copper pipe that goes back and forth a few times and aluminum fins are attached to it. As the hot water from the engine flows through the core, air is blow passed it to give you heat. I later replaced the core myself, it was an easy job, but I had a Econoline Ford Van at the time, the core was under the dash, not behind it.