User 051420

My heater core blew out in Salt Lake City on my drive to Wyoming on Christmas day. Bad coolant smell, windows fogged up bad. I had it replaced (to the tune of $700) by a mechanic in WY.

Ever since I got it back, there's been a small spot on the middle of the windshield that has always fogged up.
Fast forward to today, I'm low on coolant and I get that strong smell of coolant in the cabin again. Fog is worse.

Could the new heater core be bad? The hoses under the hood are tight, with new clamps. Any ideas what I can check?

WHORERUNNER

there are 2 heater cores, the front(of course) and the one for the rear passengers which is under the front seats. Did they replace both or just the front. Your rear one can be leaking.First check the front one touch the carpet on the passenger side is it dry or wet. If its wet then you have a leak still. Also my rear lines are about to go,check yours. Touch underneath both front seats, if wet then you got a leak. Also get under your runner and you should look right next the exhaust 2 lines going into the middle were the 2 front seats would be that's were your rear heater core is at, They can get really rusty.

MTL_4runner

I also wonder how well they cleaned up the previous mess.....if there was coolant in the ductwork, then you might have it fog up continually until all the coolant had evaporated (and that stuff is not good for you to breathe). You may have to tear into the dash yourself to look at the situation. I doubt it is the hose connection since the hoses are connected to the heater core in the engine compartment (easy to check anyway).

I doubt it is the rear heater core doing this since you said it is still fogging the windshield....here's a pic of the two:


If you need some instruction on removal use this link's search function and type in "heater unit":
http://aarc.epnet.com/application/93...MENDATIONS.htm

User 051420

Thanks Jamie!
I poked around everywhere and the floor, front and rear, is dry. Hoses under the hood are still tight. Control valve under the hood works properly and isn't leaking. Radiator hoses all look perfect, no noticable leaks. tank: empty, smell: horrid.

Two possibilities:

1) The new core is leaking, coolant is heading into heat system and blowing around all the while fogging up my window and giving me cancer.

2) The heater core is fine, and it's just the residue they didn't clean up. Coolant losss is a more serious issue.

Off to the shop it goes. No time to take the dash apart.

User 051420

Guess what...Heater core is bad...again.

Last idiot fractured it on install, and it's not OEM. Crap.

MTL_4runner

If the part is not that badly cracked (like on the tubes or the ends) you might be able to braze/solder it back together, but honestly if it was my vehicle, I'd just pay up for an OEM heater core and ensure I was only going to have to tear into that dash once to fix it.

User 051420

Yah, I'm having them install an OEM core today. Should be done tonight. Time to go after the dude in WY.

MTL_4runner

Too bad you couldn't get any pics because I may have to pull mine in a few weeks to be sure there aren't any deposits in the heater core too (mine is having trouble heating the cabin properly).

User 051420

Do you want me to take pics of the heater core? I haven't gotten the truck back yet.

MTL_4runner

That would be great if it isn't too much trouble!

User 051420

No problem. I'll see what I can do on Tuesday.

MTL_4runner

How much was the OEM heater core (part only)?

User 051420

I found one online for $210..1sttoyoaparts.com (maybe partznet.com). However, I can't afford the downtime associated with shipping from those guys (already been a week), so I'm getting reamed by the stealer and paying the $300 list price.

tacoma728

I searched and found this thread, but i don't think that my heater core is bad because i never smell coolant. If i turn my defrost off for three minutes, "POOF" everything fogged. It stinks because i can't find any coolant leaks or anything.

tacoma728

yeah, still haven't figured this one out