Bad heatercore

[sp0rky]

If i see a little bit of steam on my window while driving and my vents have the slight smell of coolant, is it for sure my heatercore?

I really can't afford a new one, especially with labor.. does anybody know where i can find a cheap aftermarket one?

Are they as much of a pain to install as everyone seems to say??

thanks guys.

[dubumb]

what is the heater core for?

[njtech]

sounds like the core is on it's way out. as far as buying a new core I would say, buy it from a local radiator shop just in case of a warranty issue.

[sp0rky]

is it a health hazard to have these vapors entering my car??

[njtech]

the coolant smells sweet doesn't it? I don't know if it's a health hazzard, I hope not I'm around them allday.

[TECH]

If you don't need heat, you can simply bypass the heater core from under the hood. The hoses going in and out of the core can be spliced together.

[Torque]

i smell it often, but I dont care.

[y2khris]

Ok, as Tech just stated, if you dont care about having a heater in the car, or if you just dont have time to do the whole procedure, just look at the hoses going from the motor to the heater core, and just get a hose slightly longer than you need, and just connect the two pipes coming from the motor together.

[sp0rky]

I do need my heat and my defroster, but until i can afford it i guess bypassing it is better than smelling coolant , which can't be too healthy. Only problem is , my heater core has 3 hoses...? im not too sure if thats normal. lol

[vr6Cop]

You should be able to get a new heater core from an aftermarket resource for under $175. They're a PITA to replace, but it should fix the problem.

BTW, I'm getting the same sweet smell in my car, but I hope that it is from where I might have spilled some coolant down in there while replacing the secondary water pump.