Possible Heater Core leak?

[Shawn]

Hi Guys,

I have a 98 GMC Jimmy 4×4 and I’ve been smelling raidator fluid for a week now inside the cab and the newest symptom is my windows are fogging up real bad when I run the a/c or heater. I’m not a smoker and I always keep my inside window clean. Any ideas?

If this is a leak in the heater core I’m wondering how much work this is to replace and if there are any tricks you guys could suggest that would save me some time in replacing it.

Topic

[Charles]

Are you loosing coolant? Is the carpet wet? Do you see spots on the ground where it was parked? As a test, bypass the heater core. For the experience go to a u-pull-it type salvage yard and practice taking out the heater core.

[college man]

it does sound like the heater core.as suggested look for
wet spots on the carpet.can you smell coolant? check
where the heater core hoses connect to the heater core.
just to be sure a hose/connection is not leaking.
If you do need to change it.here is the procedure.

http://www.justanswer.com/car/0ec05-1998-gmc-jimmy-cant-heater-core-exposed.html

[EricTheCarGuy]

If the carpet is wet on the passenger side and the window fog has a ‘film’ or oily feel to it, it’s likely you have a leaking heater core. You could also do a pressure test and look for drips under the dash.

Keep us posted on what you find.

[Shawn]

Yep, I def. had the foggy, filmy windows and the carpet under both floor mats were soaked. All in all it took about 12 hours to complete spread over 3 nights.

Here’s a video overview of the process

https://youtube.com/watch?v=NrNuQmWG_rk

Thanks for the help guys.

[college man]

Big job.Glad to hear it all worked out.

[EricTheCarGuy]

Nice work. Thanks for posting the video. Thanks also for keeping us up to date and for using the ETCG forum.

[Author]

Replies