hgray14 Posted January 31, 2010 Report Share Posted January 31, 2010 My daily driver has been getting worse and worse smelling inside. I keep a very clean car so I know it isn't food or anything like that. My first thought was the heater core (not sure if it is my imagination or not but I swore I faintly smelled antifreeze) but my floors are bone dry. Now that the weather has changed I notice steamed up windows when I come out to my car, which I thought meant a blown or leaky heater core...but again, no fluid on the floors at all. Is there any way to check the heater core? Could it be the cabin filter? If it is the heater core, how hard of a job is it to replace? Is it worth spending the time yanking one from a junkyard or should I just buy one on ebay? I am assuming it is hard to tell if they are okay at a junk yard since the coolant has been removed. I checked one of my cars and found that the cabin filter was soaked. It seems like a major design flaw in these cars because the water seems to be able to flow down onto the top of those filters from under the plastic plate that sits under the wipers. I caulked the crap out of that car but of coarse the only way to check and see if water is staying out is to pull it apart again, which breaks the caulk seal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gilhuly Posted January 31, 2010 Report Share Posted January 31, 2010 Have you checked the A/C drain? I think if you were to pull up the carpet, you'd find wet padding. That moisture on the windows is coming from someplace and if you don't have foggy windows when running the defrost the actual heater core is fine. Many times the connection to the heater core at the o-rings is flaky and leaks slowly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hgray14 Posted January 31, 2010 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2010 Have you checked the A/C drain? I think if you were to pull up the carpet, you'd find wet padding. That moisture on the windows is coming from someplace and if you don't have foggy windows when running the defrost the actual heater core is fine. Many times the connection to the heater core at the o-rings is flaky and leaks slowly. I will check it out but I am running deep plastic foot liners so I would think that I would either see drips in those or else moisture under them since they wouldn't allow it to evapurate as fast as usual. That is good news about the foggy windows. No, when I run the defroster the windows don't fog at all. Where is the A/C drain and where in the firewall is the heater core connection so I can check it? thanks again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSwedeSpotRVA Posted February 1, 2010 Report Share Posted February 1, 2010 I will check it out but I am running deep plastic foot liners so I would think that I would either see drips in those or else moisture under them since they wouldn't allow it to evapurate as fast as usual. That is good news about the foggy windows. No, when I run the defroster the windows don't fog at all. Where is the A/C drain and where in the firewall is the heater core connection so I can check it? thanks again Okay, i have a known bad heater core. I too notice a stale odor. My car remains damp "feeling", (nothing actually wet or soaked) and fogs after driving a while. However, when I run the defroster, the fog GOES AWAY. So it is still possible that it may be the heater core in your case. I also have a very faint odor of coolant, which is also indicative of Heater core malfunction. I consulted with a guy at IPD who is active on Turbobricks, and he said that, in his opinion, a used heater core would be satisfactory and should serve me well. I would not buy one from a jy however (aside from the pain of pulling one, you don't know if it's any good either). Ebay sells them, and they are tested, so you can be sure you're not getting another bad one. in the good news category, they can be had from good sellers for as little as 35 dollars with a 30 day warranty. From what I understand they are not fun to install, as they require going behind the dash for access. I don't think this sounds like the AC...you would have wetter carpet and the car would smell like stagnant water. if you smell a vague musty smell and a faint a/f odor, I would bet money it is your heater core. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gilhuly Posted February 1, 2010 Report Share Posted February 1, 2010 If your fogginess goes away when you put on the defrost then there is nothing wrong with the actual heater core. Take off the lower trim on the driver's and pass side and get the panels off that cover the area under the dash behind the center console. If you have a factory amp its in there and needs to come out. You will be able to see after pulling back the floor carpet to the rubber trails of coolant coming off the Heater core hoses. Your problem is the o-rings more than likely. I found the ones that FCP sells to be insufficient to fix the problem. Go to a hardware store and get o-rings that are the same diameter, but a little beefier, stick them on and reinstall the HC. If you have a bad heater core it will fog your windshield worse when the defrost is on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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