Leakage Perhaps, Any Tips?

[Micetic]

Hello All,

Another question that is unrelated to the other problems I have listed.

The last three days here in Oregon we have had the Hawaiian Express, a.k.a. torrential rains. The floor carpeting on the passenger side in the front is slightly damp, about where the door meets the frame and near the door. I am unable to locate any drip point above from the window, door, or glove box.

Has anyone else had this type of problem? Any tips would be appreciated, thanks!

[Ivan D.]

Check around the air inlet for the HVAC system, its in the right side of teh car right in front of the windshield, there is a plastic net-thingie above it protecting it from sucking in leaves. There is a foamy gasket between the plastic mesh and the sheetmetal of the body, that is supposed to keep water from running down in the air inlet. Problem is that with age the plastic mesh gets distorted and deformed, and no longer seals rainwater out. Solution - plumber's silicone/caulk, take the plastic out, lose the foam gasket (or the remains of it), put a thick bead of the silicone on the plastic's edge where the gasket was, wait till it gets halfway solid, install the plastic mesh back on the sheetmetal, and silicone the heck out of its surroundings. Worked for me, should work fo you too.

[Micetic]

I will check that out, thanks!!!

[Creo]

Hello All,

Another question that is unrelated to the other problems I have listed.

The last three days here in Oregon we have had the Hawaiian Express, a.k.a. torrential rains. The floor carpeting on the passenger side in the front is slightly damp, about where the door meets the frame and near the door. I am unable to locate any drip point above from the window, door, or glove box.

Has anyone else had this type of problem? Any tips would be appreciated, thanks!

RE: hey... actually if in few days u'll smell that car stinks like crap & floor is wet at front pass. side - usually means the leak in the heater. But if u're sure that it is cuz of rain - i dunno; i am also in OR, but mine doesn't leak:) Take care;)

[Micetic]

RE: hey... actually if in few days u'll smell that car stinks like crap & floor is wet at front pass. side - usually means the leak in the heater. But if u're sure that it is cuz of rain - i dunno; i am also in OR, but mine doesn't leak:) Take care;)

So you think the heater core could be shot? Do you know if there is an easy way to check that?

[zogltc]

I have always found that when a heater core goes out, that if you turn on the defroster, there will be a film that is spewed on the windshield...this is from antifreeze being blown on the windshield by the bvlower motor....

[87 town]

So you think the heater core could be shot? Do you know if there is an easy way to check that?

You should be able to smell the coolant if the heater core is bad, which, by the way, is a weak spot on these cars. I had mine replaced twice in past ten years. You would be wet under the carpet and will smell coolant. Another test....you can run the front window defrosters with heat on and take a peice of dry paper, maybe even from a brown paper bag, and set it up over the defrost vents under the windsheild. You can also maybe tape a peice loosely over the dash vents. If the paper gets damp at all, then heater core is shooting out steam, which means a leak, which means replacement of heater core. If all is dry, then you may just be getting rain water running in throught the vent explained in the other post.
Good Luck.

[joedogg]

Check your antifreeze continously. If you seem to be losing it and it dosent seem to be leaking thats a sign of the heater core. You can replace it or bypass it. Bypass is easy and super cheap, but no heat ever again. Replacement is hard as hell, but cheap.

If you want to bypass just connect the heater hose outlet and inlet on the engine together with a piece of hose of the same type as they already take.

Won't hurt the car, and if the heater core is already FUBAR then who cares about it anyway?

Other than that you may have a rusted spot on the firewall leaking. Thats what mine does, but its on the driver's side. (I'm pretty sure its firewall leak, someone correct me if I'm wrong, please!)

[Micetic]

Well, it seems that it is the heater core that is leaking :(

I would like the opinion of someone who has changed the heater core before, how serious of a job would I be getting myself into? I have done a lot of easy mechanical work, changing alternators, starters, fuel pumps, etc., but never a heater core and the Haynes manual makes it sound pretty difficult.

Is this a job for my amatuer hands or should I take it to a professional?

[cason1]

It can be done by an amatuer but it isn't easy. Took me two days in my 94 and it is very similar to the procedure for yours.

[joedogg]

Well, it seems that it is the heater core that is leaking :(

I would like the opinion of someone who has changed the heater core before, how serious of a job would I be getting myself into? I have done a lot of easy mechanical work, changing alternators, starters, fuel pumps, etc., but never a heater core and the Haynes manual makes it sound pretty difficult.

Is this a job for my amatuer hands or should I take it to a professional?
http://www.lincolnsonline.com/tech/00101.html

And good luck! Bypass it in the mean time, no sense leaking coolant for the time being.

[87 town]

Well, it seems that it is the heater core that is leaking :(

I would like the opinion of someone who has changed the heater core before, how serious of a job would I be getting myself into? I have done a lot of easy mechanical work, changing alternators, starters, fuel pumps, etc., but never a heater core and the Haynes manual makes it sound pretty difficult.

Is this a job for my amatuer hands or should I take it to a professional?

Just an FYI. The last time i had my heater core replaced by a mechanic, about 1 year ago, I paid approx $450. (i think this is about an average cost).

[gadget73]

Its probably 6-9 hours labor you'd expect to pay a shop to change it. Its kind of a pain. Not sure on the newer cars, but on the boxes, if you've done one before, its probably 2-3 hours. If you've never done one, 5-6. It requires unbolting the steering column and laying it on the seat, and unbolting the dashboard to pull away at the top. Once thats down, you can wrestle the box out enough to get the core out, then it all goes back together. I've assisted with two of them, and its annoying.

[zogltc]

Of course, there is another possible solution...STOP LEAK.

BARS has some that is pretty good, and I have been told that it is the same stuff that is put in most cars at the facotry to eliminate small leaks on the new cars....dunno if that is true.

Many people don't like stop leak because it can cause hot spots in the engine block, but if I was planning on keeping the car for a short time or if it had mega miles on it, I would sure consider it...

[gadget73]

stopleak :(

Make sure its actually the core first. Touch the carpet and smell your hand. If it does not smell like coolant, it is quite likely rainwater leaking from somewhere. Bad door seals could be the cause too. If the water is running around the door seal and in at the bottom of the door, or perhaps the door itself is filling up with water and dripping in from under the door panel. There are drain holes in the bottom of the door that clog up.

[87 town]

Of course, there is another possible solution...STOP LEAK.

BARS has some that is pretty good, and I have been told that it is the same stuff that is put in most cars at the facotry to eliminate small leaks on the new cars....dunno if that is true.

Many people don't like stop leak because it can cause hot spots in the engine block, but if I was planning on keeping the car for a short time or if it had mega miles on it, I would sure consider it...
stop leak stops flow and is nothing more than putting metal shavings in your rad. i have used it in the past before and it never really worked either. im really against it personally ansd will only help if leak is in the water pump or rad and not the hoses.

[joedogg]

stop leak stops flow and is nothing more than putting metal shavings in your rad. i have used it in the past before and it never really worked either. im really against it personally ansd will only help if leak is in the water pump or rad and not the hoses.
I agree with this. I thought this stuff was great when it sealed up my hissing radiator on my '93 Skylark. Well it took about 2 days for it to start bubbling again, and within a week it was fully hissing at me again. And yeah, no workie on hoses. If its a hose you wanna replace that thing right away anyway since its integrity is totally compromised and it won't ever be strong again no matter what you do.