Steaming vents

Topic: Steaming vents (Read 2879 times) previous topic - next topic

Steaming vents

January 12, 2007, 03:51:50 PM

My a/c vents emit a light mist of antifreeze steam constantly. I figured it was antifreeze steam because of the way it smells. I hav found that it gets better if I blow the air 100% (which fogs the whole interior for a moment) and let it get the accumulation out. After that it is only a very small amount of steam.

Am I gonna die from inhaling this ? This same steam appears to also be coming out from under the car just behind the front passenger tire.

One day this will be a problem free ride. We are slowly getting there.

Steaming vents

Reply #1 – January 12, 2007, 04:36:50 PM

Time for a heater core change...sorry.
The fumes aren't really that noxious but they are annoying...especially in the wintertime.

But if it helps, there is a guide on my site for changing the heater core. Makes things a lot easier.
http://www.coolcats.net/tech/troubleshooting/heatercore.html

Steaming vents

Reply #2 – January 14, 2007, 04:05:11 AM

Quote from: btwodu;123387

My a/c vents emit a light mist of antifreeze steam constantly. I figured it was antifreeze steam because of the way it smells. I hav found that it gets better if I blow the air 100% (which fogs the whole interior for a moment) and let it get the accumulation out. After that it is only a very small amount of steam.

Am I gonna die from inhaling this ? This same steam appears to also be coming out from under the car just behind the front passenger tire.

One day this will be a problem free ride. We are slowly getting there.

Ah ! You will have a "funny" heater core job!!!, I dont want to do this again on My bird, holy shiznit!...

Steaming vents

Reply #3 – January 18, 2007, 12:50:33 PM

The heater core job is the worst thing I've ever had to go through. I'd rather have a root cbuttstuff than do one again.

The same thing is happening to my Bird. I did this replacement two years ago and now the new one is shot. I called Ford and they want 900 bucks to do it. Looks like I'll be doing it again.

The heater core is the one reason I would never again own a Thunderbird. I hate the job to my...core. It's a piss poor design but if I intend to keep the car, I'll have to do it...along with upgrading the AC system to whatever that new is.

Not a fun day in my world today!

Chris

Steaming vents

Reply #4 – January 18, 2007, 01:12:48 PM

http://www.barsproducts.com/product.cfm?id=37

Not the ideal fix for me, but I don't want to spend 12 hours on the core replacement.

Chris

Steaming vents

Reply #5 – January 18, 2007, 01:15:07 PM

Quote from: Chris1987LX;124417

Not the ideal fix for me, but I don't want to spend 12 hours on the core replacement.

I'm probably in the 5th percentile for slowness when I work on cars and it took me ~8 hours for the first core, under 5 for the second, and under 4 for the third.

Steaming vents

Reply #6 – January 18, 2007, 01:22:56 PM

3rd core? Good god. After my soon-approaching 2nd core, I'm done. When that fails I'll just do without heat. Maybe by then she'll just be a show queen.

Ford makes a real py core. It's built in Mexico along with all of the other little parts that have failed for me. 6,000 miles and two winters is a real short time for a heater core to last. I just spent 400 bucks having my AC system fixed...tell me again why I love my car?

Sorry to high jack this thread, but I've had it up to here with the py parts and piss poor design by Ford.

Chris

Steaming vents

Reply #7 – January 18, 2007, 01:32:30 PM

Quote from: Chris1987LX;124422

3rd core? Good god.

1st core was for the '85 to replace the factory original.
2nd core was for the '87 to replace the factory original.
3rd core was for the '87 (1 year later) because I tweaked the inlet pipe upon installation on the previous core and it sprung a leak.
The replacement has made it two years so far.

Steaming vents

Reply #8 – January 18, 2007, 08:59:58 PM

wait a second, if the heater core goes bad you get this mist problem.. and thus also means you lose your heater? i've had my car now for going on 4 years, and in the past 2 i've noticed said mist. but my heater still works, granted it never gets buring hot, but it does it's job. and i've never had a smell from the mist, i'll just see it out of the corner of my eye as im driving. and really it only does it when a window is cracked or the moonroof is cracked. my dad put some sort of stop leak in it before i moved out and it stopped the mist for a couple months but its back... if memory serves me right, the heater core is behind the dash correct? so thats an entire dash removal job eh? if i was ganna go that far to fix something thats barely broken... i may as well take advantage of it and use the time for mods such as guages, dash pad, etc.

Steaming vents

Reply #9 – January 18, 2007, 09:23:50 PM

if you dont have the ac unit on the engine,, just route your hoses to the ac core fittings on the firewall.

i plan on cutting out the duct to remove the core like crystal did, Cutting three sides of a rectangle and pulling the core through, then sealing up the door you just cut out with whatever suits you.

Autocat-,yes you can have heat and have a bad core.

Steaming vents

Reply #10 – January 18, 2007, 09:25:56 PM

Well...the heater core in my old '88 T-Bird Sport was pretty much bad from the day I got it. Had the car for 5+ years and never changed the core. Did the same things as what you're describing too. Fun part was when the thermostat opened and I put the ATC on full blast...I got a fine powdery dust to shoot out from the vents LOL.

It is entirely possible to have a heater core that is technically bad, but still functions fine for sometimes years. Right now if you're not smelling antifreeze inside the car, and/or it's not leaking antifreeze in the cabin or the engine bay, and you're still getting good heat...let it go for now. Wait until you have a definitive problem to change it. True, you're on borrowed time right now but it's better to run it out for its full life while it's still performing correctly.

Steaming vents

Reply #11 – January 18, 2007, 09:31:24 PM

The second core took me just over two hours......

Steaming vents

Reply #12 – January 22, 2007, 12:29:48 AM

I changed my core in less time than it took me to change my intake manifold. It's really not that bad if you follow Eric's instructions on CoolCats. Just take your time.

Steaming vents

Reply #13 – January 22, 2007, 12:53:42 AM

Quote from: jcassity;124492

if you dont have the ac unit on the engine,, just route your hoses to the ac core fittings on the firewall.

i plan on cutting out the duct to remove the core like crystal did, Cutting three sides of a rectangle and pulling the core through, then sealing up the door you just cut out with whatever suits you.

Autocat-,yes you can have heat and have a bad core.

are you referring to cutting a rectangle into the firewall and removing it through there? in theory, to me, it wouldn't be a bad idea at all. could even make a nice looking plate and use screws to hold the plate on. i unno, i guess i'd actually have to see it. lord knows i don't wanna tear the dash out when my time comes to.

Steaming vents

Reply #14 – January 22, 2007, 10:11:47 AM

Quote from: jncocowboyx;125020

are you referring to cutting a rectangle into the firewall and removing it through there? in theory, to me, it wouldn't be a bad idea at all. could even make a nice looking plate and use screws to hold the plate on. i unno, i guess i'd actually have to see it. lord knows i don't wanna tear the dash out when my time comes to.

The heater core is in a plastic hvac box behind the dash. To my mind it would be much easier to remove the dash than to hack up your firewall and hvac box... But you dont even have to remove the entire dash. You only have to drop the steering column and loosen the dash enough to pull it out of the way. I attatched a pic of how far I had to pull mine out. Also there's a pic of the hvac box. I circled the heater core lid. This is on an 86 so yours will probably differ a little but I'm sure the prinl is the same.

I dont understand why people are cutting things up to do this job. It's really NOT THAT DIFFICULT to do right. It's just a PITA.