I don't know much about my beloved Camaro, although I'm learning :-, so I hope someone can help me with two problems that have just come up.

After parking my car for five days, I went to get into the car, and notice a large puddle of antifreeze underneath the dash on the passenger side. I looked in the coolant reservoir and it was nearly empty. I filled it up and cleaned up the mess. A day later, there's a smaller puddle there. The bottom part of the dash is not leaking, so I assume that the leakage is coming from underneath? What's happening here? Is this difficult to repair?

Secondly, when I turn on the heat, lots of exhaust comes out of the vents. Even when I turn off the heat, the exhaust continues to come out (although not as much). The exhaust also fogs up the windshield, so I can't see! I have anti-fog stuff on the windshield, too.

The right exhaust pipe (I have a dual-exhaust, although not a "true" one, as we all know :0) has been dangling for a while now, but the exhaust problem in the interior has happened just all of a sudden. Does the car take in air from the back of the car and pump it into the interior (after it's heated)? Will fixing the dangling exhaust pipe fix the heating problem too, or is this being caused by something else?

Thanks again for all your help.

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Current Mods:

K&N filter
Fuzzy dice
"Gangsta tint" windows
GM Car bra
GTS blackouts
The Truck Club (for extra security)
Armor All'd dashboard
Slick 50
Drakkar Noir Pouppouri
"Lanechanger" mirror for those pesky blind spots
Aftermarket floor mats
Licence plate covers (chicks love 'em)

 

as for the coolant, look around the heads, or under the heads(big rectangular blocks right under each valve cover if you dont know) and see if any fluids are leaking there. if not, try and find a trail and see if you can trace it back to its source... as for the exhaust, do you hear any unusual noise comming from under the hood when the engine is running? i know on my 83 i used to have, i took the lines off the manifold that recycled the air, and had to plug them with pipe plugs... when one fell out, there was a quite noticable sound , quite annoying i dont konw enough about how the heater works, or how it heats air to tell you why u smell exhaust inside though... one thing, are your pipes totally out the back end of your car? ive heard stories of cars where the pipe ended slightly before the bumper, and the fumes somehow making their way back into the car

 

Sounds like the heater core to me. You won't see any coolant on the bottom side of the dash, because it will run down the firewall to your floorboard. That's also what your probably seeing come out your vents.

 

Prolly the Heater Core, If there is a leak it is quite possible that steam would Blow into the Cab, exhaust isnt going to Fog Up the windsheild, steam sure would.

That would also explain the leak on the passnsger side under the dash, thats exactly where the core is located

try Disconnecting the heater hoses ( two red hoses in the engine bay, one leading from the manifold to the core, the other from the water pump to the core ) and re route the one from the water pump to Bypass the heater and just pump back into the manifold, if the steam/leak stops, then You have nailed the problem !



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85 Z28 - Daily Driver
60 Ranchero - Project ( Money Hole )

 

I Forgot to mention that the Heater Uses Hot Coolant the Heat the air, This is why its very likely that if there is a small leak in that setup, the Hot coolant could vent steam into your air ducts.

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85 Z28 - Daily Driver
60 Ranchero - Project ( Money Hole )

 

Thanks for the help. If I remember correctly, I'm going to have to remove pretty much the entire dashboard to replace it? What's involved and how long would it take?

------------------
Current Mods:

K&N filter
Fuzzy dice
"Gangsta tint" windows
GM Car bra
GTS blackouts
The Truck Club (for extra security)
Armor All'd dashboard
Slick 50
Drakkar Noir Pouppouri
"Lanechanger" mirror for those pesky blind spots
Aftermarket floor mats
Licence plate covers (chicks love 'em)

 

...


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85 Z28 - Daily Driver
60 Ranchero - Project ( Money Hole )

[This message has been edited by Bort62 (edited November 14, 2000).]