This only happens when the heat is turned on in the car. When it is on and warmed up I can smell coolant inside. The floor isn't wet, so I don't think that the box broke. What else is there?

Thanks,
Mike

 

Sounds to me like the heater core is on the way out. Have you replaced this lately. I had a slight coolant smell a while back that I could not track down and low and behold I started to leak coolant onto the passenger side floor board one night on the way home.

After that I consulted a buddy who is a top notch mechanic and he told me that the camaro is rather notorious for having hearter core problems. I by-passed mine and still have not fixed it. It is about a $600 job and any shop.

I just took the dash pad off my car this past weekend to take a look at the job at hand and I was not pleased. It will be a pain.
But I will get it done.

 

where did you bypass the heater at?

 

Yep, your heater core's on the way out.
Smelled mine for months before I saw any leakage.
It's a P.I.T.A., but it can be done without removing the dashpad.Just plan on laying with your head in the passenger-side footwell for a couple hours.If you have back problems, you might be better off paying someone to do it.
You can bypass it in the engine compartment between the intake manifold and radiator,depending on if you have a heater control valve.
Nice thing about having someone else do it, is you'll have some kind of guarantee of how long it will last.I replaced mine with one I bought at Kragen's and had to replace that one a week later.
Remember, a lifetime guarantee doesn't mean it'll last a lifetime, just that you can replace it for a lifetime.Buy a good one!
-Rich-

 

You can "Bypass" the heater by taking the hose coming out of the water pump and running it to the radiator where the other hose for the heater ties in at. Right below the rad. cap is where I'm talking about. Hope that helps.
Replacing the heater core should only cost about $30 and some time if you do it yourself. Going to a shop to get it done will cost mucho $$.

 

On the firewall in front of the passenger there are two hoses. These hoses go into and out of the heater core. Pull these two hoses off (the top one easy, the bottom was tough to get to due to confined space) and connect them with a piece of pipe and two hose clamps.

I have not notice any cooling problem or restriction. The only problem you will have is that you will have not heat in the passenger compartment.

But living in Phoenix I have not found this to be a great problem. In fact I used the a/c on the way to work today.

 

Mike,

I gues I should say that I have a '92 RS and that is the way I did it with my car. I don't know if it is the same on an '89.

Good luck.

Bill

 

Yes, its the same on my '89. Although - I've changed the core twice and its not that difficult - just time consuming. Let me know if you need some advice with the install. The core itself is only $25 if that for a good Jer-Dan unit at your local parts shop. And now would be a good time for a coolant flush as well. Prestone sell a flush kit with all the hardware for $7. Good luck either way

 

cool guys,

I won't get to do it until may atleast when I get home from school, it sounds like something a little excessive to do in the parking lot at school...

I'll keep ya'll informed though.
Mike

 

One other thing, since you can smell the coolant in the passenger compartment but have not seen a leak yet, when you open up that box be prepared to have some coolant leak out. Probably not much since it is not leaking already. But if you can smell it, it is getting out somewhere. Have some towels and newpaper standing by so your carpet does not take the worst of it.

Good luck.

Bill

 

how long do you think that I'll be able to let it sit before it goes? If I just don't use the heat will it still burst? Or should I just splice it now?

Mike

 

Well there is always coolant in the heater core. But if you don't use the heater you just won't cycle out what is in there. But what is in there could leak at any time. Also when you take those hoses off to couple them together you can probably expect the leak to get worse due to breaking the vacuum seal on the system. But at that point it will only leak what is in the heater core and that may not be very much.

As far as how long do you have before it leaks. I don't think there would be any way to tell.

Bill

 

Yeah, I've seen them last months after smelling coolant, before actually dumping coolant in the passenger footwell.I've also seen them go without any warning whatsoever.It's strictly a luck thing at this point.
-Rich-

 

Damn! This must be "Heater Core Week" here at the old ThirdGen Ranch...

That must be the eighth post or more I've seen on heater cores between TBI / TPI / and Tech Boards.

Burnt - What year / model is your car?

 

When it rains it pours...

Vader, mine is an 89 RS. Where would it be easiest to splice the hoses together? at the heater core or the control valve? I'd like to drag race it for a while before I get home...

Mike