Leaky heater core? '90 Celica

wrote in message

>I turned my heat on yesterday as I drove in the morning. I don't
> usually use the heat because the days have been rather warm. I took it
> into a garage to have my exhaust inspected and after raising the
> vehicle, both myself and the mechanic noticed that there was a steady
> antifreeze drip coming from my car. We lowered it and noticed that it
> was coming from a tube coming from the firewall. The leak is just
> outside the firewall and steadily drips whenever the heater is on.

> The mechanic told me that it was the heater core and that it would need
> to be replaced to solve the issue. The repair is rather expensive
> ($800?) and not something I want to repair right this instant
> considering I am not going to seriously need heat until the end of
> fall.

The heater core is inside the passenger compartment under the passenger side
of the dashboard.

When you say that the leak is coming from a tube coming from the firewall,
what is the diameter of the "tube" and where is the tube located?

If the "tube" is a black rubber hose and hose is leaking in the engine
compartment, you may be able to just replace the heater hose. Better yet,
send me a picture of the hose with something pointing to the source of the
leak and i can tell you.

> I was reading through this group and noticed that a few causes of the
> issue could be a blown head gasket. I do believe my car may have this
> issue because it sometimes seems to burn oil (though I recently checked
> my oil dipstick after an oil change and didn't notice any drop in the
> oil from when I originally did the oil change about a week ago).

A blown head gasket will not directly cause a heater hose or heater core to
leak.

>
> Would it be safe to have the heater core replaced if I suspect my head
> gasket is blown? It'd be a shame to have it replaced only to find out
> less than a year later it would have to be replaced again.
>
> Any words of advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
>

There is no physical danger to replacing the heater core if you suspect that
the head gasket is blown. If you are wondering if you should spend the
money to replace a heater core if the head gasket is blown, then you should
check the head gasket first. Look for signs of oil in the coolant - you can
see the oil floating on top of the coolant in the overflow bottle or in the
radiator. Look for signs of coolant in the oil - when you drain the oil
into a pan, it will have a milkshake appearance. Have the compression
checked and a leakdown test performed.

Why do you think the engine is burning oil? Are you seeing clouds of bluish
smoke any time? Do you know for sure that the oil is not just leaking?
--

Ray O
(correct punctuation to reply)
 >> Stay informed about: Leaky heater core? '90 Celica 

Does the car run OK? I think the car runs quite well. I get excellent
gas mileage, it seems to run smoothly, doesn't overheat (though the
temperature gauge remains at cold when I'm driving then when idling,
the gauge will slowly rise).

The car sat for about three years and is just now being driven again.
When I first got the vehicle I would see an oil smelling smoke coming
from the exhaust manifold. The smoke seemed to stop after I drove it
for several hundred miles. I would constantly smell burning oil but the
smell seems to have gone away. There are days when I think there could
be blue smoke coming from the muffler but most of the time the exhaust
just seems to be "rather stinky."

The location of the hose...? It is almost in the center of the
passenger side of the vehicle and sits about a few inches from where
the hood would rest. As far as a picture, I can't seem to find my
camera. If I do locate it, I will post a link to a picture.

I also suspected that the heater core may be leaking because I read
posts on this group about windows fogging up when using the defrost. It
seems that when it rains, my windshield quickly get fogged and when I
use the heated defrost, it takes several minutes to clear the
windshield. However, if I use the A/C (on cold) to defrost my
windshield, it seems to not even take a minute. From what I gathered
from the posts I read, this is caused from a leaky heater core (though
I do not smell any antifreeze).

Tomorrow I will check the hose. What should I be looking for when I am
checking it? How should I go about checking it? If I purchased a clamp,
could I try to tighten the hose as a quick "test" solution?

THANKS AGAIN. This is rather helpful. Hopefully I won't need to shell
out $800 for a heater core repair (and if it is the heater core, I'll
be sure to find somewhere that won't charge me $800).

toyomoho wrote:
> Burning oil may not be related to a blown head gasket. Does the car run
> OK? Why did you put it up on the rack? As the other posters state, it
> could be something else beside the heater core. If it is the heater
> core and you are not ready to replace it. You may be able to clamp off
> the coolant hoses going to the core or bypass it.
>
> Check related TN threads at the bottom of this page.
>
>
> --
> toyomoho
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> toyomoho's Profile: http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/member.php?userid=59151
> View this thread: http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/showthread.php?t=154459
 >> Stay informed about: Leaky heater core? '90 Celica 

Burning oil may not be related to a blown head gasket. Does the car run
OK? Why did you put it up on the rack? As the other posters state, it
could be something else beside the heater core. If it is the heater
core and you are not ready to replace it. You may be able to clamp off
the coolant hoses going to the core or bypass it.

Check related TN threads at the bottom of this page.


--
toyomoho
------------------------------------------------------------------------
toyomoho's Profile: http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/member.php?userid=59151
View this thread: http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/showthread.php?t=154459
 >> Stay informed about: Leaky heater core? '90 Celica 

wrote in message

> Does the car run OK? I think the car runs quite well. I get excellent
> gas mileage, it seems to run smoothly, doesn't overheat (though the
> temperature gauge remains at cold when I'm driving then when idling,
> the gauge will slowly rise).
>
> The car sat for about three years and is just now being driven again.
> When I first got the vehicle I would see an oil smelling smoke coming
> from the exhaust manifold. The smoke seemed to stop after I drove it
> for several hundred miles. I would constantly smell burning oil but the
> smell seems to have gone away. There are days when I think there could
> be blue smoke coming from the muffler but most of the time the exhaust
> just seems to be "rather stinky."

You probably just burn off 3 years of leaking oil at once.

>
> The location of the hose...? It is almost in the center of the
> passenger side of the vehicle and sits about a few inches from where
> the hood would rest. As far as a picture, I can't seem to find my
> camera. If I do locate it, I will post a link to a picture.

You are not describing the heater core, it sounds more like a heater hose.
>
> I also suspected that the heater core may be leaking because I read
> posts on this group about windows fogging up when using the defrost. It
> seems that when it rains, my windshield quickly get fogged and when I
> use the heated defrost, it takes several minutes to clear the
> windshield. However, if I use the A/C (on cold) to defrost my
> windshield, it seems to not even take a minute. From what I gathered
> from the posts I read, this is caused from a leaky heater core (though
> I do not smell any antifreeze).

Some fogging on rainy days is normal, especially if you do not smell
antifreeze. It does not sound like a leaking heater core.

>
> Tomorrow I will check the hose. What should I be looking for when I am
> checking it? How should I go about checking it? If I purchased a clamp,
> could I try to tighten the hose as a quick "test" solution?

Look for swelling on the hose, cracks, or leaks where the clamps are. If it
is leaking from the area where the clamp is, try tightening the clamp before
purchasing a new clamp.
>
> THANKS AGAIN. This is rather helpful. Hopefully I won't need to shell
> out $800 for a heater core repair (and if it is the heater core, I'll
> be sure to find somewhere that won't charge me $800).

If you cannot stop the leak, get a second opinion besides the place that
told you it is the heater core.

Good luck!

--

Ray O
(correct punctuation to reply)
 >> Stay informed about: Leaky heater core? '90 Celica