I have a 2001 S10. For a few years now, it has been losing coolant. I
just added a full gallon to the overflow container. I have done that
before, maybe three times now.

I see no evidence of leakage under the truck. Performance seems just
fine. I am wondering....could I have head gasket leakage? Should I
fix it? The truck has 90K miles on it, and has had zero repairs. Uses
no oil.

Thanks

Wei

wrote:
I have a 2001 S10. For a few years now, it has been losing coolant. I
just added a full gallon to the overflow container. I have done that
before, maybe three times now.

I see no evidence of leakage under the truck. Performance seems just
fine. I am wondering....could I have head gasket leakage? Should I
fix it? The truck has 90K miles on it, and has had zero repairs. Uses
no oil.

Thanks

Wei

Since this a home repair newsgroup, you should remember to start the
subject line of non-home-repair related posts with OT so that members will
know that your post is "off topic". At first I thought this might be a
central air conditioning question.

That said, an automobile's coolant system will sometimes only leak when it
is under pressure. The pressure goes up as the engine gets hotter. The leak
then hits the hot engine and evaporates before you ever see it. By the time
the engine cools enough to no longer boil off the leaked fluid, the leak
stops because the pressure goes down. The result is that you won't see any
fluid under the truck.

An auto repair shop can pressurize the system while it is cool and
sometimes reveal the leak. It often doesn't take much pressure to find a
leak in a cracked hose or loose clamp.

On 7/6/2014 7:19 PM, wrote:
I have a 2001 S10.

Thanks

Wei


New kind of home that needs repair?

--
..
Christopher A. Young
Learn about Jesus
www.lds.org
..

On Sun, 06 Jul 2014 19:19:43 -0400, wrote:

I have a 2001 S10. For a few years now, it has been losing coolant. I
just added a full gallon to the overflow container. I have done that
before, maybe three times now.

I see no evidence of leakage under the truck. Performance seems just
fine. I am wondering....could I have head gasket leakage? Should I
fix it? The truck has 90K miles on it, and has had zero repairs. Uses
no oil.

Thanks

Wei

Check your oil level. That will answer your first question.

As to whether you should have it fixed depends what the answer to your
first question. If it ain't broke don't fix it.

On 7/6/14, 6:19 PM, wrote:
I have a 2001 S10. For a few years now, it has been losing coolant. I
just added a full gallon to the overflow container. I have done that
before, maybe three times now.

I see no evidence of leakage under the truck. Performance seems just
fine. I am wondering....could I have head gasket leakage? Should I
fix it? The truck has 90K miles on it, and has had zero repairs. Uses
no oil.

Thanks

Wei

Subaru had some problems with head gaskets a few years ago. One of
the fixes was just to add some radiator sealant. It was a specific
Subaru part. I bought some on Ebay.
I don't know if it was something super special or just regular
coolant system sealant with the Subaru logo.

It certainly COULD be a leaking cylinder head gasket. A small leak will not reduce engine performance sufficiently to be noticable.

I had a 1992 Chevrolet Cavalier that was losing coolant due to a leaking cylinder head gasket, and I only had it repaired once the leakage was bad enough that it was affecting the car's starting and idling. Nowadays most cars have aluminum cylinder heads to save weight, but these are notorious for warping after 100 thousand miles or so and the cylinder head has to be removed, rebuilt and replaced.

But, it would check the simple and cheap stuff first. I would replace the radiator cap. After repeated heating and cooling, the spring tension in the radiator cap can get weak so that your coolant may very well be escaping in the form of steam and ethylene glycol vapours from a radiator cap that's got a weak spring in it. If replacing the radiator cap doesn't resolve the problem, then I'd have the cooling system pressure tested to see if it's holding pressure or not. And, if it's not holding pressure, and the coolant isn't leaking OUT of the engine, then it's leaking IN TO the engine.

Check your oil dipstick. If antifreeze is leaking into the crank case, it'll muck up the oil. If the oil on your dip stick looks normal, then at least you can be confident it's not leaking into the crank case.

Dean Hoffman " wrote:
On 7/6/14, 6:19 PM, wrote:
I have a 2001 S10. For a few years now, it has been losing coolant. I
just added a full gallon to the overflow container. I have done that
before, maybe three times now.

I see no evidence of leakage under the truck. Performance seems just
fine. I am wondering....could I have head gasket leakage? Should I
fix it? The truck has 90K miles on it, and has had zero repairs. Uses
no oil.

Thanks

Wei

Subaru had some problems with head gaskets a few years ago. One of
the fixes was just to add some radiator sealant. It was a specific
Subaru part. I bought some on Ebay.
I don't know if it was something super special or just regular coolant
system sealant with the Subaru logo.

It is my understanding that coolant system sealants can be trouble. Since
it's the job of the particles and the other sealant compounds to find small
passageways that might be leaks, they can block the actual water channels
in older radiators with already partially clogged arteries. They can clog
heater cores too.

I've always heard that at best they will buy you some time, but eventually
you will need to replace whatever was leaking, assuming that they don't
cause more problems in the meantime.

On Mon, 7 Jul 2014 04:08:25 +0200, nestork
wrote:


It certainly COULD be a leaking cylinder head gasket. A small leak will
not reduce engine performance sufficiently to be noticable.

I had a 1992 Chevrolet Cavalier that was losing coolant due to a leaking
cylinder head gasket, and I only had it repaired once the leakage was
bad enough that it was affecting the car's starting and idling.
Nowadays most cars have aluminum cylinder heads to save weight, but
these are notorious for warping after 100 thousand miles or so and the
cylinder head has to be removed, rebuilt and replaced.

But, it would check the simple and cheap stuff first. I would replace
the radiator cap. After repeated heating and cooling, the spring
tension in the radiator cap can get weak so that your coolant may very
well be escaping in the form of steam and ethylene glycol vapours from a
radiator cap that's got a weak spring in it. If replacing the radiator
cap doesn't resolve the problem, then I'd have the cooling system
pressure tested to see if it's holding pressure or not. And, if it's
not holding pressure, and the coolant isn't leaking OUT of the engine,
then it's leaking IN TO the engine.

Check your oil dipstick. If antifreeze is leaking into the crank case,
it'll muck up the oil. If the oil on your dip stick looks normal, then
at least you can be confident it's not leaking into the crank case.
First thing is to check all hose connections for white or pink
powdery residue.. Replace all spring type hose clamps with screw type
clamps. If that doesn't solve it, add a cooling system sealer. A
simple stop-leak cube is usually more than sufficient, ot Knight's
Aluma-seal powder - but follow the directions to the letter. This
will handle external seepage even in a head gasket. If there is no
white foam in the rocker cover, the coolant is not getting into the
oil.

My guess is it is getting out as a vapour at one or more hose
connections.

On Mon, 7 Jul 2014 02:09:43 +0000 (UTC), DerbyDad03
wrote:

Dean Hoffman " wrote:
On 7/6/14, 6:19 PM, wrote:
I have a 2001 S10. For a few years now, it has been losing coolant. I
just added a full gallon to the overflow container. I have done that
before, maybe three times now.

I see no evidence of leakage under the truck. Performance seems just
fine. I am wondering....could I have head gasket leakage? Should I
fix it? The truck has 90K miles on it, and has had zero repairs. Uses
no oil.

Thanks

Wei

Subaru had some problems with head gaskets a few years ago. One of
the fixes was just to add some radiator sealant. It was a specific
Subaru part. I bought some on Ebay.
I don't know if it was something super special or just regular coolant
system sealant with the Subaru logo.

It is my understanding that coolant system sealants can be trouble. Since
it's the job of the particles and the other sealant compounds to find small
passageways that might be leaks, they can block the actual water channels
in older radiators with already partially clogged arteries. They can clog
heater cores too.

I've always heard that at best they will buy you some time, but eventually
you will need to replace whatever was leaking, assuming that they don't
cause more problems in the meantime.
Properly applied they can litterally be lifesavers. And The heater
core on my '57 Fargo went over 20 years without a leak after adding 1
stop leak cube. The important thing is to FOLLOW DIRECTIONS. Second
important thing is to use the right product. I've never had problems
with stop-leak cube or knights alumaseal. (same stuff as silver-seal)
I am not a fan of BarsLeaks, The prestone stuff isn't bad.

wrote:

....Major Snippage Occurred...

I am not a fan of BarsLeaks,

That's the beauty of the InterWeb.

In this thread...

http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/...d.php?t=516862

....a mechanic said:

"...there is one brand I have used for decades without any clogging issues
that I know of, and that is Bar's Leaks. They have several products; I am
referring to the original Bar's Leaks Radiator Stop Leak. It has been used
as a factory-applied product by some vehicle manufacturers. I have no
qualms about using it in my cars or in my customers' cars."

On Sunday, July 6, 2014 11:09:12 PM UTC-4, DerbyDad03 wrote:
wrote:



...Major Snippage Occurred...



I am not a fan of BarsLeaks,



That's the beauty of the InterWeb.



In this thread...



http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/...d.php?t=516862



...a mechanic said:



"...there is one brand I have used for decades without any clogging issues

that I know of, and that is Bar's Leaks. They have several products; I am

referring to the original Bar's Leaks Radiator Stop Leak. It has been used

as a factory-applied product by some vehicle manufacturers. I have no

qualms about using it in my cars or in my customers' cars."

barrs leak clogged my heater core requiring it be replaced. It was a very expensive disassemble the dash to replace the heater core.

The leak was eventually traced to a water pump that only leaked now and then.....

wrote:
I have a 2001 S10. For a few years now, it has been losing coolant. I
just added a full gallon to the overflow container. I have done that
before, maybe three times now.

I see no evidence of leakage under the truck. Performance seems just
fine. I am wondering....could I have head gasket leakage? Should I
fix it? The truck has 90K miles on it, and has had zero repairs. Uses
no oil.

Thanks

Wei

Hi,
If there is no visible leak, coolant can evaporate, or burn.
1. Is rad cap good?
2. Have you cooling system presssure tested?
3. Did you put in dye to detect gasket leak?
4. Is there sweet smell from exhaust?
5. rad hoses, clamps in good order?
6. When is the last time you flushed the cooling system?
7. Is the coolant temp. higher than normal range?

On Sun, 6 Jul 2014 23:37:44 +0000 (UTC), DerbyDad03
wrote:

Since this a home repair newsgroup, you should remember to start the
subject line of non-home-repair related posts with OT so that members will
know that your post is "off topic". At first I thought this might be a
central air conditioning question.

SAT.


That said, an automobile's coolant system will sometimes only leak when it
is under pressure. The pressure goes up as the engine gets hotter. The leak
then hits the hot engine and evaporates before you ever see it. By the time
the engine cools enough to no longer boil off the leaked fluid, the leak
stops because the pressure goes down. The result is that you won't see any
fluid under the truck.

An auto repair shop can pressurize the system while it is cool and
sometimes reveal the leak. It often doesn't take much pressure to find a
leak in a cracked hose or loose clamp.

Okay. I can do that.

Thanks

Wei

On Sun, 06 Jul 2014 21:17:44 -0400, Stormin Mormon
wrote:

On 7/6/2014 7:19 PM, wrote:
I have a 2001 S10.

Thanks

Wei


New kind of home that needs repair?

I posted to alt.cars, and got no response. So I thought to try this
group.
Sorry to bother.

Wei

On Sun, 06 Jul 2014 20:35:45 -0500, Gordon Shumway
wrote:

On Sun, 06 Jul 2014 19:19:43 -0400, wrote:

I have a 2001 S10. For a few years now, it has been losing coolant. I
just added a full gallon to the overflow container. I have done that
before, maybe three times now.

I see no evidence of leakage under the truck. Performance seems just
fine. I am wondering....could I have head gasket leakage? Should I
fix it? The truck has 90K miles on it, and has had zero repairs. Uses
no oil.

Thanks

Wei

Check your oil level. That will answer your first question.

As to whether you should have it fixed depends what the answer to your
first question. If it ain't broke don't fix it.

That has been my feeling for past two years.

Thanks

Wei

On Sun, 06 Jul 2014 20:42:51 -0500, Dean Hoffman
" wrote:

On 7/6/14, 6:19 PM, wrote:
I have a 2001 S10. For a few years now, it has been losing coolant. I
just added a full gallon to the overflow container. I have done that
before, maybe three times now.

I see no evidence of leakage under the truck. Performance seems just
fine. I am wondering....could I have head gasket leakage? Should I
fix it? The truck has 90K miles on it, and has had zero repairs. Uses
no oil.

Thanks

Wei

Subaru had some problems with head gaskets a few years ago. One of
the fixes was just to add some radiator sealant. It was a specific
Subaru part. I bought some on Ebay.
I don't know if it was something super special or just regular
coolant system sealant with the Subaru logo.


I think I remember now that I saw in years past the same product which
I used for pinhole leaks in a radiator I had. I forgot about that.

Thanks

wEI

On Mon, 7 Jul 2014 02:09:43 +0000 (UTC), DerbyDad03
wrote:

Dean Hoffman " wrote:
On 7/6/14, 6:19 PM, wrote:
I have a 2001 S10. For a few years now, it has been losing coolant. I
just added a full gallon to the overflow container. I have done that
before, maybe three times now.

I see no evidence of leakage under the truck. Performance seems just
fine. I am wondering....could I have head gasket leakage? Should I
fix it? The truck has 90K miles on it, and has had zero repairs. Uses
no oil.

Thanks

Wei

Subaru had some problems with head gaskets a few years ago. One of
the fixes was just to add some radiator sealant. It was a specific
Subaru part. I bought some on Ebay.
I don't know if it was something super special or just regular coolant
system sealant with the Subaru logo.

It is my understanding that coolant system sealants can be trouble. Since
it's the job of the particles and the other sealant compounds to find small
passageways that might be leaks, they can block the actual water channels
in older radiators with already partially clogged arteries. They can clog
heater cores too.

I've always heard that at best they will buy you some time, but eventually
you will need to replace whatever was leaking, assuming that they don't
cause more problems in the meantime.

tHANKS

On Sun, 06 Jul 2014 22:42:55 -0400, wrote:


Subaru had some problems with head gaskets a few years ago. One of
the fixes was just to add some radiator sealant. It was a specific
Subaru part. I bought some on Ebay.
I don't know if it was something super special or just regular coolant
system sealant with the Subaru logo.

It is my understanding that coolant system sealants can be trouble. Since
it's the job of the particles and the other sealant compounds to find small
passageways that might be leaks, they can block the actual water channels
in older radiators with already partially clogged arteries. They can clog
heater cores too.

I've always heard that at best they will buy you some time, but eventually
you will need to replace whatever was leaking, assuming that they don't
cause more problems in the meantime.
Properly applied they can litterally be lifesavers. And The heater
core on my '57 Fargo went over 20 years without a leak after adding 1
stop leak cube. The important thing is to FOLLOW DIRECTIONS. Second
important thing is to use the right product. I've never had problems
with stop-leak cube or knights alumaseal. (same stuff as silver-seal)
I am not a fan of BarsLeaks, The prestone stuff isn't bad.


Now that you mention it, I do remember BarsLeaks, which indeed did
work for me. Gad - that was years ago.

Thanks

Wei

On Mon, 7 Jul 2014 03:09:12 +0000 (UTC), DerbyDad03
wrote:

wrote:

...Major Snippage Occurred...

I am not a fan of BarsLeaks,

That's the beauty of the InterWeb.

In this thread...

http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/...d.php?t=516862

...a mechanic said:

"...there is one brand I have used for decades without any clogging issues
that I know of, and that is Bar's Leaks. They have several products; I am
referring to the original Bar's Leaks Radiator Stop Leak. It has been used
as a factory-applied product by some vehicle manufacturers. I have no
qualms about using it in my cars or in my customers' cars."

OK

Wei

On Sun, 6 Jul 2014 20:44:24 -0700 (PDT), bob haller
wrote:

On Sunday, July 6, 2014 11:09:12 PM UTC-4, DerbyDad03 wrote:
wrote:

I am not a fan of BarsLeaks,


OK

Wei

On Mon, 7 Jul 2014 04:08:25 +0200, nestork
wrote:


It certainly COULD be a leaking cylinder head gasket. A small leak will
not reduce engine performance sufficiently to be noticable.

I had a 1992 Chevrolet Cavalier that was losing coolant due to a leaking
cylinder head gasket, and I only had it repaired once the leakage was
bad enough that it was affecting the car's starting and idling.
Nowadays most cars have aluminum cylinder heads to save weight, but
these are notorious for warping after 100 thousand miles or so and the
cylinder head has to be removed, rebuilt and replaced.

But, it would check the simple and cheap stuff first. I would replace
the radiator cap. After repeated heating and cooling, the spring
tension in the radiator cap can get weak so that your coolant may very
well be escaping in the form of steam and ethylene glycol vapours from a
radiator cap that's got a weak spring in it. If replacing the radiator
cap doesn't resolve the problem, then I'd have the cooling system
pressure tested to see if it's holding pressure or not. And, if it's
not holding pressure, and the coolant isn't leaking OUT of the engine,
then it's leaking IN TO the engine.

Check your oil dipstick. If antifreeze is leaking into the crank case,
it'll muck up the oil. If the oil on your dip stick looks normal, then
at least you can be confident it's not leaking into the crank case.



Will do

Thanks

Wei

On Sun, 06 Jul 2014 23:06:03 -0600, Tony Hwang
wrote:

Hi,
If there is no visible leak, coolant can evaporate, or burn.
1. Is rad cap good?
dunno - shud replace I guess.
2. Have you cooling system presssure tested?
no - but will.
3. Did you put in dye to detect gasket leak?
no.
4. Is there sweet smell from exhaust?
never sniffed it, but I guess I can - carefully.
5. rad hoses, clamps in good order?
shud check.
6. When is the last time you flushed the cooling system?
never.
7. Is the coolant temp. higher than normal range?
seems so.

Thanks

Wei

bob haller wrote:
On Sunday, July 6, 2014 11:09:12 PM UTC-4, DerbyDad03 wrote:
wrote:



...Major Snippage Occurred...



....Then some more was snipped...

barrs leak clogged my heater core requiring it be replaced. It was a very
expensive disassemble the dash to replace the heater core.


That expense is common to most cars. I had a 1980 Mustang. The heater core
was right behind the glove compartment. 2 screws to remove a small panel, 2
hose clamps in the engine compartment and the core slid right out. Since I
had to replace my core twice in the 6 years I owned the car, I'm sure glad
they made it easy. All cars should be designed that way.

I thought the heater core was normally accessed through the firewall?

Wei,

It's possible that you have a small leak somewhere. Such leaks may not
leave water under the truck but will leave a white spot where the leak is
occuring. This is really obvious on black radiator hoses. How old are the
hoses. It may be time to replace them.
If you believe that you have a head gasket leak, take your car to a
mechanic. A leaking head gasket could put water into the oil, which should
be pretty obvious since you are losing gallons of fluid ,or the leak could
be putting water into the combustion chamber where it gets evaporated and
comes out the exhaust.
A good mechanic should be able to diagnose your problem.

Dave M.

On Monday, July 7, 2014 9:23:52 AM UTC-4, nestork wrote:
I thought the heater core was normally accessed through the firewall?









--

nestork

Not in any car I've been involved with. It's from the cabin and typically
a nightmare of ripping out the dashboard.

On 7/7/2014 9:23 AM, nestork wrote:
I thought the heater core was normally accessed through the firewall?




On my Dodge vans, it was a box in front of the
firewall. Other vehicles, under the dash, and
about 9 hours labor to do.

Your vehicle is your home?

--
..
Christopher A. Young
Learn about Jesus
www.lds.org
..

David Martel wrote:
Wei,

It's possible that you have a small leak somewhere. Such leaks may
not leave water under the truck but will leave a white spot where the
leak is occuring. This is really obvious on black radiator hoses. How
old are the hoses. It may be time to replace them.
If you believe that you have a head gasket leak, take your car to a
mechanic. A leaking head gasket could put water into the oil, which
should be pretty obvious since you are losing gallons of fluid ,or the
leak could be putting water into the combustion chamber where it gets
evaporated and comes out the exhaust.
A good mechanic should be able to diagnose your problem.

Dave M.
Hi,
Yup, old hose is known to collapse causing coolant circulation problem
and over heatoing.

On Mon, 7 Jul 2014 15:23:52 +0200, nestork
wrote:


I thought the heater core was normally accessed through the firewall?
Depends on the car. MOST are now accessed from under the dash. Worst
one I experienced was on , IIRC, an XJC Jag. Book time was well over
12 hours. In the instructions, the first line was "remove parcel shelf
from behind rear seat". Then you removed trim, piece at a time as the
screws were exposed untill you got to the dash board, which took a few
hours to dissassemble and remove before you could even SEE the heater
box. Then after dissassembling the heater and replacing the core
(might have been AC condenser - cannot remember) the long and tedious
lob af reassembling the dash, and then re-installing all the trim
began. The mechanic who was working on it (a british car expert who
worked for me for a while) managed to pull the job off in about 8
hours - it wasn't his first time!!!!

On Mon, 7 Jul 2014 11:59:29 -0800, "Guv Bob"
wrote:

I've gotten good help at alt.autos and alt.autos.ford

Thank you!
I'll try it.
Wei

I've gotten good help at alt.autos and alt.autos.ford

wrote in message ...
On Sun, 06 Jul 2014 21:17:44 -0400, Stormin Mormon
wrote:

On 7/6/2014 7:19 PM, wrote:
I have a 2001 S10.

Thanks

Wei


New kind of home that needs repair?

I posted to alt.cars, and got no response. So I thought to try this
group.
Sorry to bother.

Wei

On 7/7/14, 12:30 PM, wrote:

I thought the heater core was normally accessed through the firewall?
Depends on the car. MOST are now accessed from under the dash. Worst
one I experienced was on , IIRC, an XJC Jag. Book time was well over
12 hours. In the instructions, the first line was "remove parcel shelf
from behind rear seat". Then you removed trim, piece at a time as the
screws were exposed untill you got to the dash board, which took a few
hours to dissassemble and remove before you could even SEE the heater
box. Then after dissassembling the heater and replacing the core
(might have been AC condenser - cannot remember) the long and tedious
lob af reassembling the dash, and then re-installing all the trim
began. The mechanic who was working on it (a british car expert who
worked for me for a while) managed to pull the job off in about 8
hours - it wasn't his first time!!!!

One of my coworker's solutions on his personal vehicles was to
just cut whatever plastic was in his way in the engine compartment.
Duct tape and maybe silicone sealed things back up. He doesn't drive
fancy vehicles by any means.

Dean Hoffman " wrote:
On 7/7/14, 12:30 PM, wrote:

I thought the heater core was normally accessed through the firewall?
Depends on the car. MOST are now accessed from under the dash. Worst
one I experienced was on , IIRC, an XJC Jag. Book time was well over
12 hours. In the instructions, the first line was "remove parcel shelf
from behind rear seat". Then you removed trim, piece at a time as the
screws were exposed untill you got to the dash board, which took a few
hours to dissassemble and remove before you could even SEE the heater
box. Then after dissassembling the heater and replacing the core
(might have been AC condenser - cannot remember) the long and tedious
lob af reassembling the dash, and then re-installing all the trim
began. The mechanic who was working on it (a british car expert who
worked for me for a while) managed to pull the job off in about 8
hours - it wasn't his first time!!!!

One of my coworker's solutions on his personal vehicles was to just
cut whatever plastic was in his way in the engine compartment.
Duct tape and maybe silicone sealed things back up. He doesn't drive
fancy vehicles by any means.

I serious doubt he could get to most, if any, heater cores with that
technique.

On Mon, 07 Jul 2014 19:41:53 -0500, Dean Hoffman
" wrote:

On 7/7/14, 12:30 PM, wrote:

I thought the heater core was normally accessed through the firewall?
Depends on the car. MOST are now accessed from under the dash. Worst
one I experienced was on , IIRC, an XJC Jag. Book time was well over
12 hours. In the instructions, the first line was "remove parcel shelf
from behind rear seat". Then you removed trim, piece at a time as the
screws were exposed untill you got to the dash board, which took a few
hours to dissassemble and remove before you could even SEE the heater
box. Then after dissassembling the heater and replacing the core
(might have been AC condenser - cannot remember) the long and tedious
lob af reassembling the dash, and then re-installing all the trim
began. The mechanic who was working on it (a british car expert who
worked for me for a while) managed to pull the job off in about 8
hours - it wasn't his first time!!!!

One of my coworker's solutions on his personal vehicles was to
just cut whatever plastic was in his way in the engine compartment.
Duct tape and maybe silicone sealed things back up. He doesn't drive
fancy vehicles by any means.
Mid sixtied GM heater MOTORS required removal of the front inner
dender to get to - which pretty well meant you removed the right front
fender. We used to cut a hole in the inner fender to get the motor out
and bolt an old licence plate over it.

On Tue, 8 Jul 2014 01:02:46 +0000 (UTC), DerbyDad03
wrote:

Dean Hoffman " wrote:
On 7/7/14, 12:30 PM, wrote:

I thought the heater core was normally accessed through the firewall?
Depends on the car. MOST are now accessed from under the dash. Worst
one I experienced was on , IIRC, an XJC Jag. Book time was well over
12 hours. In the instructions, the first line was "remove parcel shelf
from behind rear seat". Then you removed trim, piece at a time as the
screws were exposed untill you got to the dash board, which took a few
hours to dissassemble and remove before you could even SEE the heater
box. Then after dissassembling the heater and replacing the core
(might have been AC condenser - cannot remember) the long and tedious
lob af reassembling the dash, and then re-installing all the trim
began. The mechanic who was working on it (a british car expert who
worked for me for a while) managed to pull the job off in about 8
hours - it wasn't his first time!!!!

One of my coworker's solutions on his personal vehicles was to just
cut whatever plastic was in his way in the engine compartment.
Duct tape and maybe silicone sealed things back up. He doesn't drive
fancy vehicles by any means.

I serious doubt he could get to most, if any, heater cores with that
technique.
A chain saw to the dash.

wrote:

Depends on the car. MOST are now accessed from under the dash. Worst
one I experienced was on , IIRC, an XJC Jag.

I'm glad Jaguar hasn't lost their evil ways. iirc, and meaningful work on an
XK150 started with disassembling most of the car. They were pretty though.

On Mon, 07 Jul 2014 21:33:50 -0600, rbowman
wrote:

wrote:

Depends on the car. MOST are now accessed from under the dash. Worst
one I experienced was on , IIRC, an XJC Jag.

I'm glad Jaguar hasn't lost their evil ways. iirc, and meaningful work on an
XK150 started with disassembling most of the car. They were pretty though.
Fist step in removing the back spark plug - remove back bumper - - -
-

On Monday, July 7, 2014 9:02:46 PM UTC-4, DerbyDad03 wrote:
Dean Hoffman " wrote:

On 7/7/14, 12:30 PM, wrote:



I thought the heater core was normally accessed through the firewall?

Depends on the car. MOST are now accessed from under the dash. Worst

one I experienced was on , IIRC, an XJC Jag. Book time was well over

12 hours. In the instructions, the first line was "remove parcel shelf

from behind rear seat". Then you removed trim, piece at a time as the

screws were exposed untill you got to the dash board, which took a few

hours to dissassemble and remove before you could even SEE the heater

box. Then after dissassembling the heater and replacing the core

(might have been AC condenser - cannot remember) the long and tedious

lob af reassembling the dash, and then re-installing all the trim

began. The mechanic who was working on it (a british car expert who

worked for me for a while) managed to pull the job off in about 8

hours - it wasn't his first time!!!!



One of my coworker's solutions on his personal vehicles was to just

cut whatever plastic was in his way in the engine compartment.

Duct tape and maybe silicone sealed things back up. He doesn't drive

fancy vehicles by any means.



I serious doubt he could get to most, if any, heater cores with that

technique.

+1

I've never seen a car where the engine compartment was separated from
the dash by plastic. It's steel. And with the engine compartment chock
full of everything today, you can't even get at it to cut it. Plus it
would be interesting to know how one cuts it without destroying all
the stuff, eg wiring, regrigerant lines, motors, hoses, etc that you can't
see that are on the cabin side.

"rbowman" wrote in message
...
wrote:

Depends on the car. MOST are now accessed from under the dash. Worst
one I experienced was on , IIRC, an XJC Jag.

I'm glad Jaguar hasn't lost their evil ways. iirc, and meaningful work on
an
XK150 started with disassembling most of the car. They were pretty though.

I owned a Mark X and to this day believe that when they built the car, some
dude held the power steering pump in place while they built the car around
it. I had an aftermarket AC on the car (installed by previous owner) that
hung off the front of the engine block with a bracket that blocked access to
the number 1 spark plug. You had to remove the AC and all the belts for the
alternator, water pump, etc. just to service it. While I can't blame Jaguar
per se for that, it was the worst design I've ever encountered.

Even the Volvo 142's windshield wiper motor was easier to get to. I just
drilled into the dash using a wide diameter hole saw. The engine, a tiny 4
banger that sat in the middle of a cavernous engine compartment, was so
accessible you could probably fit two people into the compartment along with
the engine. Both the Jag and the Volvo were made of very thick steel that
has long since disappeared from cars because of weight. The Jag required an
extra fee at registration time because it was so heavy.

Anyone here ever have to tune wire wheels by hand? Make tuning three Solex
carbs look like child's play. (-:

Not sure how many other cars had it, but the Mark X had "anti-creep"
controls which applied pressure to the brakes if the car was at idle even if
you took your foot off the brake. Until the engine sputtered or died, that
is.

--
Bobby G.

Robert Green wrote:

I owned a Mark X and to this day believe that when they built the car,
some dude held the power steering pump in place while they built the car
around it.

I had a '51 Chevy where the master cylinder definitely was the first thing
bolted to the frame before the body was added. It wasn't on the firewall but
was under the floor. There was an inspection plate so you could fill it, but
heaven help the poor ******* (me) who had to remove it to replace the seals.