I need a bit of advice please:-

I came out of a club this morning and when I got to the car (had been parked for about 3 hours) the windscreen was misted on the inside. I first thought it was due to a change in the outside ambient temperature whilst the car had been parked, but I tried turning on the screen blower/demister and it made the misting worst. I then turned off the blower and it ‘seemed’ (early morning, can’t see too much) as though there was steam creeping up front the center of the dash shelf and/or vent.

I haven’t had a chance to investigate coolant levels etc yet because it’s still dark over here, but the engine temps didn’t rise above normal on my trip home.

What do folks think, does this sound like a heater core matrix leaking?... I assume it is a pig of a job if it is!

My only other thought is a leaking AC evaporator allowing refrigerant onto the hot heater core ?!?. Whatever it is, the fumes (anti-freeze or refrigerant) gave me a hell of a headache on the drive home.

I do have a problem with the AC (previous post), but I thought that was limited to a shaft seal leak on the compressor. I can’t easily get the compressor parts from the US suppliers, so I’m currently waiting for parts from Holland. Could there be any other connection between AC not working and the mobile sauna condition!?

Thanks

What do folks think, does this sound like a heater core matrix leaking?... I assume it is a pig of a job if it is!

Afraid that is a Yes and another Yes.

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Oh chuffin heck... just what I need right now. Thanks for the info 95vette.

Can I bypass the core by joining the in and out hoses until I get the time to pull it to bits?

[edit]PS: are there any tips for getting at the core or is the FSM pretty accurate?[/e]

It does sound like the dreaded heater core - I've read about quite a number of folks bypassing it as a temporary fix. Best of luck!

Others will totally disagree, but I would put BarsLeak in the system and hope it seals the leak. A dealer here will quote almost $1,000 to replace a heater core, and that is almost all labor.

Thanks pianoguy and 95vette,

A 1000 bucks... and thats labour from a dealer who knows his way round it... I'm dreading that then.

Whats the con's with Bars Leaks, there's already a sealer added to these systems as standard IIRC?

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Part is maybe 60 bucks from GM.

It is a pig of a job to do correctly. And at 100 bucks an hour, yea, it's about 9 hours it seems.

What makes you think the guy at a dealer has done a heater core on a 18 yr old Corvette? He's just quoting what's in the book, and the book isn't always realistic.

Was able to to just check coolant levels today (nothing in depth, there one heck of a thunderstorm going on!).

I can't see any significant loss of coolant!, but that doesn't help much because a leak is still a leak.

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With a heater core you won't necessarily see a loss of coolant. A little bit of coolant will spray a lot on the windshield. Do you have a sweet nauseating smell inside the cabin?

Matthew

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It was more like 'fumes' really Matt. Kinda like being in a damp fog. I could identify the smell as A-F, but it gave me a b'stard headache that I still have 20 hrs later.

All of the above is why I am recommending Bars Leak. You have little to lose and a lot to gain. Years ago I had an 88 Chevy pick em up trk, heater core sprung a leak and I put Bars Leak in and no more leak for the remaining 5 yrs I owned it. Might still be running OK for all I know.

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I’m not ruling that option out 95vette, but I’m not the luckiest person when it comes to quick fixes and I don’t want to find later that I’ve bunged up the water pump or any passages. I do kinda need a reliable heater too, because although this is a fairly warm climate, I have diabetes which makes my old legs feel reeeaal cold in winter.

Still searching for options at the moment. I've read on some forums that there is an easier (or perhaps just quicker) way to get the core out, but most write-up's seem to be about the 89 year, so I don't know what applies to a 93.