Hi guys!
I own a 1998 Rally Sport Cavalier with 175k miles on it. No mods just a radio.
My problem is whenever I put on the heat and after 5 or 10min driving the car, The car starts to smell like hot anti-freeze. The temp guage doesn't move, soo it isn't overheating. I don't know much about cars.. but, what should be causing this? I remember it was like this last year too.
It's been really cold in New Jersey lately.
not cheap no matter where you go, whole dash has to come out sometimes, think at the shop i worked at it was like 600 or something like that if memory serves
Wow! That's how much I paid for the car. I'm just going to leave it.
Thanks!
keep an eye on the coolent level but its a dink to do i would do it before snow flys
JBO since July 30, 2001
Antifreeze leaking inside the car like that isn't a real good thing. Also it will fog your windows up some what of a mist on the window. Dexcool is real greasy also and could possibly affect your vision out the windshield if you use defrost. On another not it might make you sick from the vapors of it evaporating inside. If i were me i would take and unhook the heater core hose and shove a 3in piece of pipe the same diameter as the hoses in one and then the other and clamp it for now. Till you can get it fixed.
You should be able to do it in a day or over the weekend yourself. including takeing out the dash unless you can get around it some how.
Personally... use just a BIT of the radiator stop leak in your coolant bottle... the kind that's metal flakes. Not too much.
I had a leaky heatercore - replaced it... new one leaked too! Fawk! So I said eff this and put in a bit of the metal flake stop leak. 2 years later and it still hasn't leaked a drop.
Just don't use too much because it likes to gunk up the rad and other things if it can.
I only recommend this to ppl who don't have the funds to fix something like this and need a cheap fix and the car is worth less than the repair.
-Chris-
-Sweetness-
-Turbocharged-
Slowly but surely may some day win this race...
i dont like any stop leak at all......because it will easily plug up small collant passages.
I understand the need to use it in a case that you cant afford to replace a heater core, but def. not the right way to do it.
Cool! Thanks guys!
I might just do that and fix the thing when it gets warmer out.
As I said use VERY LITTLE. Mine stopped leaking within 10 mins of putting it in and going for a fast drive.
The last thing you want is more problems such as a plugged up head or radiator.
-Chris-
-Sweetness-
-Turbocharged-
Slowly but surely may some day win this race...
I just did a heater core on 97 cavalier it was a bit of a pain, Once the dash came apart it was pretty straight forward, I was able to get at all the screws to the plastic housing where the heater core was. The only thing I found hard to do was to get at the heater core hoses, My arms were just little to big for that job, I findally able to cut the old hoses, Just a little effort I got the hoses put back in, Everything easy pretty straight forward after that. I just thought it would be nice to help a buddy out, With the job, He supplied the beer, That he saved the cash for the shop to doing. Plus he also learning how to do it as well.
