my heater core blew up...

[87_crown_vic]

i had a doctor appointment today and on the way there going down the interstate, my heater core blew. not cool when you are doing 65mph and all of a sudden your windshield fogs over. it had time to cool while i was at the doctor's office, but i had to get to work after leaving there. i plan on bypassing it till i get time to work on it.





this is how it looked and this picture is after i got home from work. i thought the car was in flames or something since at first it looked like smoke and the window clouded over. i put my hand by the window and realized it was water vapor. something else i have to worry about now, like that's all i needed.

[roompainter]

Holy Smoke!

Man that aint good, sorry.

[Lincolnmania]

yes i've seen the smoke come out teh dash many times

[Enigma]

Mine is going to do that soon, too. Under normal driving it's fine, but on the odd occasion when I wrap it out, I'll get that nice little wiff of anti-freeze smell from the vents. There is a job I am NOT looking forward to.

[gabegt90]

have fun changing that thats gonna suck replacing

[Lincolnmania]

oh it isnt that bad gabe

[grandpaslincoln]

In the mornings the windshield fogs up a little on the passenger side and sometime I can smell antifreeze. I'm pretty sure the core is leaking somewhere, even though it's only 5 or 6 years old. Stupid cars.

[87vicFIVEO]

Mine is going to do that soon, too. Under normal driving it's fine, but on the odd occasion when I wrap it out, I'll get that nice little wiff of anti-freeze smell from the vents. There is a job I am NOT looking forward to.

x2

About every 2 weeks or so during a WOT event (they happen often) I will smell that infamous burning coolant smell

I wonder if I should do a preemptive strike and replace my heater core.

[87_crown_vic]

better to replace it than be going down the interstate like i was when it went out. it will fog your windshield and make you blind.

[Mercmarquis]

it really wasnt that bad of a job when I did it.

[gadget73]

x2

About every 2 weeks or so during a WOT event (they happen often) I will smell that infamous burning coolant smell

I wonder if I should do a preemptive strike and replace my heater core.

Yes. At the least, put a washer on the inlet side of the core to restrict the flow a bit. Mine was doing the same thing, went racing someone, pop. Its not the end of the world changing one, but its not fun. I wouldn't be screwing with it on a hot day. If it pops during the summer, bypass it and change it in the fall when it cools off.

[1987cp]

Some of you guys must be pretty talented with interiors, or else insanely lucky. Bypassing the heater core after it blew took about 2 minutes before driving home, but those little studs holding the plenum in place just turned and turned and turned and I couldn't get the thing out without disassembling the whole darn dash.

[Lincolnmania]

when you've done a few, they seem to fall out.........gettin it all back together working is the fun trick tho lol

[gadget73]

I didn't pull the plenum. Too much bs involved. I pulled the dash off the firewall and took the core out through the top. Pics are in my reader's rides thread.

[mrltd]

It's friggin easy once you've done 10+