Smelly Heater

[Kernal]

Hey guy,

for a while now ive had a foul smell coming from the heater and the smell of coolant coming from the engine bay after a drive. So i talked to my mechanic and we both came to the conclusion that it was a leaky or busted heater. He says he wont touch it coz its too much work.

Where can i get it fixed and how much can i expect to pay?

[smokin_vx]

hi mate, just did my heating system the other day.. replaced heater core, hoses and heater tap. As far as getting it fixed I had a quote from an Air Con Workshop and quoted approx $1,600 plus parts (depending on what needed to be done!!) And Holden said minimum $3,000 +parts regardless of what the problem is cos the whole dash has to come out.

My advice is DO IT YOURSELF... I did mine by myself in about 7 hours in total over 2 days. Just take your time pulling the dash down and its easy to put all back together. It can be a bit scary at first at first but i reckon i could do it again in 4 hours.
I ll post some pix in a new thread in 5 mins for you.. hope it helps a bit

Smokin!

[accentstencil]

First I would make sure that it is the heater core leaking and not a leak in the engine bay, since you say the coolant smell is there too. Usually a leaking heater core will result in a wet floor or coolant dipping from the A/C drain pipe. Are you using a lot of coolant?

[Kernal]

First I would make sure that it is the heater core leaking and not a leak in the engine bay, since you say the coolant smell is there too. Usually a leaking heater core will result in a wet floor or coolant dipping from the A/C drain pipe. Are you using a lot of coolant?

hmm...no im not loosing any coolant and there isnt any wet on my garage floor either.
I just had my car serviced, my mechanic said everything was sweet.
But that doesnt explain the coolant smell from the engine bay or when i use the heater.

[Kernal]

hi mate, just did my heating system the other day.. replaced heater core, hoses and heater tap. As far as getting it fixed I had a quote from an Air Con Workshop and quoted approx $1,600 plus parts (depending on what needed to be done!!) And Holden said minimum $3,000 +parts regardless of what the problem is cos the whole dash has to come out.

My advice is DO IT YOURSELF... I did mine by myself in about 7 hours in total over 2 days. Just take your time pulling the dash down and its easy to put all back together. It can be a bit scary at first at first but i reckon i could do it again in 4 hours.
I ll post some pix in a new thread in 5 mins for you.. hope it helps a bit

Smokin!

what were your symptoms? how did you know you had to replace the heater core?

[smokin_vx]

what were your symptoms? how did you know you had to replace the heater core?

When i bought my VX it had the heater hoses redirected so was unable to tell what the problem was. But to redirect it instead of repairing it told me that it was going to be expensive.

I'm not sure what is wrong with your one, but i would advise to find out where the coolant is coming from for it to smell in the engine bay aswell... It might be the heater tap valve as they are a common problem. Leaking hose maybe?

If it smells in the car when the heater is on i would say its the core..

[wrx884]

Also check if urs leaks through the A/C drain pipe as accentstencil said mine did that but would only leak wen i turned the aircon on (weird). i didnt get the wet floor symtoms but i did the musty smell after the cars been sittin there a few days and not at 1st but was gettin a foggy windscreen wen i turned the heaters on demist