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Steam inside car, smell coolant

C

cbird02

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Flagstaff, AZ
1998 Jeep Cherokee Sport 4.0L Automatic

Recently started getting coolant smell inside car mostly after cold start and heater use. When it is cold in car and sunlight lights compartment, I can see a fog looming on the passenger side coming from heater core area.

I have inspected underneath dash and see no coolant signs under core or on/under floor mats. Stopped and opened hood and don't see signs of leaks (have not inspected thoroughly, just cursory check)

I have read several posts regarding leaking heater core with these symptoms, but most are accompanied by leaking coolant on passenger side floor.

Any ideas?
 
Pinhole leak that will soon get worse. Better to get the heater core replaced now before it gets colder. I don't envy you the job, I #*&%*@* hate replacing heater cores.
 
It is the sign of a heater core "starting" to fail.

Unfortunately, not much you can do but replace it. The part itself is cheap, but
there is considerable labor involved. Review a procedure before digging in.

Do not use a stop-leak product in the attempt to fix this.
 
Yeah... welcome to hell.

You should be able to swap it in a day or two (I suggest the weekend), it's a crappy job but doable.
 
kastein said:
Yeah... welcome to hell.

You should be able to swap it in a day or two (I suggest the weekend), it's a crappy job but doable.
Click to expand...

And make sure you have *everything* you need to do it in advance - even if it's something you don't think you'll necessarily need, get it and return it later if it turns out to be superfluous. This is one of those jobs where once you start in on it, its sheer crappiness will make you not want to have to stop until it's done.

I hate, Hate, HATE doing heater cores. It's not so much that the XJ is particularly worse than any other vehicle, just that none of them have ever been particularly great in terms of being able to access it in my experience.
 
Heater core/Wiring Harness 'bout the same... hate 'em both (big Eor sigh).
 
Make sure to do the evaporator at the same time even if yours is OK, cause sure as god made little green apples it will get a leak two hours after you get everything back together.
 
X2, and you gotta disconnect the darn A/C lines to get the heater core out anyways (iirc)... so you are halfway there.
 
Is there anyone out there that could possibly scan the FSM section on this job?

Are there any special tools I will need?

I have read many posts that the headlight knob will not fit through the dash plastic without using a dremel - any tips?

If you don't care about the integrity of your firewall and are willing to patch it after completion, can you get it out without dash removal (think sawsall) My business partner did this with a different make car to avoid taking dash off and it worked.
 
One other thought...I have no coolant leaking as noted...but also, my heat works fine. Should my heat still work?

Also wonder if I should pressure check the cooling system?
"Sometimes if it's a very small leak the coolant comes out as steam when the vehicle is at operating temp. If you check the system cold you may be able to find out where it is leaking, if it is inside or out."

There is no leaking until the system gets up to operating temp, then it starts coming out the vents.

Just want to eliminate everything before taking the beast apart.
 
De Nile: ghetto way of saying "That big river in Egypt".

Denial: what you are experiencing at this time.

The "fog" or "steam" is your coolant leaking into the cabin from a small pinhole leak. As that pinhole gets worse it will make the inside of your vehicle resemble a shower stall.

You have a big but doable job ahead of you. Get 'r done.
 
Search, there is a pic tutorial on how it's done here, lottsa zip loc bags for the bolts and such in order so you know what is used where.
The only disagreement is can you rotate the dash up enough to get the box out or not. Step one, remove the front seats, drop the steering column, remove center console, glove box and proceed from there.
 
ok, I have my shields up, cause I am about to get super flamed...out of necessity from a money and time standpoint I went a different route. My buddy is part owner of Bars Leaks and I made the decision only after 2 hours of research and debate. I know the stories and cautions but it came down to this. The Liquid Aluminum product was reformulated in 2009 and is one of the only stop leaks to meet ASTM D6107, which assures it seals small leaks in engine cooling systems WITHOUT adversely affecting heat transfer and fluid flow. This isn't the old clogging pellets.

Calculated risk, but I took it and made sure to flush the system prior to application and to run for an hour afterwards with heat on HOT. Not sure I would do this if I didn't always regularly change my coolant. If you have a mucked up cooling system already I could see where it could be dangerous.

Worked like a charm...no more steam or smell coming in the cab.

I promise to come back with my head hanging and admit my mistake if I have a long term problem crop up, to help the next shmuck from making the same mistake. For now, looks good.
 
cbird02 said:
ok, I have my shields up, cause I am about to get super flamed...out of necessity from a money and time standpoint I went a different route. My buddy is part owner of Bars Leaks and I made the decision only after 2 hours of research and debate. I know the stories and cautions but it came down to this. The Liquid Aluminum product was reformulated in 2009 and is one of the only stop leaks to meet ASTM D6107, which assures it seals small leaks in engine cooling systems WITHOUT adversely affecting heat transfer and fluid flow. This isn't the old clogging pellets.

Calculated risk, but I took it and made sure to flush the system prior to application and to run for an hour afterwards with heat on HOT. Not sure I would do this if I didn't always regularly change my coolant. If you have a mucked up cooling system already I could see where it could be dangerous.

Worked like a charm...no more steam or smell coming in the cab.

I promise to come back with my head hanging and admit my mistake if I have a long term problem crop up, to help the next shmuck from making the same mistake. For now, looks good.
Click to expand...

Not the route I would have chosen, but it's not my rig, so it's not my choice. :dunno: Post up a long term update either way.
 
Yep, kinda came down to the fact that I work 60 hours a week and have a baby on the way in a month. Making enough to pay bills with no savings until baby is 6 months old and wife starts new career after getting masters.
 
Yeah, I can see why you'd make that decision... hope it's a crack that was leaking not a corroded spot that is paper thin and got a pinhole through it.

If it really comes down to it, blows again, and you don't have the cash on hand to get a new one, you can simply buy a plumber's torch, some solder/flux, and 1/2" copper pipe plus end caps at home depot and build some plugs to put in the lines to the heater control valve until you have the money to fix it right. Shouldn't cost more than 25 bucks or so, I did this when I was fixing my DD (no other vehicles at the time) and broke the heater control valve in half. Got lucky and happened to have those materials on hand in my junk bin.
 
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