My wife drives a 1990 Chevy Tahoe Blazer, 2 door. It's the small one on the S-10 frame. 6Anyway, about a week ago I drove it to the bank and thought I smelled antifreeze. I checked under the hood and the hoses felt firm. There was no sign of leakage (steam or spray) There was just the smell.
Friday night my wife called me and said that she had a puddle on the passenger side front floor. She had put an old white towel on it to soak up the water and it was very brown. I checked it and it was slippery and smelled like antifreeze.
As she drove home, her thermostat began to go up and down drastically. She also said there was steam or something coming in through the vents and fogging up her windows. The air is broken, but it was cool and she had her windows up.
I suspect that this might be a broken seal in the cooling system that is spraying antifreeze on the firewall when the engine heats up. What do you think? The car has 122,000 miles on it.
2007-01-21 02:22:05 · 18 answers · asked by JPGloye 1 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
it's your heater core,easy to fix,and easy to bypass untill you can afford it,under the hood are two hose's that go to the core you will know by feelin how warm they are,you can take one off and redirect the other from the engine to engine leaving no hose going to the core,but no heat for now,and save you the trouble of blowing a raid. hose or head gasket.need a quote?I fix for 125.00
2007-01-21 03:06:46 · answer #1 · answered by Roger M 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
When ever you can smell antifreeze inside a vehicle most likely the heater core is leaking. First get a pressure test of your cooling system at any car repair shop, preferably a radiator repair shop. If the system doesn't hold 15psi. overnight you know there is a leak somewhere. Antifreeze has a sickening sweet smell. I've always tested the presence of antifreeze buy placing a 1/8 inch diameter sample on your little figure and placing it on my tongue. If it's sweeter than sugar its antifreeze, the heater core needs replacing. If you bought it new and it's been well maintained with little or no rust I'd keep it in a heartbeat. Think of ti this way, what could you buy, with exactly the same money you'd receive when you traded it in? It wouldn't be a 4wd. or even if it is a 2wd. Fix it and keep it. The 262 V6 will go 250,000 miles with no problem. The Good luck!
2007-01-21 03:55:27 · answer #2 · answered by Country Boy 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you are getting anti freeze inside the car on the floor, you have either a broken hose on the heater core or a cracked heater core. The heater core is a small "radiator" type piece that hot water runs through to provide heat in cold weather. The hoses on the core in Chevy's are rigid plastic tubes and crack when old. The parts are relatively cheap but the labor is intensive. The lower dash has to be taken apart to replace either the core or the hoses. I would guess the repair to be around $300 at a local repair shop. If the vehicle is in otherwise good condition I would repair this problem. It's still cheaper than a monthly payment on another car.
2007-01-21 02:31:11 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
First off - look up the value of the truck is ($400 - trade-in to $1200 Private party sell on a quick look at Kelley Blue Book). Second get an estimate on repairs.
After getting those numbers is it worth it to fix?
Is that the only major thing wrong with the Blazer, if I fix this is this truck good for another year or two?
Can you afford to buy a new or low mileage vehicle and get rid of this?
122K miles is a few but not the reason to get rid of it, it the mechanical and comfort wear that is important. We had an S-10 Blazer '86 that we put nearly 200K before we got rid of it, 1986 BMW we put 225K on it, a 1996 Suburban 220K on it. My current Silverado has 160 on it and plan on keeping it for a while.
At some point with cars/trucks/SUVs it gets to the point that they only one who likes the vehicle is the mechanic ($$).
2007-01-21 02:41:13 · answer #4 · answered by J C 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sounds like either your heater hose has gone awry, which is a minor repair....or your freeze plugs are failing...which is more labor intensive, but neither are the end of the world financially. $200 or more to repair either is TOO MUCH to pay....if you have the savvy, you can do yourself quite easily by doing a little homework on how, and where to get the parts, and replace/install. DON'T go to the dealer....they will sodomize you ($$$)... take it to a mom/pop mechanic if you don't know how to do the work ...ask around for the most reliable(word of mouth is always the best advertising). Good luck.
2007-01-21 02:31:16 · answer #5 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
you have a bad heater box under your dash . parts r cheap if you can do it yourself if not labor is pricey dashboard must be removed to do this. there is a way to bypass the heater box from under the hood no parts required .connect the heater hose going in the firewall from radiator to the heaterhose coming out of firewall to radiator together this will solve the problem. side affect is u will no longer have a heater or defroster but will fix problem. 1 part needed is a connector for 2 hoses .about $2.00at any autoparts store . fix this problem antifreeze fumes r toxic !!!!!!
2007-01-21 03:56:41 · answer #6 · answered by rick and lydia 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
definatly sounds like heater core or connecting hoses,not that expensive,not worth trading the car for,if money is a prob,you could always plug & clamp the hoses as to prevent water circulation at the heater core,although doing this is against roadworthyness laws in Australia,as you need to be abled to defrost the windscreen,via hot air from the heater..try an auto wreckers/recylclers,buyer beware unless u can test it for leaks ,u could be buying another dud s/hand unit ,around $80au s/hand or $200au new
2007-01-21 02:54:33 · answer #7 · answered by tony r 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Agree, it's the heater core. If you are at all handy you might be able to change it yourself. Should be located under/behind the dash. The fan blows air through it, it's where the heat for the passenge compartment comes from.
Go to www.kbb.com to determine the value of the SUV, then weight to price to repair against the value of the vehicle.
2007-01-21 02:35:29 · answer #8 · answered by I Like Stories 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
it is the heater matrix that is leaking it is like a small radiator which is found in the heating system in the dashboard when you switch the blower on in your car the air is blown through the matrix which passes warm air through the vents i am not sure how easy it is to get to some cars are easier than others if you look under the bonnet you will see two pipes leading to the bulkhead these are the pipes that are attached to the heater matrix
2007-01-21 02:36:33 · answer #9 · answered by bryan r 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I have to agree that it sounds like the heater core has gone bad. This is a chunk of change to replace. It's a tough call. I wouldn't take the chance.
Before you decide, have somebody get in there and check the hoses.
2007-01-21 02:34:24 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋