It started a few days ago, while driving I noticed the inside of my windsheild fogging up/condensation , i didnt think much of it at first untill it would happen again after cleaning it. it had done it for about 2-3 days now.

this morning i was about to jump on the turnpike for a road trip with a buddy and I notice a light smell of coolent and what looked like vapor/mist ect coming out of the dash vent next to the window.. needless to say instead of risking being stuck somewere far off i just didnt go,I remeber another car i had before when the heating core went it started off with similar symptoms and eventually got worse (like pissing hot coolent on my foot)

I drove to pepboys a half a block from the turnpike entrence and picked up a heating core (figure 30 bucks isnt bad to just have it in case thats the issue,if not i can return it and get whatever is needed to fix whatever issue it might be,if there is an issue)

now it hasnt smelled like coolent,had the mist/vapor coming out the vent or the window fogging up since before stopping at pep boys..

I looked under the hood when i got home and I noticed there is coolent in the lower areas of the engine bay right around the the back side of both frome wheels on the arms..,then dripps to the ground..

I checked again with the car running for a bit and I dont notice a hose spraying or anything like that, I still have heat in the car, not over heating or anything like that..



the stuff that drips to the ground is kinda like slightly waterd down coolent.. (which very well might be..last rd trip I had to add to the reseviour and the gas station in the middle of no where didnt have coolent..so i had to add water and forgot to correct that when i had a chance)

were about to take a look at it when my buddy gets back but figured id throw it up here to help get ideas of what other issue it could be and what too look for ..

the car is a cav,98 2.2

thanks for any help.

Things to check,head gasket,check for a cracked head,freeze plugs in block and heads,water pump,double check all hoses for cracks and deterioration,rust areas around coolant tubes-pipes,leaks around fittings,gaskets,radiator,and coolant fill cap.Heater core might make your floor boards wet and smelly.Coolant could be weeping some were.You could always run a pipe to bypass the heater core to see it solves your problem.

we got done taking a look a few minutes ago.. nothing seemed to be the issue.the engine bay is filthy though with coolent thats spilled in the past and other fluids ect ect.. so tomarrow im gonna get stuff and let the engine cool down..spray it with engine bright and clean everything and give it another look.. but it hasnt been doing anything dureing the last few drives now..

I could just be parinoid.

You might want to pick up some leak detection dye. You add it to your coolant, run the car, and then shine a black light. The dye causes any coolant leaks that are new to shine. Could make tracing the thing easier in a dirty engine bay.

Jimbo234 wrote:You might want to pick up some leak detection dye. You add it to your coolant, run the car, and then shine a black light. The dye causes any coolant leaks that are new to shine. Could make tracing the thing easier in a dirty engine bay.

past few days we still couldnt find a leak..took it to the shop today and im told the mechanic did a presure test and took a look around and he cant find one either..

he made mention of two things possibly wrong ,the low coolent is mostlikely due to blow off,says it happens before heating core goes instead of it just going on ya..kinda like a warning/hey check on this sorta thing..

and he said the leaks ive been finding by the passenger side tire in the morning could be comeing from the water pump..

so, Im just gonna go an replace the water pump first and if that still doesnt fix the problem replace the heating core as well.. both fixes are easy and cheap enough I can have them done in an afternoon..


thanks for the help ..

I still may try the tracking dye monday or tuesday just to see

Well, yeserday the water pump was replaced..gasket looked shot to hell, took a little more then an hour and everything went fine..

issue of moisture on inside of windshield still happend after car got up to temp..so now as we have had checked everything else and with the sounds im hearing behind the dash area so today im replacing the heater core..

I started early just to have the car back in one peice before this after noon..

i was on a roll with it untill i hit a snag..all little bolts and everything removed then i rember ya have to take the steering wheel off..

Oh yeah.. forgot to pick up the wheel puller from my buddys dads place BEFORE starting ti ripp everything out... Now my car is sitting in the driveway ripped apart untill 6pm tonight..

moral of the story.. make sure ya have everything ya need before starting a project..

its starting to piss me off.. everything is out of the car at the moment..

Ive spent more then an hour on those tiny bastard screws that keep the heating unit plastic thats around the heating core and such and I cant seem to get the last two screws out.. little 5.5 mm screws... theres two left back by the firewall..

I already moved the carpet and the padding and still cant get em.. any ideas other then just snapping the plastic around the screws?


on another note once this is done im glad to know it wont still be an issue of trying to figure out whats wrong.. it is for sure the heating core.. coolent in the plastic tray under the heating core and you can see where it has been dripping off of the core..

Ok update.. seeing as its too dark out to finish this tonight (i finally got the last screw out of what chevy likes to call a recess) tomarrow I have to disconect the hoses to the core replace core, then put EVERYTHING back together again.. complete and total bull@!#$.lol.i swear to @!#$ god...

new moral of the story.. when you think it would be fun to just fix it yourself..dont..pay the 200 for the a garage to do it..so much wasted time on little things going wrong..

but on a better note..while my dash is out im gonna sand it a bit,primer and paint it.. wont be anything looking like fiber glass or anything just look a bit better then it currently does..

You have to pull the stearing wheel to replace the heater core?????


2.2 97 Cavalier......the "Crapalier"

yep... the entire dash has to come out..its a pain in the balls..

to further update this bull@!#$ project..Pepboys @!#$ up and gave me the wrong heating core.the one they have me doesnt fit..they dont carry the one i need.. the one i need is sold at autozone who carries both styles which they dont carry at the store.. they have to order them from the central hub.. needless to say I didnt get my car back together today.. I orderd a new core from another place today..provided they didnt screw up the order ill have it tomarrow by noon..if they did screw up.. Ill have to wait three days for the one from autozone..

or pay a chevy dealership 218.40 plus tax just for the core alone..

I was never a religious man untill doing the heating core..now all that comes out of my mouth is jesus christ,goddamnit and other variations ..again.. to all who think its something ya wouldnt mind doing yourself..just take it to a show and save the headache..I didnt even have this hard a time or take this long to repair my headgasket..and that was with having it shaved down overnight.

i need to change my heater core and had everything about and couldn't get at that screw in the very back. What did you use to get it out? If i dont care about what it looks like can't i just take a dremel and cut right around the back screw on both sides?