Friend's heater stopped working.

[Frank Lee]

Originally Posted by cRiPpLe_rOoStEr

I rarely use a heater

I use a heater at least 6 months out of the year, if only to be able to see out the windows.

[Xist]

Originally Posted by Frank Lee

You said the puddle was under the car. If the heater core was bad it would leak and reek of coolant in the car.

The bottom line is, did the bypass fix anything?

Last Friday she drove me five miles and said that she would wait in her car until it cooled down. Today she drove me nine without heat problems, so it fixed that issue.

Now, her original complaint was the heater, which should now do something set to "vent," but obviously that was just a symptom.

Could the core simply be blocked without leaking?

I keep seeing things saying to run the engine and check the hoses, but it is too late for that, since they bypassed the core.

I do not know how bad her CV joints were before. Had I cranked the wheel and not heard noise, I would have replaced the boots and grease.

I asked her to check, but I think that they told her that she needs to replace her lower ball joint, but they did not make a big deal out of it.

However, "WARNING: If a ball joint fails, the suspension can collapse causing a loss of control. So don't put off having a bad set of joints replaced." []My mechanic says my car needs ball joints.... — Yahoo! Autos

We definitely heard noises this morning.

[Frank Lee]

I don't think a blocked core leads to overheating. So if the hoses for the core are just hanging out there now it should be relatively easy to hook a garden hose to one of them and see how well it flows.

[Xist]

Originally Posted by Frank Lee

I don't think a blocked core leads to overheating. So if the hoses for the core are just hanging out there now it should be relatively easy to hook a garden hose to one of them and see how well it flows.

They said the reservoir was cracked, which would have kept the heater from functioning, so I wonder why the core would be bad.

Very good point, Frank! I need to find myself a faucet!

Oh! Why would the lower ball joint not act up until after the half-axles were replaced?

[Xist]

So much for convincing a mother to do any repair by bringing up safety. I shared that warning on her ball joint and she just talked about her iPad.

[Xist]

I was talking to her about the heater tonight and she told me that there was antifreeze all over the floor. I found our conversation:

You have not smelled antifreeze in your car?

No smells. Still making all kinds of noises tho. Can't say that makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.



The noises definitely are not good and her check engine light is on. I kept telling her that I could read the numbers with my Ultragauge or she could stop by Autozone, but I do not know when any of that would happen.