funky smell with heat

[Final5pt0]

hi, i just purchased a 87 GT, when i turn the heat on, there is a real funny smell that comes from the ventsamnit: , it eventually stops smelling as strong, but it still lingers. on top of this it only get lukewarm.
my guess is the heater core and that seem to be what im finding out from looking at all the threads, but i just want a second opinion.
and i also want to know if i use it sparingly to defrost my windows will i cause it to leak or get worse (i can live with the cold untill its fixed, but a foggy window can cause some problems.)
ok thanks

 

[JChalfan]

If it's a sweetish smell, it's almost certainly the heater core.

As far as using it goes... I believe coolant is always flowing through it even if the heat is off, so I don't think it will make it any worse to use it.

Someone please correct me if there is a valve that shuts off the heater core when it's not in use.

You can also look at the passenger floor carpet up towards the firewall to see if coolant has been leaking down.

It's a pain in the ass to replace, but it's doable. Expect to spend most of a day on it.

Jeff

 

[795.0pacecar]

Its the heater core, and no there is no valve that shuts off coolant flow to it. If its not leaking inside the car it could be leaking out the air conditioning drain hole.

 

[89streetbeast]

heater cores arent too bad unless you've done them a few times lol. i know for a fact my 84 was the biggest pain in the ass to replace. the 89 i have now only took me 2 hours at best. the 84 took almost 4 hours

 

[68torinogt]

i dont notice the smell in mine but you said yours doesnt get warm, mine doesnt warm up hardly at all but the temp guage is normal

 

[Final5pt0]

the car appears to be holding coolant, if the heater core is bad, will it definatly be leaking?

 

[TRWXXA]

You still haven't said what the "funky" smell smells like.

Is it the sweet smell of antifreeze? Open up the coolant overflow bottle. Does it smell like that? If so, you probaby have a leaking heater core.

Or does it have a dank, musty smell, like the basement of an old house? That would most likely be mold in the ventilation system. Mold is caused by moisture in the ventilation system that comes from using the a/c in high humidity. When the car is shut down after running the a/c in high humidity, the humid air enters the cold ventilation system, but has nowhere to go because the fan is not running. It condenses, and just sits in the air plenum, and causes mold.

The way to prevent this is to run the fan in vent mode for a few minutes after turning off the a/c. I've heard there is a product that can be sprayed into the ventilation system to get rid of this mold, but I have never seen it available anywhere.

 

[JChalfan]

the car appears to be holding coolant, if the heater core is bad, will it definatly be leaking?

It could be a very small leak, nothing you would be likely to notice by checking the coolant overflow. If you can smell coolant in the car, then it's leaking.

Jeff