Any Suggestions?

I noticed a leak while driving back from a camping trip last weekend. I thought it had stopped but this morning I saw smoke wafting up from below my glove boxand pulled the car over to see a dripping leak of antifreeze coming from the center column underneath the dash. I think the smoke was caused by the antifreeze running on to a hot piece of metal.

As is probably apparent, I'm not the best mechanic. I'm just wondering if anyone else has experienced this problem and what they did to fix it. My thought is to check my coolant level and try to tape the leak using some electrical tape.

Any suggestions are welcome.

Thanks,

Travis

Your heater core is leaking. You can add some stop leak which will probably stop it for a couple of years or you can replace the heater core (750-1000 bucks by a mechanic).

Or you can DIY for the cost of the part (<$50?) and a weekend of pulling the dash out. It's the sort of thing that can get much worse quickly. And I now see you're not the best mechanic, so....

Hmmm, Pulling the Dash out sounds a bit complicated.

Tell me more about this stop leak. I searched online and found AC stopleak. Is this what your referring to?

http://www.jcwhitney.com/autoparts/Product/s-10101/Pr-p_Product.CATENTRY_ID:2002840/p-2002840/N-111+10201+600002288/c-10101/TID-0820

It's for your heater core, which is a mini radiator in your dash. You need a cooling system stop leak, or radiator stop leak.

http://autos.yahoo.com/maintain/repairqa/fluids_heat_air_conditioning/ques015_2.html

I don't like stop leak products. I did my Jetta heater core in a weekend without ever doing one before. It was a collossal job, but it was a ton cheaper than a mechanic.

Could you define a collossal job for me?

If something easier would fix it for 1 year, I'd take it.

Thanks

Lots of screws and bolts to remove. Not too long ago, someone posted pictures of the dash pulled out for a heater core job. If you have a full day, you could probably get it torn down and put back. There is just no guarantee the stop leak will get it done, even for 1 year. You don't know how big the hole or crack is without looking at it.

If you're going to keep the truck I would invest the time to repair it. As odd as it may seem, it would be a great learning experience. Just make sure you bag and label the nuts/bolts. I took a look at the Haynes manual and it doesn't look that difficult just very time consuming. Swing by a parts store and take a look at a manual.

http://www.automotiveforums.com/t658716-1996_heater_core_hellll___.html

Well, after reading 96 heater core hell, I'm not sure whether I should undertake this challenge. I guess I'll do some more reading to see whether I can handle it or not.

Should I not drive the vehicle until I get it fixed? I'm going to go check on it at lunch to see if it has continued leaking even when not running.

If I try the stop leak stuff, will there be potential that it will cause more damage, or just be futile?

Thanks

I've used stop leak before (Bar's Stop Leak; it's been around for over 50 years). It stopped my radiator leak for about 2 years, and then it started again so I put in a new rad.

Stop leak basically coats your whole system and narrows the passageways in the system (that is the bad).

If you are planning on keeping the truck for +2 years I would pay to have someone swap it out. If not, dump in some stop leak...

Agree, if the truck is in otherwise excellent condition, and you plan to keep it for more then a year, fix it right.

If you're only keeping it for 6 mnths or so, do what you have to do to get by.

I don't like, and have never used stop leak products, as they can inhibit cooling capabilities and cause blockage, allowing the engine to overheat, which - on these trucks, being an all aluminum engine, you can blow a head pretty easily.

It's all based on whether or not you plan to keep the truck, this is what we should have done with our 22yr old Toyota truck when the 2nd headgasket started weeping, as we only got another 70k out of the truck anyway, even after the 3rd headgasket was replaced.

IMHO, if your Rodeo has less then 200k and is in good condition, it'll go for a long time yet, you just need to decide if you're going to keep it or not as to justify the cost, or if it's being sold to family/friends, fix it right or you'll regret it.

if it is a real beater (urban battleship)you can bypass the heater core. it is free but you won't have any heat! it is a good temporary fix to. mike