Foggy windshield

[ford.t]

Hello fellow mn12 drivers. I have a 96 mercury cougar xr 7 with the 4.6 and manual heater controls. after a recent long distance trip i noticed a smell of coolant inside the car when driving with the windows up. It was pretty warm and the a/c isn't cold so i drove with the windows down.

To make a long story short it is now cold and my windows quickly fog up when heat is on, and slowly with the heat off. So i drive with windows down no matter the weather. Smoke is visible comming out of the heater vents near the windshield with the heater off.

I am hoping this is a simple hose or something and not the heater core. The floor doesn't appear to be wet, can anyone shoot me any ideas?

Thanks for your interests, David
Im getting sick of ordering extra napkins
diagnose
bypass
replace

[97Bird]

I'm worn out from deleting all those posts! Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but it's time to replace your heater core! There is a post in the first page of the tech help thread at the top of the forum page that tells how to replace it or go here: http://members.tccoa.com/timb/Heatercore.htm

[ford.t]

Thank you 97bird, i guess i should get to work then. Happy tbirding and cougaring evry1

[ford.t]

Hay what's up everyone. It seems i have successfully replaced my heater core!opcorn: I also grounded it . However, i am now flushing the cooling system... I just opened the cockpet at the bottom of the radiator then filled the reservior tank until it filled the radiator then let car idle til t-stat opened. I will repeat until it drains water.

My question is when it drains water, do i remove the thermostat and fill engine with about 7 qts. of pure coolant, then the rest water?

Could i safely get around removing t-stat housing, because im kinda low on cash and dont want to buy a t-stat if it works fine Or is that the safests way to refill the system?

[97Bird]

Congratulations! It's not a fun job, is it?! Did you use a cleaner before you started to flush it? If not, it's a good idea to do. Prestone makes a flush and fill kit that puts a garden hose adaptor into your heater core line. Check it out. When you have finished flushing and drained out as much as you can then add enough antifreeze to make a 50/50 solution with what your cooling system holds.