Coolant on passenger side floor inside car

[thatsnninety5]

So in my 98’ Mustang, just today i got finished with my trans swap, took it for a test drive. All is good but it stalls when it goes into gear. But as I was test driving it I gave it a little gas and my temp gauge shot up but the second I took my foot off the gas the went back down to normal. My coolant light was on prior but I didn’t acknowledge it because it always comes on in the wintertime and goes away in the summer. But after this happened I pulled over and my coolant was bone dry, then my friend in the passenger seat noticed a puddle of something wet on the passenger floor so I tasted it, it was sweet just like coolant and smelt like it too, Could it be my heater core? What are the possibilities?

 

[BHernandez]

So in my 98’ Mustang, just today i got finished with my trans swap, took it for a test drive. All is good but it stalls when it goes into gear. But as I was test driving it I gave it a little gas and my temp gauge shot up but the second I took my foot off the gas the went back down to normal. My coolant light was on prior but I didn’t acknowledge it because it always comes on in the wintertime and goes away in the summer. But after this happened I pulled over and my coolant was bone dry, then my friend in the passenger seat noticed a puddle of something wet on the passenger floor so I tasted it, it was sweet just like coolant and smelt like it too, Could it be my heater core? What are the possibilities?View attachment 31148

It is absolutely your heater core, and you're going to hate that job. You can expect a shop to charge around $450 parts and labor but the core is actually like $35. It's just an amazingly frustrating task.

 

[Bronco2Fan]

I had to do it on my 85 GT. Took a day and a half. So much stuff to remove and put back together. Luckily I had a garage to do it in so I wasn't rushing. Good luck

 

[thatsnninety5]

It is absolutely your heater core, and you're going to hate that job. You can expect a shop to charge around $450 parts and labor but the core is actually like $35. It's just an amazingly frustrating task.

So I have absolutely nothing to do with A/C on my car. No lines, no conpressor. not even a pulley. would that make thr job easier or does it not matter?

 

[thatsnninety5]

So I have absolutely nothing to do with A/C on my car. No lines, no conpressor. not even a pulley. would that make thr job easier or does it not matter?

So I was told I am able to do this without taking off my whole dash. I was told all i need to do is unbolt this fan and the heater core should be right above it and im able to replace it

 

[cobrajeff96]

You must remove the dash to replace a heater core, 100%.

But it's actually not that bad. After removing/replacing my own dash merely three times, I can remove it now in 30 minutes. Just find some youtube vids on it (trust me, as a first-timer you could probably get the dash out in like 2 hours and that's taking your time.

While you're at it, remove that carpet and get all traces of liquid off the floor pan. Yes, coolant has corrosion inhibitors so rust might not become a thing but you don't want to take the chance and you don't want that smell permanently baked into the cabin. It might even make you sick to be breathing it every time you're driving it.

 

[r3dn3ck]

Or you could just bypass the heater entirely. 2 hose clamps and a coupler. It will at least get you rolling again. Granted it's winter so that might suck a little.

 

[thatsnninety5]

Or you could just bypass the heater entirely. 2 hose clamps and a coupler. It will at least get you rolling again. Granted it's winter so that might suck a little.

That is what I just did. Now I was reading on a couple of other forums that cars with no a/c the heater core is reachable through the glove box. Now after some investigation I can indeed see the box that holds the heater core if i take the glove box down completely. Like I said above my car have no a/c whatsoever. All that is left of the a/c is the two lines on the firewall next to the heater core lines. With this information. Would I still have to take off the dash. Im just really dreading doing it. It is an insane project that honestly I dont want to even get into and if I do I want it as easy as possible.

 

[r3dn3ck]

I couldn't say. I normally delete both the heater and the AC. Hopefully one of the other lads with more experience there can be helpful.

 

[BHernandez]

So I have absolutely nothing to do with A/C on my car. No lines, no conpressor. not even a pulley. would that make thr job easier or does it not matter?

Makes no difference. All of the hard stuff is under the dashboard.

 

[Slice]

Let us know if you were able to successfully cheat and just do the job through the glovebox.