Coolant Leak in vehicle

stangman281v8

Member
Joined
Oct 10, 2007
Messages
186
Reaction score
1
Location
Corning, NY
Good Morning,

While driving to work today in my 1997 Mustang GT, I smelled coolant and then I felt it on my foot. There is a small coolant leak leaving a small puddle on the drivers side floor only. Could this be a heater core, bad hose, etc.? It is only leaking in that location. I havent had a chance to look under the dash yet. Thoughts?

Rob
 

dirtyred11

Active Member
Joined
May 15, 2012
Messages
338
Reaction score
0
Location
Jacksonville FL
I just fixed a coolant leak in my car that i smelled when i drove my car and it had warmed up. It turned out that the intake had a crack in it right at the back side on the drivers side and that's what i was smelling, I had to get a new intake and problem fixed. Hope this helps.
 

Ferocious

Post Whore
SN95 Supporter
Joined
Jun 1, 2011
Messages
12,255
Reaction score
600
Location
San Diego
If your intake manifold has the plastic crossover, that is the first place I would check. They are notorious for cracking.
 

DeepList

Administrator
Admin
SN95 Supporter
Joined
Jan 2, 2013
Messages
9,695
Reaction score
346
Location
Auburn, IN
That's odd because really the only place the coolant circulates INSIDE the car is through the heater core, and that's on the passenger side.

The only thing I can think of would be if the heater core went bad and the coolant is somehow coming out of the "floor vent" on the driver side of the car. Check the little black heater outlet near the center console, up under the dash, and see if that's where it's coming from.
 

ScottyDsntKnow

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 22, 2008
Messages
1,488
Reaction score
27
If its IN the car, its the heater core. It could be spraying over to the driver's side or running down a piece of the dash. Good news is that the dash really isn't very hard to drop in these cars. Ppl make it out to be rocket science but it just involves dropping the steering column, pulling the cluster and HVAC and the center console. Then 13 bolts and it falls right out.
 

MustangChris

Post Whore
SN95 Supporter
Joined
Aug 20, 2008
Messages
27,425
Reaction score
909
Location
Aurora, CO
If your intake manifold has the plastic crossover, that is the first place I would check. They are notorious for cracking.

my bad, didn't bother to read op.

carry on.

i laughed. a lot. at this. el. oh. el.




anyways, OP....

The heater core is the only thing in your passenger compartment with coolant running through it... it's problably failed. It's located inside of a large plastic box the size of ....... a baby llama.

The coolant can pool, drip, travel, drain, and move around in that plastic box (the box is what routes the air around your passenger compartment when you have your fan on...) Its probably just moving towards the drriver's side during turns or when you have the A/C on....

Luckily for you, replacing the heater core is a pain in the ass, but it can be done in a weekend with basic hand-tools.

Note:
They began quick-disconnect systems in ~1999. Make not if you have a quick-diconect line on the engine-bay-side of the heater core (has plastic clips) or a traditional hose set up (with some kind of clamp) so you can buy the proper heater core....
 

Latest posts

Forum statistics

Threads
77,440
Messages
1,502,174
Members
14,920
Latest member
marktuck99

Members online

No members online now.
Top