Leaking Heater Core - 2000 Volvo V70 XC

adk793 · Post by **adk793** » 07 Jul 2010, 20:31

I have a 2000 Volvo V70 XC with 97K miles.
I have recently had my radiator replaced and the cooling system serviced. But i continued to see slight losses of coolant and sensed a sweet coolant smell in the car when turning on the heater.
It wasn't until my latest (and i am sure not last) trip to my mechanic that he told me it was the heater core all along, though the radiator was bad anyways. He removed part of the carpet on the passengers side and showed me streaks of white that is dried up coolant. He quoted me about $500 for the job. But i just spent sooo much money on repairing this car that i dont really have it right now. Meanwhile, i need the car for a few road trips to the mountains. I did a few long trips this weekend, but I want to know more about how the heater core works, what happens when it leaks, what are signs that its really shot (other than seeing the coolan in the car!) and what are repair options. Are their ways to fix it, i read sometimes its just a bad hose, connection or valve and not the heater core itself.

Post by **FlyingVolvo** » 07 Jul 2010, 22:55

Heater core is a rather easy DIY project.

Here's anice picture write-up on Volvospeed: http://volvospeed.com/vs_forum/index.ph ... e-install/

I'm guessing that your core is original to the car, and it's probably shot. They do fail, and more often than not, it is the actual core itself. You can drive around with the leak, assuming it isn't too bad, but it is still a leak in a pressurized cooling system and should be dealt with sooner rather than later. The heater core is basically a mini radiator that cycles hot coolant to produce the heat for your vents. Very simple design, but they do wear out and develop tiny leaks which, depending on severity will either manifest themselves as a wet carpet on the driver's side or a smell and fog coming out of the vents.

Lots of people here, myself included, have done this repair, and we're all here to help! Buy a new one off eeuroparts.com or similar and fix it up. =)

From my own experience (and we do have the same car):

-No need to remove the passenger's side panel, although it can help for lighting.
-Instead of draining all your coolant, buy a couple $1 clamps and find the heater hoses in the engine bay and clamp them shut. You'll still get a little coolant as you disconnect the core, but that's what the trash bag is useful for.
-Get the feel for how you remove the core, to make getting the new one in easier.
-After you're done, add approximately however much coolant you lost. I had lost more than I thought and ended up having the low coolant light come on unexpectedly.

FCPEURO · Post by **FCPEURO** » 08 Jul 2010, 12:47

Personally, I would just buy the heater core and replace it myself. The worst thing is leaving it alone and it blowing out on you on a hot day and you get stuck in the middle of no where.

Just my 2 cents.

zdh · Post by **zdh** » 08 Jul 2010, 15:37

Another option if you want to delay the core replacement is to bypass the heater core completely. You obviously won't have any heat, but at least you won't be leaking any coolant. I'm not sure whether there is an affect on the cooling capability without the core, however.

Post by **polskamafia mjl** » 08 Jul 2010, 18:00

A buddy at work just bypassed his core recently; but only b/c he has an old Mercury and he would have to rip the entire dash out to repalce the core. As stated before, repalce the core yourself. It trully is an easy DIY. Also, the only negative effect of bypassing the core is that you won't be able to use it to cool down the enging in case of it overheating.

- Marcin