Re: New (to me) Heater Core - No more steamy windows!

I recently noticed a smell of maple syrup (my wife says, curry) when turning the heat up or down. Thanks to folks here and on other sites, I was able to diagnose this as a leaking heater core. I priced one on-line at ~$275, but learned that most Boxster Spec racers remove the entire AC/Heater system as part of the weight loss process.

I put out a note on my local Boxster Forum www.babblers.org and found that Trygve (author of another great DIY site: Trygve's site ) had one available. Not only did I get it at a great price, he even helped me R&R the unit. Like they say, it's not the cars, it's the people! No more driving with the AC blasting on 40 degree mornings.

Here was my old leaky heater core:

LOL... Yes I have had some of those cool rides myself! I'll be glad to get my heat back!

Quote
SilverBox99
LOL... Yes I have had some of those cool rides myself! I'll be glad to get my heat back!

Simple pleasures, gotta love 'em.

I noted this story already here when I posted my heater core story....

That maple syrup smell was pretty evident in my car for a long long time (no affect on heating system performance by the way), maybe well over two winters. This smell was misdiagnosed by many genuinely knowledgeable people. Two very senior mechanics thought it was the AC refrigerant - it does need a charge every year and a half or so, and so said various other mechanics and car folks. So I just took it upon myself to remove the exchanger and take a look for myself and found what you pictured here (albeit tan colored residue) before I started paying sums to tear things apart or replacing stuff.

I don't know why everyone had so much trouble diagnosing what appears to me to be a no-brainer - now that I know. I am not sure what the lesson is here except that you must do your own homework and having the guts to turn a wrench yourself can pay back bucks and save grief.

I'm not sure if it's rust or the orange color of the coolant. After replacing the water pump, then the coolant tank, I decided the non-gold standard dextron orange should replace the super expensive Porsche green. The needle sits right between 8 and 0.