2001 Ford Taurus is leaking antifreeze from front passenger side, you can smell antifreeze blow through the vents, the heat and air sometimes don't work, air blows warm air/heat blows cold air, car over heats, temp gage will drastically fluctuate, windows won't defrost sometimes, and you can see antifreeze outside splashed on the windshield a little bit.
It will run normal and within 30 seconds be running super hot, then go back to normal, then back up to hot again. Water pump was just changed last year.
How much to fix this?Is this a heater core problem?
yes this will defiantly be the heater core.
My advice would be to stop using the car all together until it can be repaired as it can be very easy for the engine to run out of coolant and overheat-if this happens things will get very expensive as it can warp the cylinder head.
If you have no other option but to keep on driving please keep a close check on the water in the radiator before you start driving.
And please remember never to remove the radiator cap when the engine is hot or the hot coolant can rapidly escape and cause severe burns.
If you want to check the engine to see if it has suffered a warped head from overheating remove the engine oil filler cap and the engine oil dipstick and see what color the oil is. The oil should not have a mayonnaise like appearance to it. If the engine oil starts to look like mayonnaise this indicates coolant has leaked into the engine oil due to a warped cylinder head. Then refit the oil cap and dipstick back on to the engine afterwards.
Im not sure how much it will cost to repair as it depends how much other damage has occurred.Is this a heater core problem?
What has happened is the coolant that ford used on that vehicle has turned to sludge and clogged everything up, it happens a lot. Your heater core is definitely busted and you will need to have the system professionally flushed. It would be worth it provided nothing else has been damaged by overheating. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.
Check your coolant bottle under the hood and see if the coolant has turned a reddish orange and has solids in it.Is this a heater core problem?
By the way, the reason that the temp gauge jumps around is because you are leaking the antifreeze out and creating air pockets and the sensor can't read air. Stop driving the vehicle, matter of fact don't turn it on. Your going to burn up your engine.Is this a heater core problem?
yep heater core...and yes an expensive and challenging fix for a novice mechanic and do indeed fix it before your looking at a bad head gasket and or warped head caused by over heating....that would cost over 600 at leastIs this a heater core problem?
yes it is the heater core and i just had one replaced on my taurus and parts and labor was 345.00 they are hard to change.Is this a heater core problem?
A lot of your symptoms: blowing hot and then cold, overheating car, temp gage going back and forth etc, are due to a very low coolant level. When there's not enough liquid in the radiator, the bit that's in there causes your temp gage to go up, hot air inside. When the fluid has passed, you've got air in your hoses, so there's nothing to register on the temp gage or flow though the heater coil to make heat or defroster work. Water pump doesn't effect this at all. Look for a leak inside the car in the floorboard, or outside directly underneath the firewall. Your coolant is vaporizing, that's why it's on the inside of your windshield. Check your thermostat. Are some of the hoses cold and others hot? If so, your thermostat is stuck closed. ($30 part, you can put it on yourself, probably.) For more step by step process, I'd recommend spending $12 on a Haynes manual for your car. It will tell you how to trace these things and how to fix them. Much cheaper than a mechanic.Is this a heater core problem?
Cooling systems can be hard to diagnos as theres a lot can be wrong but obviously you have a leak in your system and that needs to be found and rectified as your losing pressure in the system and losing fluid. the thermostat could be faulty and you can test that by taking it out and submerging it into boiling water to see if it is opening and closing properly.start with the simple things such as the radiator cap could need renewing When it gets hot does it lift the radiator cap and throw water into the overflow tank.?This is normal but if the cap is weak and the spring is not as good as it was it will lift under much less heat and cause you to loose water and then causes more overheating. When it is hot can you sqeeze the top radiator hose and is it very tight or does it not hold pressure (never try to remove a radiator cap untill you can sqeeze that hose and it is soft and not holding pressure or you will be scalded) Your radiator is a key player in your cooling system and i would also be flushing that to see what comes out.Is this a heater core problem?
Yes, heater core. You can replace it, or bypass the core with a piece of heater hose.
I bypassed in an old Subaru. It was awful in the winter - I had to bundle up to go driving, and I had to Rain-X anti-fog my windshield - even with that I had to keep a towel to wipe fog on hand! And on a long trip, I HAD to open the window (and freeze) or condensation would form on the windows! If you can, replace that core!
Figure $400 - you need to remove A LOT of stuff to get to a heater core - it's a PITA job!
Even when you have a new core, you may still have some problems - you definitely have a bad core, but some of your symptoms point to other potential problems as well. Maybe bypass the core for a temp fix and see if the other problems go away - it would suck to pay to have a new core put in and still have a ton of problems.
