heater core leak?

[rob231]

my car smells like antifreeze. it also heats up to about 210 when at idle for a while but cools down when moving. it usually runs at 180. when it gets up to 210, the heat goes to cold and the temp. will go back to normal shortly afterwards. is this my heater core or thermostat going bad? the coolant level seems normal. thanks for your help.

[XtreMeCamAro]

look on your passenger side under the hood towards the back and you should see a leak against the firewall if your heater core is leaking, but if i where you chnage your thermostat and if you do decide to change your heater core i can help i just did it about 2 months ago

[ChameleonGreen]

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by rob231:
[QB]when it gets up to 210, the heat goes to cold and the temp. will go back to normal shortly afterwards.[QB]<hr></blockquote>

When your heat goes from hot air to cold air, that usually means there is air in your system. If you have basic fix-it skills, you can take off the thermostat housing, just like you would do to change the thermostat. Once that's off, pull the themostat out and pour antifreeze mix directly into the engine until full. Put the thermo back it. Now, pull the metal thermostat housing still connected to the hose out so you can raise it straight up and down. Bend it back some so you can get a funnel into that end and put mix down there until full as well. Then put everything back together and you should have most of the air out of the system. Make sure to fill the resivoir as well. If it stays normal for a while, and then the problem comes back again, you have a coolant leak somewhere.