Oh noes! Winter is kicking my ***!

[InfraredMonkey]

Well, as some of you may or may not know, my water pump looks like it's leaking. Not sure where or if it's a gasket. Anyone, now and then I would have to top it off with 50/50.

For the past couple of days, it's been near 0 degrees and now my heater seems like it works half the time now. Somedays, my car would be nice and toasty, others it would feel colder as if I just stepped into a refrigerator.

My A/C is bypassed, and the water pump is slightly leaking, also lately I've been getting lower voltage according to the gauges and higher temps too, but that can be remedied with a check on the coolant levels. Someone told me it might be the thermostat. Any ideas?

Sometimes, if I turn off the whole HVAC system and turn it back, the heat might came back.

Help? :(

[tkoforpresident]

Re: Oh noes! Winter is kicking my ***!

sorry to be a d!ck, but get a winter car for like 400$

[cam98aro]

Re: Oh noes! Winter is kicking my ***!

easier said than done.. that $400 car will cost a bunch in insurance

[tkoforpresident]

Re: Oh noes! Winter is kicking my ***!

my winter car costs like 40$ a month for ins. plus it gets better mpg than the bird.

[InfraredMonkey]

Re: Oh noes! Winter is kicking my ***!

my winter car costs like 40$ a month for ins. plus it gets better mpg than the bird.

To be honest, I was thinking of that, buying a beater for winter, but I'm still on my dad's insurance and I'm paying bills plus rent, I can't afford the beater if or when it needs repairs.

I know you're trying to help, but lets see if we can shine some light on my situation.

Update: I topped off the coolant, but the heater is still dead and I'm still slow leaking my coolant :( BOY, IT'S COLD!! -5 degrees this morning, I'm surprised it started up on the first try.

[tkoforpresident]

Re: Oh noes! Winter is kicking my ***!

ok forget the beater idea.

what kind of thermostat do u have in the car?

[InfraredMonkey]

Re: Oh noes! Winter is kicking my ***!

ok forget the beater idea.

what kind of thermostat do u have in the car?

As far as I know, stock, but I'm not sure and I don't want to screw up anything. Is there a good way to check without breaking or ruining anything?

How about the A/C bypass? Will that interfere with the operation of heat within the HVAC?

[Blue02]

Re: Oh noes! Winter is kicking my ***!

When the coolant in the radiator is low the heater is the first to go. The engine is usually second. Dexcool? Slime? If the temp guage is coming up to it's normal range it's not the thermostat. Have you bled the system?

[InfraredMonkey]

Re: Oh noes! Winter is kicking my ***!

When the coolant in the radiator is low the heater is the first to go. The engine is usually second. Dexcool? Slime? If the temp guage is coming up to it's normal range it's not the thermostat. Have you bled the system?

I have no bled the system, but you might have a point on the low coolant. With full coolant, it appears that my heater works perfectly. The coolant I added, I guess had some stop-leak missed in, which so far is keeping.

I'm taking to my mechanic on my next day off to see if it's the pump itself or a gasket. Wish me some luck.

[techsan23]

Re: Oh noes! Winter is kicking my ***!

stopleak ussually end up clogging up the cooling system, our radiators suck in hot weather as it is. when your rad is topped off your heater core is working properly, when it gets low your heat drops. fix your leak first and flush the sys to get stop leak out and re-evaluate.

[tkoforpresident]

Re: Oh noes! Winter is kicking my ***!

stopleak ussually end up clogging up the cooling system, our radiators suck in hot weather as it is. when your rad is topped off your heater core is working properly, when it gets low your heat drops. fix your leak first and flush the sys to get stop leak out and re-evaluate.

yeah do this before u start tearing your car apart

[InfraredMonkey]

Re: Oh noes! Winter is kicking my ***!

yeah do this before u start tearing your car apart

Looks like I was wrong, I thought it had stop-leak, that is not true, I apologize. It's still dripping alittle, but my heater is fine, so I think it's all about my coolant that is causing chaos.

So on Friday, I'm planning on dropping off my car at the shop to see if they can find that leak and what's causing it.