stop leak for heater cores?

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted By: Russell
Originally Posted By: Russell
Originally Posted By: Trav
Strange as they are not in the same the same area of the case. There are 3 heater hoses, drivers, passengers and the return.
These IIRC use worm clamps, make sure they are tight. Check all worm clamps for tightness.
Are you sure its coolant coming out of the A/C drain or could it be running down the outside of it?

It is unusual not to get at least a slight film on the inside of the windshield when you have a leaking core.
There is a pipe on the core held by 2 bolts inside the case if this was leaking at the joint it seems possible for it just to leak out the bottom of the case.
The stop leak should have no problem sealing this up permanently, its a corroded core that is more of a problem but they tend to leak badly and fog the inside of the windshield and get worse quickly.

Check the clamps and drive it. I am optimistic.


Trav, Thanks will check everything tomorrow especially the source underneath. I had a leak in the heater hose area before. It was the aux water pump. replaced and all was good. Does not seem to be the same. However a hose of the heater valve could be leaking. No obvious film on the windows.


No apparent leaking from the heater valve/pump area. clamps are tight. Cannot see any leakage under car when parked after driving. Coolant level seems OK. This is after I added 4 tabs of the GM product and drove around with the heater full blast. We shall see.

You might have successfully stopped a small leak! Keep us posted.

 

[kschachn]

Hopefully it is stopped and it's not the core, but I will say that if it is like my '94 530i it's not that hard to change. $900 is a lot.

Unless you have to change out the pipes leading to the firewall, then that's a totally different story.

Originally Posted By: Russell
The parts are about $200. My independent BMW shop will charge about $900 or so total to do the job.

I have thought about the heater core bypass. Also it seems that on this model, if you turn the heater completely off not much, if any, coolant flows through the heater core.

 

[kschachn]

No, the worst case is that you plug up the radiator, or gum up something else like the aux pump or valve. There are small passages in the valve especially.

Originally Posted By: demarpaint
I've had success with stop leak products over the years. We all know replacing parts is the best way to go but think about it for a moment. $900 to pay a shop or more, and if a person doesn't have the tools, knowledge or plans on getting rid of the car, why not try the stop leak product? The snake oil comments get old after a while. Give it a shot OP, all you have to lose is the cost of the product, and a little time. Some or these products might still come with a money back guarantee. The worst case is you have to by-pass the system or pony up for the repair.

 

[Russell]

Originally Posted By: kschachn
Hopefully it is stopped and it's not the core, but I will say that if it is like my '94 530i it's not that hard to change. $900 is a lot.

Unless you have to change out the pipes leading to the firewall, then that's a totally different story.

Originally Posted By: Russell
The parts are about $200. My independent BMW shop will charge about $900 or so total to do the job.

I have thought about the heater core bypass. Also it seems that on this model, if you turn the heater completely off not much, if any, coolant flows through the heater core.
I am sure it is similar to your 530i. However, you have to remove the console and a large portion of the dash. Plus part of the heater box etc. That's a lot of work to me. That said, I may do part of the parts removal and let my shop do the core install and i re-install the console etc. They charge by the hour, not flat rate. BTW, $900 was on the high end. Of course this all depends on my "fix".

 

[Russell]

Originally Posted By: kschachn
No, the worst case is that you plug up the radiator, or gum up something else like the aux pump or valve. There are small passages in the valve especially.

Originally Posted By: demarpaint
I've had success with stop leak products over the years. We all know replacing parts is the best way to go but think about it for a moment. $900 to pay a shop or more, and if a person doesn't have the tools, knowledge or plans on getting rid of the car, why not try the stop leak product? The snake oil comments get old after a while. Give it a shot OP, all you have to lose is the cost of the product, and a little time. Some or these products might still come with a money back guarantee. The worst case is you have to by-pass the system or pony up for the repair.


Everyone says the GM product does not clog or gum up things. I hope so as I don't want to break "everything". The entire cooling system on the e34 series is a problem.

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted By: kschachn
No, the worst case is that you plug up the radiator, or gum up something else like the aux pump or valve. There are small passages in the valve especially.

Originally Posted By: demarpaint
I've had success with stop leak products over the years. We all know replacing parts is the best way to go but think about it for a moment. $900 to pay a shop or more, and if a person doesn't have the tools, knowledge or plans on getting rid of the car, why not try the stop leak product? The snake oil comments get old after a while. Give it a shot OP, all you have to lose is the cost of the product, and a little time. Some or these products might still come with a money back guarantee. The worst case is you have to by-pass the system or pony up for the repair.

Not with the product he used. A simple flush will rid itself of the ginger based product, no harm no foul. Give the people who make the product a call and ask, that's what I did.

 

[kschachn]

Well, just make sure it is the heater core if you do go after it. And if it is the pipes that lead back to the firewall, it requires the instrument panel to be completely removed from the car, and then the ventilation box is removed and split open to get those pipes out. I saw on somebody's website that they said they removed the pipes without splitting the heater box. There's no way. In fact, once you take it apart you find out that the design of the box is such that it is supposed to clamp the pipes in place so they don't flop around inside the box. Even if you managed to get the old ones out there is -no- way you would get the new ones in.

But that is beyond where you are now. Just replacing the core is much easier, once you get the front cover off the box it is right there. No spare room to work of course, but there is enough.

Originally Posted By: Russell
I am sure it is similar to your 530i. However, you have to remove the console and a large portion of the dash. Plus part of the heater box etc. That's a lot of work to me. That said, I may do part of the parts removal and let my shop do the core install and i re-install the console etc. They charge by the hour, not flat rate. BTW, $900 was on the high end. Of course this all depends on my "fix".

 

[kschachn]

OK if you say so. I'm not trying to be snarky but the heater control valve on this car has little passages, I understand what they might say but I wouldn't do it. Not on this car at least.

Originally Posted By: demarpaint
Originally Posted By: kschachn
No, the worst case is that you plug up the radiator, or gum up something else like the aux pump or valve. There are small passages in the valve especially.

Originally Posted By: demarpaint
I've had success with stop leak products over the years. We all know replacing parts is the best way to go but think about it for a moment. $900 to pay a shop or more, and if a person doesn't have the tools, knowledge or plans on getting rid of the car, why not try the stop leak product? The snake oil comments get old after a while. Give it a shot OP, all you have to lose is the cost of the product, and a little time. Some or these products might still come with a money back guarantee. The worst case is you have to by-pass the system or pony up for the repair.

Not with the product he used. A simple flush will rid itself of the ginger based product, no harm no foul. Give the people who make the product a call and ask, that's what I did.

 

[Trav]

Quote:
OK if you say so. I'm not trying to be snarky but the heater control valve on this car has little passages, I understand what they might say but I wouldn't do it. Not on this car at least.

The passages may be small but i guarantee you they are bigger than the tube diameter in the heater core and that doesn't clog.
Don't confuse ginger root based sealers with other types of sealers, it is a totally different animal and works differently.

This is not a roaming clog looking for a place to stop. There are very small passages in some heated throttle bodies and have no problem at all with this type of sealer.

 

[Russell]

Originally Posted By: Trav
Quote:
OK if you say so. I'm not trying to be snarky but the heater control valve on this car has little passages, I understand what they might say but I wouldn't do it. Not on this car at least.

The passages may be small but i guarantee you they are bigger than the tube diameter in the heater core and that doesn't clog.
Don't confuse ginger root based sealers with other types of sealers, it is a totally different animal and works differently.

This is not a roaming clog looking for a place to stop. There are very small passages in some heated throttle bodies and have no problem at all with this type of sealer.


Trav,
I appreciate all you have said about this particular situation. As of today, I see no leaks anywhere. I continue to drive around with the heater wide open to circulate the sealer. On Saturday it was about 80 degrees here in Ky so a bit warm in the car. May be freezing by tomorrow evening???

 

[Russell]

Still all good. No smells, leaks on the ground and coolant level seems stable.