Hey everyone its meen a LONG time since i've been on here, been so busy with work and school.

But i come to you guys for a second opinion, i was driving my truck yesterday and noticed that there was smoke or steam rolling out of my front two vents in the dash and so i turned on my a/c and everything seemed fine. i don't think it was smoke because it didn't smell like anything was burning. So when i left class last night i turned my heat on because it got pretty cold last night and it sprayed a film on my windows to the piont where i couldn't see.

I think its a heater core issue, but it is not using any coolant, and was wondering if you guys thought i should check somewhere else before jumping into the heater core because i know its not an easy task

oh and anyone who has done a heater core wow long did it take you to do, i need to plan out time if need be.

 

Well, some steam coming from the vents when the A/C is on is normal. If it's particularly humid then it's water vapor from the A/C system.

If it's spraying coolant on your windshield, then it's the heater core.

 

if its coolant you would smell it, it is kinda sweet smelling unless you are running just 100% water in the radiator.

 

Sweet smell? Carpet wet? Check the bottom of the HVAC housing for signs of coolant. Just the fact that it sprayed a film on the windshield that you couldn't wipe off doesn't sound too good. That's usually coolant vapor and can only come from the heater core unless you've blown a hose. Haven't changed one on a Dakota (fingers crossed) but have had some experience with other vehicles, and they all sucked! If you don't drink now you'll probably take it up by the time you're finished!

 

$40 part and about 8 to 12 hours of labor to remove the dash. Check your evaporator while you are changing your heater core. It would suck to change the core only to find out after everything is put back together that the evaporator is going bad. If you take it to a shop, look at anywhere from $400-$900 to replace the heater core. Better to do it now than in the winter.

 

Good advice right there. I forgot to mention the evaporator.