Been there, done that.  Actually I just pulled the cover to find the source
of the antifreeze smell from the rear heater.  First discovery was the lack
of a gasket between the shutoff fitting (what I call the valve) and the
heater core.  When I pushed on the valve and the engine was hot , antifreeze
sprayed out.  Upon closer examination of the core there was a lot of dried
antifreeze at the bottom of the core, obvious leakage.

I just pulled the core and put a tempary hose in to conect the in and out
hoses.  Used 5/8 inch hose and couplings.  Worked well.

New core to arrive for weekend instilation.  The remaining problem is to
remove the antifreeze from the cork/foam padding under the carpets.  A lot
accomulated even though I never would smell anything unless the rear blower
was turned on.

later

Brad

Holm wrote:

> I believe that the shutoff fitting, rather than the core, is
> probably leaking. From what I understand you need to replace
> with new,  as there is no "fix" to the fitting itself.
>
> You should be able to see the situation quite easily if you pull
> the cover off.
>
> VH
> 84 Westy
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: todd goodno <tgoodno@HOTMAIL.COM>
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
> Date: 13 December, 1999 10:01 PM
> Subject: coolant smell
>
> >hey everyone
> >recently, when turning on my rear heater, i'm smelling anit freeze, i'm
> >making the uneducated assumption that it is probably my heater core, but
> >before buying one should there be other things that i check? thanks
> >todd
> >90 westy
> >
> >______________________________________________________
> >Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com
> >

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