Ive got a 2002 4wd thats been gioving me a lot of trouble. The most recent: when I run the car I smell coolant and the windsheild fogs up...bad. The shop told me its the heater core but I replaced that a year and a half ago. (parts/labor warranty expired) Is it common for a blazer with 100k mi to go through 2 cores? COluld it be something else? Also the engine is now running at or around 210 degrees when it used to be under 200. The coolant levels are dropping but not by mush and I cant find a leak anywhere

Other porblem is A/C does not work, it just blows hot air. Shop siad accumulator. Are they related?

I cant afford to pay another $1000 to replace the core and before I try it myself I'd like to be sure of what it is.

thanks

 

Yes its tell tale heater core replacement time. if you didnt flush well when you changed it last time it is possible that a chunk of rust/gunk lodged in the core and caused a leak or maybe a faulty core. When I replaced mine i got one from autozone which had a lifetime warranty, but it dont matter cuz the taking off the dash is the lame part, lol, not the 40$ core, lol. hope it helps. not sure what to say about the AC though.

 

Definitely sounds like the core is bad. It is not common for them to go bad this quickly, but aftermarket part quality being as it is, it is not unheard of. This can be especially true if short cuts were taken during the replacement process and things were damaged in the reinstall. There also can be other complications if the cooling system was not properly cleaned/flushed during the repair.

 

thanks for the replies.

Update: for whatever reason it is now stuck on A/C. I still smell coolant but not as bad and the windshield does not fog up. It dosent matter what setting I put it on or where I turn the temp control, hot or cold, the A/C runs. I guess since its hot out thats better but really it just confuses me more.....

Bad Vacuum line somewhere? Im out of Ideas.