1/26/2024 0 Comments Coolant leak cost![]() It was parked at my warehouse (I own a business that makes hair products), and I can't remember if the passenger side was locked or not. He also said it seems like it could have been deliberate. But Adel said not to worry about driving it, since he can't seem to find anything wrong! It doesn't smell like gas at the gas station.I just don't know what the heck it is. My husband said it smelled like paint thinner. He said there’s really no way for gas to leak into the cabin like that. Before it was so strong I practically had to drive with my head hanging out the window. It was very hard to smell it, it was so faint. The smell was only lingering from before, as I had left the doors of the car open to air it out and was nothing NEAR what I had experienced earlier. It ran fine (as usual - that car runs great!), started fine, everything seemed fine. I ran the heater and the defrost like I had done on my drive home. He even took his shoes off so he could feel if something was leaking down there again. We went for a drive to try to re-create the problem and couldn’t. So he checked it all out and couldn’t find any leaks of any kind. Adel said it smelled more like gas or kerosene or something. (Adel, my mechanic, said that if it were coolant it would still be soaking wet, since it was only a few hours) The hoses were perfect and my coolant was FULL, so it really wasn’t leaking after all. Plus, the floormats were no longer wet – the liquid had all evaporated. It gave me a horrible headache and smelled flammable. The smell was very “fumey”, like varnish or paint thinner or something. ![]() The minute he smelled the smell of the stuff that had been all over the floor mats, he said, “That’s NOT coolant.” I personally have no idea what coolant smells like. This short thread adds a few more tips: f=5 t=024203#000000 Here is a link to one thread describing the procedure (although the photos seem to be no longer accessable): f=5 t=023782#000000 Any competent mechanic should be able to perform it well, and it should limit your labor cost to a couple of hours of labor total. Since heater core replacement is not an unusual repair on older Miatas, a "no dash removal" core replacement method has been developed and described here on. On its own, a new core is not too expensive, maybe $100-150? it is all the dash removal/reinstallation labor that will drain your mechanic's patience and your pocketbook's money. If your problem is with the heater "core" (a mini-radiator under the dash that uses the hot engine coolant to heat up the vent air), the standard way to fix it is to remove the whole dash in order to be able to remove the core and replace it with a new one. ![]() :(Ī couple of notes: if you have pets at home, they may try to eat/drink the coolant that leaked out as it will taste sweet - don't let them, as it is poisonous. Thank you in advance for any insight you can provide. I’m not a DIYer at all, so that’s not an option for me. Which means I’ll have to take it to a shop where I’m a stranger.Ĭan anyone tell me, roughly of course, what I could expect for each scenario? (hoses sound easy and cheap – heater core sounds horrible and not cheap) My mechanic is leaving for 4 weeks on Tuesday, and he’s going to come check the car out for me tomorrow – it MAY be, however, that it’s too big of a job for him to deal with before his trip. I did a search here and saw lots of threads but I didn’t see what to expect cost-wise for this situation. He said it could EITHER be really easy (hoses) or REALLY hard to fix. So I immediately called my mechanic (he freelances – doesn’t work in a shop – does it all from his house) and he said it sounds like a coolant leak. Smelled the same as it did during the drive. ![]() When I got home, I saw that the floor mat on the passenger side (and thus my bag that was on the floor) was SOAKED in some horrible smelling liquid. While driving home today with the heater and defroster on high, I began to smell a horrible smell – like paint varnish or something toxic like that. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |