93 240 - How bad is my problem???

  • Thread starter Thread starter Sammy
  • Start date Start date
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Sammy

My 93 240 is losing coolant fluid at a rather slow rate. I cannot see
anything under the hood.

Here's the kicker, it's winter over here (temp below freezing), I
start the car and everything is fine. But if I set the thermostat to
warm (in order to have warm air in the car), smoke will appear. The
smoke is kind of transparent and will come through the air louvers.
After a while the smoke is gone but I have a bad case of condensation
on the windows.

If I set the temp to cool (extreme left) then there is no smoke.

I'm no expert, but I read most posts in this group. Could it be that
the coolant fluid is leaking in the vicinity of the heater core?

If yes, how bad will it be if I decide to do it myself? The blower
fan is not noisy, but since I'll be in the neighborhood, should I
change it too? Anything else I should know???

Is it simply a matter of removing the dash and it is right below? I
never seen one and never got close to one before. ALL help is
appreciated. One last thing, I guess that would be a $1,000+ job if
done at the dealer of in most indep. .

Thanks for your help.
 
Uh-oh, this sure sounds like a leaky heater core. Like a miniatuare
radiator, but it's located in the base of the dash console, on top of
the transmission hump. When it gets a leak, the coolant gets sprayed
out via the heater/cooler vent system and is most noticeable on the
windshield.

You need an intelligent tiny ten-year-old kid to get in there and do the
job. Maybe a five-year-old would fit even better.

It costs a couple hundred or more to get this job done. I'd only
suggest it as a do-it-yourself job if you're an experienced and patient
mechahic as it's a real pain to get in there, lots of small parts, etc. etc.

Brcue Pick
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Sammy said:
My 93 240 is losing coolant fluid at a rather slow rate. I cannot see
anything under the hood.

Here's the kicker, it's winter over here (temp below freezing), I
start the car and everything is fine. But if I set the thermostat to
warm (in order to have warm air in the car), smoke will appear. The
smoke is kind of transparent and will come through the air louvers.
After a while the smoke is gone but I have a bad case of condensation
on the windows.

If I set the temp to cool (extreme left) then there is no smoke.

I'm no expert, but I read most posts in this group. Could it be that
the coolant fluid is leaking in the vicinity of the heater core?

If yes, how bad will it be if I decide to do it myself? The blower
fan is not noisy, but since I'll be in the neighborhood, should I
change it too? Anything else I should know???

Is it simply a matter of removing the dash and it is right below? I
never seen one and never got close to one before. ALL help is
appreciated. One last thing, I guess that would be a $1,000+ job if
done at the dealer of in most indep. .

Thanks for your help.
Click to expand...


Your heater core is leaking, the part isn't particularly expensive but it's
no fun to replace, you have to remove the entire heater box which means
taking apart the center console in the dash. Forget the dealer, a good
independent mechanic should be able to do this for substantially less than
$1000, last one I took apart took about 2 hours to get it apart and 3 to put
it back together, I would guess a good shop would take about 4 hours to do
the job.
 
Thanks for the info. Unfortunately I don't have the money to get the
job done by someone else.

Should I also change the blower while I'm there? I don't think my
blower is particularly noisy, but since I'm the neighborhood. Is a
bolwer expensive? Parts will have to come from a dealer.

Any other advice?

Thanks.

P.S. I've already decided to remove the two front seats, that should
make it more confortable to work.
 
Sammy said:
Thanks for the info. Unfortunately I don't have the money to get the
job done by someone else.

Should I also change the blower while I'm there? I don't think my
blower is particularly noisy, but since I'm the neighborhood. Is a
bolwer expensive? Parts will have to come from a dealer.

Any other advice?

Thanks.

P.S. I've already decided to remove the two front seats, that should
make it more confortable to work.
Click to expand...

If you buy it at the dealer nearly everything is expensive, you may be
shocked. I'd always look into ordering online unless I needed the part
*now*. If the blower motor is quiet you could probably get by with oiling
the bearings, it's when the oil dries up that it damages them. Take your
time, put screws and fasteners in labeled baggies, sort all the parts in a
box or tub, and if you have one, use a digital camera to take pictures as
you take things apart. There's nothing particularly hard about the job, just
a lot of taking things apart and then remembering how they all went.
 
Should I also change the blower while I'm there? I don't think my
blower is particularly noisy, but since I'm the neighborhood. Is a
bolwer expensive? Parts will have to come from a dealer.
Click to expand...

Jings crivvens help ma boab as we (allegedly) say in these parts!

Before changing the heater core try a radiator sealant... Radweld's what we
use in Scotland generaly. The lable on your bottle may vary!

Otherwise; I'd take the core out and pass it to a radiator guy who will
pressurise the thing and solder up the leak; or do you a re-con unit for but
a crate or two of beer (or dollar equivalent)....Mabe even do the junkyard
thing! Cores (heater and rad) can be tested with some hose and a wallpaper
steamer!
 
"LaoFuZhi" <the.real.address [email protected]
thing.not.too.hard.to.work.out> wrote in message
Jings crivvens help ma boab as we (allegedly) say in these parts!

Before changing the heater core try a radiator sealant... Radweld's what we
use in Scotland generaly. The lable on your bottle may vary!

Otherwise; I'd take the core out and pass it to a radiator guy who will
pressurise the thing and solder up the leak; or do you a re-con unit for but
a crate or two of beer (or dollar equivalent)....Mabe even do the junkyard
thing! Cores (heater and rad) can be tested with some hose and a wallpaper
steamer!
Click to expand...

Or you can just buy a brand new one for about $200, if the radiator sealant
doesn't work (and I'm not sure I trust that stuff to not clog other things
up) and you have to remove the thing, I would just use a new part unless I
was totally broke and my time was worthless. The labor on this job will far
outweigh the cost of the part. For things that are easy to replace then by
all means recycle a good used one, but replacing the heater core on a 240 is
somewhat like replacing the crankshaft in the engine. Nothing particularly
hard about it so to speak but it's rather complex.
 
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