Question: Steam from the defrost vents

[The73vetteman]

Hello all,

After a long break I've resumed driving my '73, only to find a strange new problem. Once it's warmed up I get steam blowing from the defrost vents on the top of the dash. If I turn on the fan the problem gets worse. I need to fix this 'cause the windshield steams up and I'm planning to drive to the Woodward Cruise next weekend.

Unfortunately my heater/vent controls aren't working, so I can't divert the air/steam elsewhere.

I'm thinking this means I have a leak in my heater core, so can anyone tell me how long I should allow to pull the right and center dash panels and replace it?

As a quick fix I'm wondering about just pulling hoses from the heater inlet and outlet and joining them together. Anyone have any thoughts on this?

Thanks in advance for your help and suggestions.

J

 

[JohnZ]

As a quick fix I'm wondering about just pulling hoses from the heater inlet and outlet and joining them together. Anyone have any thoughts on this?

That will bypass and de-pressurize the heater core, which is a good idea right now; also get some plastic down on the floor below the heater case and pull the carpet back from the firewall below the heater case - it's going to leak some coolant from what's left in the core before you pull it.

 

[Crimson Thunder]

You can use your shop-vac to try and get some of the coolant out of the heater core after you bypass it.