Misc Heater Core Leak?

[jzak]

Hey Guys! I just noticed an extremely slow leak coming from under the vent assembly where the heater core is. It's hard to tell if it's coolant, or just water. I recently drove in a thunderstorm, and I was getting water dripping in the same spot, but that was definitely from the rust holes in the windshield cowl. The leak doesn't seem to change if the engine is running or not. I checked hoses in the firewall, and they're bone dry. I'm also not getting any smells or steam indicating a bad heater core, but It's very possible I cracked it when replacing the hoses a couple months ago. If it is the core, I really don't want to have to bypass it, but I also don't want a sudden river of boiling coolant spraying on my passenger's legs (Happened in my old Bronco).
So what do you guys think? Should I just keep an eye on it, or do I need to do something about it? Thanks!

 

[CJ]

You know what is right. Bypass and cut off the hoses. It's the best way to eliminate the issue.

 

[hole]

At a minimum I would keep the tools/parts to bypass on the side of the road as needed, but I'm a run with sissors kind of guy. Coolant smell should be pretty strong in the cab if it is indeed a heater core.

 

[jzak]

Yup! I broke the heater core. I tried to be careful when replacing the hoses, but they were literally glued to the core ports. So I'm wondering where this leaves me. Replacing the heater core is not an option right now. Moving the pump>core hose to the intake manifold would be ideal, but I don't think it's long enough, and finding another 7/8" to 9/16" hose is really hard. Can I bypass the intake manifold entirely? It doesn't get super cold here in NC, but it's definitely not Florida. Thanks for all the help!

 

[CJ]

Do you need a heater core? Do you need heat?

 

[hole]

You can get a reducer fitting/nipple for the hose size differences

 

[CJ]

Just bypass

 

[jzak]

Thanks for all the feedback! I think I just save myself a lot of pain and suffering. It looks like I fixed the leak by tightening down the hose clamps. It doesn't make any sense to me since I replaced those hoses three months ago, and never had a problem until just now. Also, if the hoses were leaking, wouldn't the leak be at the firewall side, and not under the dashboard? I just can't get my head around it, but I guess don't look a gift horse in the mouth.

 

[jzak]

Do you think that maybe the leak has something to do with the weather changing? During the summer, it was hot enough for the hoses to keep a seal, but as the fall temps came, everything shrunk and it started leaking? That would make sense why the leaks formed overnight during the coldest temperatures. Just a thought.

 

[Belizean]

My Sniper hose clamp at tank backed off a couple months ago and with around 60 lbs pressure you find out pretty quickly. Then 3 days ago the clamp backed off slightly at throttle body. Let me know pretty quickly also. Just a slight drip at both. Maybe just the hose shrinking slightly over time and heat cycles.