Anti-Freeze on floors but Heater Core checked out ok

azcards

A few weeks back I noticed that my heat wasn't working, was losing coolant from the reservoir and some fluid (coolant/antifreeze) on both driver and passenger side floors. Lot of miles on the car but its been great. Took it to the mechanic, they opened up dashboard, checked heater core said it was ok and determined the leak was coming from one of the small hoses near the heater core. Replaced the hose, car was ok for about a week then similar problem re-occurred. Leak seems very small, smaller than what it was before I took it in, (Ive replaced some coolant maybe once a week, about a pint) and it is confined to a small location on both driver side and passenger side, next to the door where the driver's left foot and passenger's right foot would be. Heat and de-fogger works sometime.

Can anyone out there take an educated guess as to where the leak is coming from, its driving me nuts and I'd rather not take it back to the mechanic since now I don't think they are very good. If I can I'd rather do it myself. The fluid on the floor isn't real close to the heater core, as I said its next to the doors on both sides in front, if that helps to give you an idea. Any suggestions are much appreciated!

(And also how difficult is it to find exactly where an internal leak like I describe is coming from, using the UV light. Its definitely not an external leak. Thanks!!)

azcards

Trying to find the source of the small leak, want to see if I can take care of it myself

Mr_Shiftright

Get ahold of a pressure pump and pressurize the cooling system. Then with the system under pressure--locked so to speak---you can start snooping around and I'll bet you'll spot the leak.

Don't overpressurize---couple pounds over radiator cap reading.

azcards

OK great, Thanks Mr. Shiftwright I appreciate the response! I will look into getting a hold of a pressure pump asap. My only question right now is using that, how would I spot an internal leak (the fluid is appearing mostly on the driver side floor near the door). I don't want to take the dashboard apart like the mechanic originally did, my skill level is only moderate. Thanks!!

thecardoc3

Was the repair done at a shop?

How would most people do if they were never allowed to make a mistake? Is there more to the story than just this single repair attempt?

By not contacting them they have no-idea that you are still experiencing an issue and have every reason to think that they served you way beyond what others might have done. If they couldn't prove that the heater core was leaking, and they did prove that a connection was leaking then they did exactly what they should have and repaired just the connection leak.

Think about this, if you had reported here that they had found the connection leak and also replaced the heater core that they couldn't prove was leaking they would have been criticized and portrayed as rip-offs for doing that. Nobody is perfect, especially every time and a lot of the work shops have to do is more difficult than people outside of the trade understand, especially because of the time allowances that have to also be accounted for.

Call them, and let them know you still have a problem and then if you must judge do so after that.

azcards

Yes it was done at a shop but Im keeping it anonymous because I don't think there is malicious intent on their part just poor work. But this will be the third time I would be taking it back to them for the same problem (I did stop by last week and notify them of the problem so they are aware. But they didn't seem as eager to admit it was the same problem this time lol. It is, believe me. They said they would "take care of me" but when I mentioned the warranty they wouldn't commit).
The second time I took it back to them they took everything apart again and claimed a hose clamp wasn't attached properly, they didn't charge me per the warranty. Then the car was ok for about a week until similar problems came back-- intermittent heat, de-fogger not working well and fluid on the floors. Of course if I could I would rather take care of it myself and just cut my loses. So you think I should give them a third chance at the same problem?

thecardoc3

There are people out there that sceam to take advantage of a shop's goodwill, so not admitting its "the same problem" without first proving that it really is doesn't suggest anything. Only by following through and having them look at it again can some of the answers be found. It's likely that a third visit will see the issue escalated to a more senior technician if they have one available. Coolant leaks are generally assigned to younger, less experienced technicians.
When the issue proves to be elusive, it often demands a different approach than would be taken on any ordinary repair visit.