924Board.org

[Mitragorz]

Hey all,

The car has been parked in the driveway, under a cover all winter. I hopped in it today for the first tim thinking I could cruise to the office with the sunroof out, it’s a beautiful day.

First thing I notice when I get in is a musty smell. I’m used to it, I had a leaky rear hatch for a long time, but had it fixed last fall. But it’s a 40 year old, original car. Bad seals, whatever. I’ll just park it in the sun with the windows down and let it dry.

I pull to the end of the driveway, park it, and hop out to check her parking spot for puddles. Sure enough, there’s a small puddle, maybe two inches across... watery with a slight orange tint. Pretty much dead center, nearly underneath where the engine would’ve been. Great. I’ll deal with it later.

Hop back in the car, and now I happen to catch a drop fall from under the dash, all the way on the far passenger side. I give it a good look. It’s orangeish.

I put it back in its spot and reluctantly took my pickup to work.

I’m thinking hearer core. Thoughts? And if it is, how involved is it to change?











EDIT: Sorry about the giant pics... Not sure how to resize them.
_________________
1980 924 N/A

[924RACR]

Very possible; common problem.

The tough part can be finding a replacement. I ended up buying a 944 heater core and swapping out the end tank to fit my car!
_________________
Vaughan Scott
Webmeister
'79 924 #77 SCCA H Prod racecar
'82 931 Plat. Silver
#25 Hidari Firefly P2 sports prototype

[Harm]

[Mitragorz]

The car is a 1980 with AC, though the AC is... well, pretty shot. Blower doesn't work, but I think it's a bad rotary switch. Previous owner also said that the system discharged itself of R12. Lack of AC doesn't bother me.

Anyway, found this guy at AutoAtlanta: http://www.autoatlanta.com/Porsche-Heater-Core-Parts-PN-R171819031E.html

$30 if pretty reasonable, I think.

Now... How involved is replacing this thing?
_________________
1980 924 N/A

[D Hook]

Have you checked your battery box lately? The orange-looking color could be rust rather than antifreeze. It leaks into the cabin, makes the AC components on that side rust (blower motor, screen) and then onto the carpet. I would investigate that before the heater core.
_________________
'80 924 n/a SOLD

[MikeJinCO]

I would look closely at the battery first as getting to the heating coil is not a lot of fun. In the "Technical" section under bodywork their is a good write up on removing the dash. Having removed the dash on both a non AC car and tan AC car, the cooling coil makes it a bit uglier.

Be careful when disconnecting the heater hose from the coil as that is a plastic fitting and pretty fragile and not very available.
_________________
Mike


'67 MG Midget Dp
'71 Ocelot Dsr Kawasaki 1000(under rebuild)

[D Hook]

[Mitragorz]

[D Hook]

Only way to know for sure is to either pull the batter out and check under that and have someone pour a couple cups of water into the battery box while you're laying under the dash and watch for leaks. It may take some time to work it's way through the A/C stuff that's crammed in there. Might have to bounce the car a little.

Problem with getting moisture into the cabin is that it starts to corrode everything like ground terminals, fuse/relay box, seat rails, etc.

Sealing the battery box area is pretty easy. Maybe some of that new Flex Paste that's being advertised would do it.
_________________
'80 924 n/a SOLD

[Mitragorz]

[924RACR]

Lucky bastard.

Coolant leaking from the heater core usually ends up soaked into the carpet on the RHS, and won't smell the same as plain water. Easy test.
_________________
Vaughan Scott
Webmeister
'79 924 #77 SCCA H Prod racecar
'82 931 Plat. Silver
#25 Hidari Firefly P2 sports prototype