Summer time. 75 and sunny all week. The last thing I would expect to happen is for the heater core to crack.

Driving to work I noticed a smell of coolant. Didn't know if it was my car or another car at first. Then my hood was steaming on the passenger side. Get to work coolant is low and the car was a little warmer then normal. Had a few buddies of mine help me look for the leak. Pulled back the carpet on the passenger side. Seen the coolant dripping down the fire wall, looked under the car fire wall is SOAKED. Heater core must have cracked.

So after work stopped into Autozone and picked up $5 worth of hoses and connectors to bypass the heater core until I had money and time to fix it. A week later went to the dealer they wanted $140 JUST FOR THE PART. Then offered $350 total to install it. So I went back to Autozone. Picked one up for $30 and $15 for some coolant.

Took me almost all day to install. First I had to pull the ENTIRE dash board off. Then had to squeeze my tools and hands in to take the plastic box off that had the heater core in it. Once I got that opened, coolant was everywhere. A nice crack and hole on the bottom of the core. The only thing I could think of is that I had the A/C cranked so it was so cold in the car that the heat from the coolant cracked it or something. It is a 15 year old car tho.

So it cold have been worse like a regulator or water pump, but in the end just took a day off and $45 or so. Not bad for only being the 2nd biggest project behind a gasket job. Love this car.