info on bypass of hoses to stop leak of heater core into pass. compartment

Can anyone give me the lowdown on the temporary fix of leaking anti-freeze into the pass. compartment--bypassing the hoses? Is it a good idea (temp) and what does it involve. I appreciate any and all input on this. I am car repair literate and competent, but not cock-sure!

Thanks and Happy New Year,
Schellie

I have seen a patch in the past where you install cut off valves on the intake hoses on the engine side of the firewall. This way you can shut off the fluid from entering the heater core.

The down side is you will get NO heat of any kind. I own a 1972 Thunderbird that has this. The car was an Arizona car and this was used to cut off the heat so the interior would not get to hot on the very hot Arizona summer days.

Hope this helps.

if you do the temp. heater core fix, and really need heat, you might want to check out one of those 12V heaters/defrosters they sale in the auto parts stores. I dont know how good they work, but i'm thinkin about picking one up so i can have some heat when the engine is still cold......

You won't hurt anything by just bypassing the heater core, you'll just lose your heat in the interior of the car. Just stick a peice of pipe between the hoses and clamp 'em down. I don't particularly care for the shut off valves in the line, those would cause a back up of pressure behind the valve. The only application for those are as a shutoff on a coolant filter head to use so as not to lose a lot of coolant or introduce a lot of air into the system when the filter is changed.

If you have had any head gasket issues, you may want to keep your heater working - in case you have to use it to cool down your bird if it overheats.

*EDIT* Just saw your other post regarding the dripping of coolant into passenger side. Yeah, that sucks - but the above is still something to consider, I suppose.

Im not really sure if it would reach on these cars but I used to do it my old ranger when the heater core went out in it. I took the supply hose that hooks up to the heter core, and connected it to where the heater core return hose goes. That way you dont increase pressure and it is VERY simple to do (assuming the hose can reach).

Also there is a post on the 1st page of the "Tech help" thread at the top of the threads page that has insturctions on how to replace the heater core

Schellie,
Just in case you decide to go the full route of paying someone to fix your heater core, it books out at 10 hours. Ouch!

A 5/8" brass splicer is available at a hardware store plumbing section for 2-3 dollars. Disconnect both hoses going to the core and use the splicer to connect them together. A leaking heater core can allow toxic coolant fumes into the passenger compartment.

And if you do replace the core yourself, make sure you attach a ground strap from the core to the chassis to prevent future problems with this. There is a TSB on this, it's a common failure item in these cars.

I appreciate all of your responses and info. I just got back online recently and had not been able to read them yet, but we did the bypass by disconnecting the ingoing hose and rerouting it into the outgoing hose, therefore stopping it from going into the heating system at all. And, yes, it was pumping a noxious and no doubt poisonous steam that smelled like anti-freeze into the passenger compartment when heat or defrost was on, not to mention the puddle in the floorboard! It stopped both problems, but it also stopped the heat fr the heater and defrost, which is not great, but will not cause lung cancers or whatever else the steam would have.
Thank you for all of the info. I will give where I can and will no doubt return for more info for me! Thanks, Schellie