Hi

On my way to work this morning and all of sudden my windscreen mists up and I smell coolant. Any ideas? please don't tell me it's the head gasket.

 

Might sound a bit daft , but have you got Air con ? If so have you got it turned off and have you got the air flow switch set so it recirculates the air inside the car instead of taking it from outside (little picture of a car with an curved arrow in it )
This will cause the windows to mist !
again appologies if this sound a bit daft .
Good luck
Dave .

 

No, it's not go air con.

 

Sorry , not a lot of help then ! perhaps heater rad ? but I'll get your post back to the top and let the real techies sort it out .

 

It sounds exactly like a failure in the heating matrix or little radiator that heats the blowers. It happened to me last November and I had actual steam coming out of the blowers !

Better get it looked at quickish as there will be liquid flowing about behind the dash. Also watch your water level, particulary if you are going to be sat in traffic on your way home, I'd probably take a bottle of water with you to be safe.

D.

 

Make sure you air-vent is not set to re-circ.

If you think your heater matrix has split - check for wet footwells and coolant loss.

Also misting up can occur if you have a leak somewhere (sunroof, boot windows etc.) or if the car has just been valeted and wet-vacced

 

i'd second pilot dans comments - heater matrix or pipes/seal to/from.

watch your water level....

 

Pilot Dan, spot on. I have just had it checked out at a garage. I will try some rad weld, but I think I will need to replace the matrix.

 

DON'T TRY RAD WELD!!!

It will coke up other bits like your main raditor and cause more problems!

best fix is a matrix change, or checking for a loose/split pipe etc

 

Yep sounds like the matrix to me happened to me about 2 months ago, did the job myself .

 

Wha

Was it a hard job? what tools do you need? How long did it take and what price was the matrix.

 

My heart goes out to you

Just replaced my heater matrix last weekend

Top tip..........dont do it !!

Well
You need to get the dash out so as you can imagine its a git of a job.
Other things to think about, have you got a alarm/turbo timer or other after market mod wired in to you dash loom ?
If so this could make taking the dash out even harder.

I had to faf about with my alarm etc in the end opted for leaving the wiring in and easing the dash out of the way enough to get the heater box out

Ive got some scaned pages of a workshop manual for getting the dash out if you are going to do it your self.
If you want them drop me a mail

Paul.G