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Of the three C4 Facebook groups I'm part of trying to learn as much as I can, CorvetteForum seems to have more accurate answers and a wider knowledge base so I finally made an account.
I have a 1990 coupe L98 6ZF with FX3 suspension, 135k miles, straight piped due to clogged cats but otherwise stock. It's in great condition inside and out, but like all C4's it needs some attention on the odds and ends. Whether stripping, stereo install, good tune up, rear defrost wiring needs to be reconnected, small general maintenance. The biggest issue at the moment is my heater core is bad. I'm not sure if its clogged or cracked, currently it's bypassed.
I'm decently mechanically inclined, but this is my first vette, and first V8 so I have a lot to learn since it's a whole new animal than I'm used to. For now, I'm not wanting to mod it other than make sure it's running like it should and the aforementioned maintenance is taken care of. Once it's in near perfect shape, then I'll decide on modifications. I'm not opposed to a CAI, correct exhaust system, simple bolt ons, etc but I doubt I'll be digging deep into the engine, at least not for a good while.
Any and all help will be appreciated! Seems like every time I learn something about this car, I find 10 more things to learn even though I've read that owners manual a dozen times.
QUESTION: My windshield got a SMALL bit of steam on it that was undoubtedly coolant, then within two minutes my coolant started to dump from somewhere under the passenger side of my engine bay. It really drained fast like a hose popped off. So, since I was in a hurry to leave town for training, I had my local mechanic just bypass the heater core. No leaks, engine temp is fine, everything is great except I don't have heat. I'd like to try to flush it as (for obvious reasons) I'd rather not replace it. But my question is, how can I tell if it's leaking/cracked or just clogged? I don't really want to run water through it and flood my interior/electrical components if it is cracked. Is there a way to diagnose whether it's clogged or cracked? Just a few hours after I bought the car (which had been well cared for but had been mostly sitting for roughly a year, garage kept though) it overheated. I had a new radiator put in that day, and it was full of rust, dirt, etc. I think it's highly possibly that all that junk flushed right up into my heater core when I ran the coolant through the system, clogging it. The main/only reason I think it may be cracked is the but of coolant steam I got one time on my windshield. There is/was no coolant leakage inside the car, from what I could tell.
What are your thoughts on this? How do I know if it's clogged or cracked? And, if there's no true way to know, will flushing it risk causing damage to my interior?
Welcome to the Forum, Shawn, and congratulations on your nice C4!
Jeff T has you pointed the right direction for questions. People on the Intro page can be owners of anything from a C1 to a C8, so the C4 sections are definitely the right place.
You will probably get the same response from someone there, but one way to check for a clogged heater core is by running the engine and turning on the heater. Give it a few minutes to warm up then check the two lines running into the heater core. If one line is hot and one line is cool, you have confirmed the heater core is either clogged or "dead." From the description of the junk in the radiator, it is definitely possible it is just clogged.
Best wishes with this and other fixes you are wanting to make to your C4.
I appreciate it! When I posted this I wasn't familiar with how this site worked haha the question has been posted in the c4 section. I'll find out tuesday of the core is clogged or cracked, fingers crossed!
Designer Imagines A Corvette That Looks More Like a Corvette Than the Corvette
Slideshow: A Jaguar designer's personal project imagines what a modern front-engined Corvette might look like if Chevrolet revisited the golden age of the Stingray.
welcome
Good to be here!
