Steaming front windsheild

[scouttster]

Small amount of steaming in the front windsheild and I'm needing to top off the radiator every few days. Must be a leak in the heater core or hosing somewhere.. Difficult job?

Also, whats worn wheel bearings sound like on a front wheel. I'm getting a wupp, wupp, wupp sound out of the front left. The faster I go the more wupps I get..

[Petros]

That wupp, wupp sound is more likely a bad tire, better check it out. Bearings make a constant roar.

It sounds like a bad heater core. It is a big job to change the heater core, try radiator stop leak first. That usually does it.

[takza]

If you are in Florida...maybe just bypass the heater with the heater hoses and use an electric heater with fan now and then?

[scouttster]

I'll try the stop-leak first ( forgot all about that stuff )
Yes, I'm in Florida.. Great idea on the bypass
Thanks

[Petros]

When I lived in southern CA in collage, my heater corroded out and steamed the windows in my '71 datsun 510. I by-passed it and never really missed it, even on the colder mornings I just got used to not having it. Than three of us went skiing in Utah over the year end break in my car....

The worst thing about driving without a heater when it is 17 degees out is have to roll down the windows to keep ice from forming on the INSIDE of the glass from your breathing. When you have a layer of ice on the inside you can not see where you are going. The hurricane of cold air kept the windshield clear, and even with all our ski clothes on no one could stay warm!

We still talk about that memorable ski trip 30 years later!

[ARCHINSTL]

The worst thing about driving without a heater when it is 17 degees out is have to roll down the windows to keep ice from forming on the INSIDE of the glass from your breathing.

This was an NOT an unusual phenomenon for owners of old VW buses...
Because of her height, my youngest daughter was always dragooned into standing up and scraping the ice from the inside of the windshield.
Ahh, the bad old days...
Tom M.

[SynthDesign]

The heater core isn't really that hard to replace. You will have to pull the full dash out and dis-assemble the heater box. It took me about 4 hour to remove the dash , swap cores and and re-install everything. Heater cores are about $100 in WA for a re-manufactured unit.

I'd bypass it as soon as possible. Coolant leaking into the dash area can cause major havoc to wiring looms and electrical equipment.