Riding my 2000 malibu last week and the heater under the drivers feet started leaking. I had it winterized by the dealer and have had no problems until now (100 hours since the beginning of the season). Any suggestions?

heater core is probably cracked. I guess a hose could be loose though which would be best case scenario!

can a core just crack though?

Yep! Maybe a pin-hole leak but they can easily be repaired. Hopefully its a loose hose as bog said. Good luck...

Heatercore for sure. Easy to fix.

how is the core ez to fix?

Take the heater core out... easy... take it to a radiator shop.

Thanks

My previous boat had the heater core fail in about two years, and now my current boat just had the heater core start leaking last weekend after 3-1/2 years. <BR> <BR>Those heater cores just don't last when you are continuously circulating lake water through them. On a car, the water in the cooling system is captive and once it "neutralizes" it doesn't continue to corrode everything in the cooling system. A boat, however, is always bringing in fresh water and the corrosion process never stops.

Mine started leaking late last year, so I got a union and by passed the core. I priced the core at a Tige dealer and it was like $80. I waited until recently to deal with it, and took the core to an Auto Zone and they matched it to a core for a 79 Ford van with no A/C....$15! Same EXACT core.

So I can take the heater out and have a radiator shop fix the core? it's that ez!

Yeah, it's that easy! <snicker> <BR> <BR>Have you seen where the heater is mounted? <BR>Oh, yeah, and assembly is the reverse of disassembly. Easy!

The core can be soldered very easily. The core can also be replaced for very cheap. The last one I bought was only $20, but I have my resources. <BR> <BR>Many times they fail around the inlet and outlet fitting caused by the hoses pulling on the core. Make sure you have them well supported when you put it together. Seems to be the reason for a large number of the failures. The other reasons are as Rod said above and a few here and there freeze and crack.

It all depends on were the crack is in the heater core as to if it can be soldered. Mine went out a few months ago and it was no fixing to it. I just ordered one from heatercraft for around $100 bucks. Mine is the 3 vent box,(longer core than the 2 vent box). <BR> <BR>Its a pain to get to the heater core. Just like everything else on a boat i guess.