Cleaning out my new baby, the 72 Toro. Took the front mat and most of the front carpet is wet. Someone is leaking.
Well, a water test above the windshield around the trim and under the windshield chrome yielded no results. No rust under the chrome piece (thankfully, I guess :P ) Next, poured water under (what I think is) the air dam for the HVAC, it's between the wipers and engine bay. No results or leaks.
However, under what I think (still learning and reading the chassis manual and the Fisher body manual is on it's way) is the HVAC/blower module is a wet/rust stain that heads to the floor. Funny thing is too, the dummy original owner put newspapers under there probably to sop up the mess or reinstall the carpet.

I'm thinking something in the module is leaking though. Could be a heater hose or return that is loose or bad? A friend commented that my heater hose under the hood looks a extra large garden hose, lol.

Whoever did all the crappy "restore" work in my car (see my other threads) should lose his license or should stick to asian econoboxes, leave the classics to people who give a crap and don't treat their classics as just a point A to B car.

 

Does the A/C work? If so it could be the condensate drain leaking inside due to a clogged drain tube.

If it is coolant, it should be greenish, slippery, smelly, and have a slight sweet taste.
If it is coolant, the heater core may be leaking, which may be a bear to fix...
If it was coolant, I would not expect rust stains from it, unless the PO only put water in the cooling system.

If it's the core, you could always delay the repair in sacrifice of heat by bypassing the heater with a pipe coupler from the hardware store.

 

There are only two things that can leak there, water or coolant. The water gets in if the drain tube in the HVAC box is plugged. Coolant indicates a heater core leak, as noted above.

 

if it's rusty I would think it is a leaky heater core. best bet is to have it flushed out, blown dry and bypassed. easy for me to say in Florida

 

Pulled one of the hoses off the engine inlet (others seem to be a bitch to get off) and is a nasty orange, the same color on the interior floor. Not sure if it's rust.

I'll get into the HVAC inside the car. Looks like a hassle and is most definately HVAC related.

 

sounds like the heater core, on mine (all 3) most of the dash has to come out. 1st thing I did was bypass as described above (the 2 76s anyway) A/C is colder too

 

Whew, makes me appreciate the ease of changing the core in my 66, 88. A couple of nuts removed on the firewall and a couple of push nuts that hold the heater controls and it comes apart nice. :P

 

Pulled it out. Lots of dirt junk. Also rust on the heater core. I did see some regular green coolant but mostly red and red coated junk inside. All door vacuums are good though. Lots of rust and junk around the screw holes to the firewall too.

I assume the heater core is done? lol

 

You mean to say you got the heater core out??
If so, replace it.

If it is that snasty looking inside and does not now leak, it may later. You do not want to have to pull it again.

If on a budget, have it cleaned out well and then pressure tested in a tub of water, something a radiator shop or yourself can do. Just limit air pressure to 15lbs...

If the core looks that bad, the coolant passages of the engine will look just as bad. A very good flush and clean is in order (do a search for this procedure here - there are several good threads for flushing).

 

New heater core and the AC comp. had no belt. That is fixed.

Started the Toro today. Fuel gauge worked, woo hoo, ground wire fixed it. Oil pressure gauge seems to run 40-60psi, a little less than my 01 Buick, think that is ok.
However, putting it into drive and driving down the street, the acceleration surges or hesitates. It doesn't want to go above 25 or so mph. Also, never really warmed up it seemed. Temp. gauge got only to a nudge above 100F. Ten minutes of idling and 2 mins or 1 mile of driving. No stalls though, so that is good, though sometimes I think it wants to, especially going from park to reverse.
Work in progress though, dunno if the fuel pump is crap (doesn't look old) or I think the previous owner let this car sit for a while. Plus it's 19F outside right now, pretty cold. Some instrument lights work, some don't. None of the courtesy lights seem to. Radio lights up (speakers are unhooked though). I believe the defroster finally works. Heat is not hot but I blame that on the relatively lukewarm engine.

 

courtesy lights could be a fuse (BODY) and check the lighters for corrosion, etc, they are on the same fuse and will blow it if crap gets down in the sockets

 

Does it have a thermostat installed? It should. Many people take them out if they think the car is running too hot, but then the car would never warm up right if it is cold.

Sounds like progress!

 

I'll check. I'll have to learn to find it. I know it's on top of the water pump but where?

 

at the engine side of the top radiator hose

 

LOL, it didn't even have one. Lucky it's another cheap part like everything else.

Not sure if the courtesy lights are on the same circuit as the trunk light or glove box light? Trunk light is completely gone and glove box light is temporary out while the dash panel is out.

 

Get a high flow 180* Mr Gasket or Robertshaw one - they work great.
If not available, use any other 180* stat, not the 195* one.

Before installing it, do a good engine flush with the water hose. Pull the block plugs also.

Yes, same circuit.