Car Heater Core Replacement Atlanta

What is the Heater Core?

The heater core is a radiator-like device used in heating the cabin of a vehicle. Via convection, hot coolant from the engine of the vehicle is passed through a winding tube of the core, transferring heat from the coolant to the cabin air. Fins attached to the core tubes serve to increase surface for heat transfer to air that is forced past them, by a fan, thereby heating the passenger compartment.

The heater core is located in the dashboard and replacing it can be expensive, particularly at dealerships. Because of our many years of experience installing complete A/C units and repairing A/C dashboard issues, Auto Cool is highly adept at removing dashboards and replacing a heater core that has failed and started leaking. And we’ll do it quickly and at a price that won’t burn a hole in your pocket!

What causes Heater Core failure?

Many factors may cause a heater core to have early failure. When it happens, much care has to be taken to avoid other car engine complications. Heater core failure is fairly common and is usually the result of neglected cooling system maintenance. If not properly maintained, the liquid coolant in your radiator loses its protective properties and becomes corrosive. This corrosive coolant reacts with metals in the cooling system, causing the metals to ‘pit’ or ‘rust out’ from inside the cooling system. This destructive process is often accelerated by galvanic activity (stray voltage) inside your cooling system.

There are many metal parts in contact with the coolant, such as the engine block, the water pump, the radiator, control valves and the heater core. Due to the relative thinness of the aluminum (or copper) coolant tubes inside the heater core, it is most likely to be the first part to fail. Once the corrosion penetrates through the walls of the thin aluminum or copper tubes, the heater core begins to leak coolant into the passenger compartment, creating a toxic anti-freeze fog inside the vehicle.

There are too many reasons to list why you should not continue to drive the vehicle with a leaking heater core. Pressure checking a coolant system is inexpensive and usually done within 1 hour or less. Several slow leaks may take hour for an accurate diagnosis. Trust the experienced professionals at Auto Cool to identify and fix your heater core problem quickly, effectively and at a great price.