Passenger foot well soaking wet

Tiny
SABRINA91
  • MEMBER
  • 2007 FORD KA
  • 1.3L
  • MANUAL
  • 66,819 MILES
My passenger foot well is soaking wet. I originally thought it was the heater matrix. After searching online I checked my water coolant and it was empty, so I filled it back up and did not use my heating at all, it dried out for the most part and stayed dry for a few weeks and water level stayed full. However, I checked yesterday and it is soaking wet again. I checked water it was full up enough. I have no idea of what it could be.
Thursday, January 25th, 2018 AT 1:36 AM

1 Reply

Tiny
HARRY P
  • MECHANIC
  • 2,292 POSTS
Well unfortunately, it is the heater core. Also, being that it is not a US market car, I cannot really give you any model specific help. Even when you are not using the heat, it still has coolant running through it, so it can still leak.

There are two tests that I can think of to confirm the diagnosis. The proper test would be to get a cooling system pressure tester. Basically, you take the radiator cap off and hook it up there. Then you just pump up the pressure to somewhere around 15 psi, and then look for the leak. It will be either blowing coolant out or whistling as it pushes air out. Here in the US, you can borrow the pressure tester from the local parts store. Here is a general how-to guide on that: https://www.2carpros.com/articles/radiator-pressure-test

The other test, more of a backyard test, would be to open the hood and find two cooling system hoses that go into the firewall (the thing separating the engine compartment from the cabin). You will disconnect them from there and run a short piece of piping between them to bypass the core. Do that, refill the system (being sure to bleed it), dry out the carpet area, and drive it for a few days. Then observe by checking the carpet area and the coolant level. Here is a guide on refilling and bleeding the cooling system: https://www.2carpros.com/articles/coolant-flush-and-refill-all-cars - Start at step 5.

Do one of those tests and get back to us. We will go from there.
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Thursday, January 25th, 2018 AT 3:15 AM

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