Messed up my shoe.

Driving home from work a couple of days ago I stopped off at the gas station to fill up the tank, cleaned the windshield, and then continued home. At home I carried the empty garbage cans from the end of the driveway back into the garage.

Go in the house and bend down to untie my shoes, when I see, huh? , one of my nice brown leather shoes,half of the right foot, is all stained and wet through.

Oh yuck! Did something gross just drip out of one of those garbage cans? Go back out, check the garbage cans, nope they're dry.

Maybe at the gas station I filled my shoe with gasoline and just didn't notice. Nope. It doesn't smell of gas.

Maybe while washing the car's windshield at the gas station I dripped some washer fluid on my shoe and just didn't notice. Meh, whatever...

Next morning though, mystery solved.

Open the driver's door, and there on the rubber floor mat is little puddle of green coolant. Damn. I know exactly what that means. Either the heater core or the heater valve is leaking coolant. I had driven all the way home from work the night before with coolant dripping onto my shoe and never even noticed.

Funny thing is, for nearly a year now I've been getting the occasional whiff of coolant smell. I knew there's a small leak somewhere, but never got around to checking the heater core or heater valve because they're awkward to reach. But, the last time I put in an order for parts at Bavarian Autosport several months ago I went ahead and bought a new heater valve and heater core, just in case.

So last night I replaced them both. It's not that difficult, just messy, uncomfortable, and awkward. I managed to get the new parts installed, but it was too late at night to refill the coolant and do a test run. Gonna do that tonight. Fingers crossed...

.....but what about the shoe? Is it a goner?

alan

The shoe si toast but Ferd dodged the bullet...his new ride has the core down at the bottom so he didn't have to remove the steering shaft and pedals!

That settles it. I'm wearing sandals every time I drive from now on! No sneaky leaks for rme.

I'm also going to continue to have a beer before every time I post on this forum. I hope you all enjoy the results.

John

The shoe is drying out, but still has a funny looking stain on it. I'm thinking of soaking the other one to match. Meanwhile it makes a good story.

The fix went well. It really is MUCH easier to replace the heater core on A/C equipped cars. It's all buttoned up again, no leaks.

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Ferdinand
The shoe is drying out, but still has a funny looking stain on it. I'm thinking of soaking the other one to match. Meanwhile it makes a good story.

The fix went well. It really is MUCH easier to replace the heater core on A/C equipped cars. It's all buttoned up again, no leaks.

The fix is good news but I have to warn you that every time that shoe gets warm from a sweaty foot; it's gong to smell like a leaky core

Go for broke...treat yourself to a new pair of shoes

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John Yust
That settles it. I'm wearing sandals every time I drive from now on! No sneaky leaks for rme.

I'm also going to continue to have a beer before every time I post on this forum. I hope you all enjoy the results.

John

I hope you have the open beer to pour on your scalded foot! That leak can cook meat!!!

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Archeo-peteriX

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John Yust
That settles it. I'm wearing sandals every time I drive from now on! No sneaky leaks for rme.

I'm also going to continue to have a beer before every time I post on this forum. I hope you all enjoy the results.

John

I hope you have the open beer to pour on your scalded foot! That leak can cook meat!!!

That would be a terrible waste of beer. The proper first aid for a scalded foot is to remove the beer from the cooler (first pull off the road to a safe parking spot), open it and have a taste, immerse the scalded foot in the cold water in the cooler, then call for help.

John

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John Yust

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Archeo-peteriX

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John Yust
That settles it. I'm wearing sandals every time I drive from now on! No sneaky leaks for rme.

I'm also going to continue to have a beer before every time I post on this forum. I hope you all enjoy the results.

John

I hope you have the open beer to pour on your scalded foot! That leak can cook meat!!!

That would be a terrible waste of beer. The proper first aid for a scalded foot is to remove the beer from the cooler (first pull off the road to a safe parking spot), open it and have a taste, immerse the scalded foot in the cold water in the cooler, then call for help.

John

Thank goodness for rational heads at a stressful time like this...I would have a had a painless but badly blistered foot

Sound familiar. First time I noticed mine was going was on a high speed run, windshield was fogging up. Later I heard water somewhere under the dash and felt it splashing around when taking hard corners. Being lazy I waited a whole year before tackling the problem, driving the entire winter without any heating. Was cheap in the end, as nobody wanted to ride with me, they all took me in their cars...