I'm getting steam out of my defroster vents in the morning.

I assume that to mean I need a new heater core. Where do you get one and what's involed in replacing one?

 

It's like moisture is condensing in there someplace. The steam doesn't smell like anti-freeze and there are no appearant leaks in the heater and never have been. Coolant level is not going down. The past couple of mornings I've had the defroster on full blast with a strong blast of good warm air hitting the inside of the windshield but it took forever to defog the it. This morning when I placed the lever on heat instead of defrost, momentarily, I noticed that some steam came out of the defroster vents for a few seconds until I switched it to defrost. Again, it took forever to defog the windshield. It seems as though moist warm air must be getting blown out of the defroster vents. This is a non-AC truck.

 

The most common cause is a leaking heater core. Sometimes the smell isn't strong until the leak gets worse. A heater core is about $15 and a afternoon to change it. This thread gives a good description of the steps to replace it in a non-a/c truck.

Marty

 

Found my heater core at the auto zone for $15.99.
With the information from this great site, I was able to repair
this myself.
Cindy 88 Ford F150

 

Thanks vanj. I appreciate your help.

 

You are welcome.