FTO AUSTRALIA

So my heater core is leaking - I noticed my window fogging up and I could smell coolant. I could feel my carpet was getting damp on the driver side underneath my mat.

This sucks. I dont know why the hell it's leaking but anyway problem is evident; i just need a solution.

Is this fixable? Or is anyone selling one by the thinnest chance?

thanks

I am not sure if it is the same on an FTO, but on other Mitsubishis it's not the actual heater core but rather the plastic elbow pipes and/or O-rings that leak.
These are available to buy new, but it's most likely a dashboard out job

Well that's a positive I guess. thanks!

Can anyone with an FTO vouch for this?

The pipes that connect to the actual core are plastic and become brittle and break. Demisterman in the UK sells brass cores and pipes at a good price. I managed to change mine by taking out the air con blower under the glovebox but it's a pain in the ass.

For a temporary fix so u don't get more leaks u can bypass it by removing both fittings and joining the two pipes together with a brass connector. I got mine for $15 from bunnings.

I swapped mine out with a spare I had without removing the dash was a serious PITA but managed

If its leaking, itll be the core itself. If the pipes break, itll be an absolute gush. I have a few 2nd hand cores lying around if that helps.

The plastic pipe you guys are talking about.........is that the pipe that runs through the firewall connected to a rubber pipe all the way to the water filler pipe?

no, there is a plastic pipe that comes through the firewall.the rubber pipe presses onto that.

dstocks wrote:no, there is a plastic pipe that comes through the firewall.the rubber pipe presses onto that.

Yep that's the one. So that is one single solid pipe running from the heater core to the firewall connector?

You can buy a set of new pipes and brass matrix core from demisterman in the UK for 200 delivered to your door

Nacho wrote:

dstocks wrote:no, there is a plastic pipe that comes through the firewall.the rubber pipe presses onto that.

Yep that's the one. So that is one single solid pipe running from the heater core to the firewall connector?

Yeah one way pipe hot coolant into firewall and external WiFi to go back out from the heater core.

Hey DStocks what are you selling a 2nd hand heater core for?

Welcome to one of the really painful FTO jobs.

Not sure I would be bothered with secondhand tbh as they will all go eventually and you really don't want to be doing this twice.

Agreed ^^^

Pretty sure there's also a Magna equivalent.

Hmm, don't want to spend 200 bucks on the bronze pipe one.

Thanks for all the input: the leak isn't across the entire heater plastic thingy. it's just a little box directly above where my ECU is - is that the actual heater core? If it's just the plastic that has a crack hence why it is leaking; couldn't I just seal this crack up?

Which ECU. Engine ECU is on side of passengers footwell. If you have a leak there, its not the heater core. Auto transmission ECU is under the centre console. The heater core isnt far from where it sits (its high up, right against the firewall under the centre console)

Yeah sorry I mean, it's leaking from under the centre and dripping onto the transmission ECU. That's the heater core right?

Can I not just take that little box out and superglue the crack or something? (hypothetically)

Hey,

Nup, think of the heater code as a little radiator with a leak. The plastic casing that the heater core slides into is not water tight and even if you could make it water tight at the bottom, water would just fill up and pour out the top. You have 2 options:

- Replace heater core with new or used item

- Join the heater pipes so that water doesnt go through the heater core (thus losing the heater)