Hello,

I am no stranger to replacing heater cores, I've had to do it on my Grand Cherokee at least twice. Pulling the dash and all that is involved is not a great deal of fun. The last time I did this was as recent as last October. Now is seems the 1999 D2 is feeling left out as it has started leaking... I have searched and read many different articles and postings on the P38 and other models. But want to run my symptoms by everyone to see what your thoughts are on the actual cause, being o-rings or core..

When this started about 3 weeks ago, there was a faint smell of anti-freeze and the windows inside started to fog up, but it cleared, the next day the smell was worse, windows fogging up and I had a stream running down the transmission hump, in to the passenger foot well (nothing ever on Drivers side) BTW, this is a LHD Model.

As I was in route to work and had no other option I stopped for an emergency fix and put a bottle of stop leak into the system. This stopped the leak... I have had no wet carpets since that time, but have had the occasional smell of antifreeze. Now about two weeks later, the windows are still fogging a bit in the morning and a very, very, slight smell of coolant, but only to a trained nose, carpets still dry. The drip would have been right underneath where the O-Rings are.

So with the conditions I am seeing, does this sound like o-rings or an actual core failure?

And I have ordered 0-rings just in case... it is possible to replace the o-rings will out pulling the entire Dash? Is it even possible to get to the o-rings with out pulling the dash...
Most pictures online are not of a D2 but are of other models.

Thanks!

 

the manual calls for removing the console and dash, so even if it is just O-rings you would be silly to put it back together without replacing the heater core.

Some helpful things can be found at this post https://landroverforums.com/forum/di...t-cabin-54622/

post #10

 

I'd try to change O rings first, without pulling heater assembly, but it is not made to be easy. The page from the RAVE for a D2 is attached. Spring where I am, so you could also bypass the whole heater as well until repairs can be made.

 

Yes, agreed, I will have a look this weekend and see what I can do... I know to do it the best way, I should pull the dash, but man both of my cars are 99s and are just kicking my *** lately as they both have started completely falling apart. If I can't get the o-rings in there or it's more than o-rings I will bypass it, that is what I did last year with the Jeep and repaired it in October. I see you are in Savannah, I am in Peachtree City, GA

 

other pix attached of what is behind glove box

 

I've had the glove box out before for wiring a satellite receiver. I am assuming the heater core is behind that mess of wires and the blower?

 

The core slides in from the passenger side and there's a lip around the drivers side, meaning it's very hard for the heater core to leak into the drivers floor board. Hope that makes sense I don't really know a better way to explain. It could just be your O rings but if you've already run stop leak through it and you're gonna go through the effort anyway to replace O rings I would go on and change the core. You can get a euro spare for around $130 I think. I changed mine a few months ago and it was a cracked heater core with the exact symptoms you explained.

If you want to be for sure first then pull out the center console and then remove the floor vent on the passenger side and if I remember right you can clearly check for leaking O rings there before you really have to tear into it.