Interior Fogging Leaving Haze

[keny_kimmel]

Here is my situation, I cleaned my carpets and the product says "Let dry and vacuum out" I did. BUT after doing that I keep getting this nasty fogging inside that wont go away. It gets all hazy and oily. Also it's not really fog up when im driving to school (7am, 40F) but once I get there and then go out to my car to go to lunch (11:30am 50-55F) it appears all over the windsheild. The fog isn't only appearing on the windsheild its all over the sidewindows too and rear window. Then when I turn the defrost on, it makes it worse! I was driving home today with the heater turned all the way up, my ears and face burning and sweating in my car, the windows still had fog all over them. It did finally clear up somewhat but I had to finally stopped at a friends house and tried to wipe off the fog, it just smeared everywhere. UGH So I grabbed the glass cleaner and after cleaning each window twice it went away. I just went to the store and it returned on the windsheild(where the rain didnt clear off from the wipers) and side windows I have no idea what the **** it is. The car doesnt smell like coolant and nothings moist inside. Although it does kinda smell like carpet cleaner and burnt chemicals now...great. Wtf is going on with my car?


Could anyone send me a scratch and sniff sticker of their interior with a blown/leaky heater core? Just so I can compare.


Oh and I dont know if this makes any difference but when it snowed here i got a rock ding that developed into a crack, it runs from the base of the winsheild up about a 1/4 the way and turns towards drivers side. The crack at the base is right over the defrost vent and the crack just follows the defrost vent. Is there a bad seal now at the bottom of the winsheild thats making the fogging worse?

 

[qiksho]

are your carpets still wet?


if not I would assume you have a leaky heater core. You should be able to smell coolant if this is the case. A leaky heater core does exactly what you describe as your problem....I have had to replace two of them

 

[SHOZ123]

Tighten the hose clamps on the heater core lines at the firewall.

 

[keny_kimmel]

I did have to replace the heater hoses coming from the back of the block. The input hose popped. I replaced the clamps also, if it leaks there could it still make the windows foggy? Also, it doesnt smell like coolant it's more of a stagnant odor. i opened the hood and checked the hoses and even sniffed the coolant and it doesnt match up. It has been raining for 3 weeks here and its been around 80% humidity so the carpets are still damp but i wouldnt think that carpet cleaner/water would leave a film.

If it happends again on my way to marrysville tomorrow (to pick up my new spoiler, tailights, and battery tray) then i will take a photo if that helps.

 

[projectSHO89]

You may have residual coolant stuck in the HVAC plenum. You might also have a plugged evaporator drain.

I'd start with the drain.

Worst case, core is leaking or the hoses Paul mentioned are not tight and are allowing coolant into the plenum through the firewall opening.

Steve

 

[dpsutphin]

One other thing to check that could cause your problem.

Check the carpet under the seats, and see if it is still wet. If you put in a little too much cleaning solution, and/or water, it will run under the seats. And since this is an area of the car that is seldom, if ever cleaned, there could be all kinds of stuff under there that mixed with water and cleaning solution, could react as you describe.

I had this happen at a "professional" detail shop once. Had to remove the seats, wet vac the carpet under the seats, and let the car sit with all the doors open and a fan blowing on it all day to get it to go away.

Also, check your coolant level. If it is not going down a little every time you have this problem, then your heater core, hoses, etc., are probably not the problem.

 

[etc1006]

Sounds to me at the temps you have there the carpet didn't get totally dry.

 

[NotSoSlowSHO]

How is your trunk seal? Has it been rainy?

My SHO has been fogging up lately because of all the wind driven rain we have been getting..... and the old and busted trunk seal that doesnt.... uh, seal

 

[ES_8CH_OH]

Sounds like a bad heater core. You might want to try putting some anti-freeze leak sealant in your cooling system. It worked for my 94 SHO. It started to smell a little like coolant about 20K mi. ago. I have 150 K on the SHO now. I had foggy windows in my 86 T-Bird from a bad core. My 88 Mustang had two bad cores. The carpet was saturated with coolent so I replaced the carpet after the core with carpet from ACC. (American Custom Carpet)

 

[revhardSHO]

Definitly heater core related. Follow the above advice, if that doesnt work, try stop leak. Then its nightmare from **** dash removal time.

 

[keny_kimmel]

I used some stop-leak and it doesnt fog anymore. Yea it was a heater-core problem. I've been using the pickem-up truck lately till I can get a heater core and time to fix it.