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Heater Core and Heater Hoses Illustration


A typical heater core. The two heater hoses connect to the core where the two inlet tubes are at the top of the core. Remember the core is inside the dash of the vehicle and is not visible from under the hood. The orange color near the inlet pipes is evidence of past coolant/anti-freeze leakage. When the coolant leaks it is usually present under the carpet on the passenger floorboard of the vehicle. A sweet smell is sometimes noticeable and a greasy film on the inside of the windows will occur.



The two heater hoses in this picture are grayish in color. This is a very simple heater hose set up, but some vehicles like the Ford Aerostar can be very long and have complex bends and fittings on them. They are also very expensive! If you have a rear heater like most mini-vans and SUV's you will have two additional heater hoses that travel to the rear of the vehicle to supply the rear heater core. The hoses in this illustration can easily be cut and connected together as a temporary fix (a by-pass) for a leaking heater core.