Lancia Beta Forum

I had to drive the "new" spider out of the garage today and while I had it parked outside, I left it running for maybe 10 mins.
When I went to put it back in, I noticed vapour rising out of the windscreen demister slots and condensing on the windscreen.
Now, two things occur to me.
1) It's the car drying out as the previous owner had parked it outside in p***ing wet weather prior to delivering it to me, or
2) The heater core is gone!
Being a fatalist, I'm inclined to think it's option 2 and having bad flashbacks to changing the core in my pre facelift car and the subsequent hardship I caused myself, I'm not best pleased.
However, according to the Haynes (yeah, I know) manual, the facelift core is a lot more accessable and doesn't form the starting component around which the rest of the car is built, unlike my brown-dash beauty.

Will pressure testing the cooling system highlight a faulty core and is it as relatively simple to change as I'm led to believe?

(Please say yes, please say yes.....)

Quite possible that moisture has collected in the heater
Once up to temperature it has been released.

THAT'S the kind of reply I ned to hear ;D

I guess the proof of the pudding is if you leave it running for a while and the vapour reduces.

Peter

I would pressure test as last resort - could actually help to accelerate failure of tired heater core even when moisture is currently actually coming from somewhere else.   Would just run car and see if it clears .......

If only using in the summer perhaps you could temporarily by pass the heater altogether then repair next winter?

I did that for two years with my other one using the barrell of a cheap copy AA Maglight which I've kept in the boot ever since in case of a repeat.

Weather permitting, I'll let it run under strict supervision today but I have to wire the cooling fan directly as it doesn't seem to come on itself.

On an entirely different note, i fitted a new in-line fuel filter when I changed the rubber fuel lines a few days ago and it was very difficult to get it to start afterwards.
It just didn't seem to be able to pull the fuel and I had to use a hand vac. pump to get the fuel through.

When I reversed the hoses on the pump to the CORRECT orientation, it starte surprisingly easily. Doh! :D

I'm sure you'll all sleep easier tonight knowing the vapour was just moisture drying from the ingress of moisture suffered while the car was reposing in torrential rain so now on to the next drama ;D

Good news !!


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