Ominous smell of coolant in the cabin . . . Check
Ominous appearance of fog on the inside of the windshield . . . Check
Low Coolant level . . . Check
Steam coming from vents at full heat . . . Check, check, and check!

I wonder how fun this round is going to be...

heater core probably or connections to it.

I'm guessing heater core. It'* summer time anyway, just make a U-shaped joint with 1/2" copper tubing and bypass the core completely. That'* what a lot of people do with Blazers because they have a high failure rate also.

Take pictures Randall.

Got the car back from the shop yesterday. It went back in for a vacuum leak, and is back home now. . . $270 in labor and about $50 in parts later.

Still way better than a car payment.

On a plus note, I learned some things. First off, the heater core consist of the aluminum heat exchanger, with plastic end caps. As soon as I saw that, I instantly recognized that is why it failed. Also, I suspect it may have been plugged up, or had some other issue. The heat before was warm after a while in winter time, that got the job done. Now, the heat is raging inferno status, and I find myself wondering if I could burn myself if I held my hand in front of it long enough. The new unit is solid aluminum, and I suspect that may also be aiding the heat transfer. New heater hoses went in too.

About the only remaining piece of the coolant system left? Waterpump. The trend is that something requires the coolant to be drained (or drains it) once a year. My money is on the fact that the trend continues. No signs of letting up at this point, but 2 weeks ago, I didn't have any signs the heater core was letting up either.

Just the word plastic on caps & even rad cores & elbows etc.. should never been used vehicles.
Amazing how much plastic now gets used to save weight (in the wrong places)

And it blew again. I have been smelling coolant the last couple of weeks, with signs the system is not holding all pressure. Yesterday morning I got a bit more smell and an ominous fog on only the drivers side of the car, same for this morning. On the way home, it was confirmed when I noticed wet carpet, and full force vent steam under the right conditions.

Picked up some Bars Liquid Aluminum on the way home, it goes in tomorrow on the way to work, hoping for the best, at least to get me out of what we call winter around here.

Going another round with this is not on the top of the priority list right now...

Personally, I would never put that stuff in a cooling system. It might plug your leak (and might not) but it also might plug coolant passageways. If you need to delay the repair, I would bypass the heater core and pick up some sort of 12V heater to get you through the winter.

x2, that stuff can do permanent damage to your engine

I completely agree with you guys, especially when there are long term plans involving a vehicle, however plans are shifting to short term with this car. It'* approaching end of life, and I am shifting towards replacing it when I get a chance. Going to start taking on the bank hard and drive it till it blows approach.

I know this is blasphemy on an enthusiast forum, but sometimes it'* more humane to put the beast down rather than trying to save it.

On a side note, 2 trips, and another 20 minutes of idling with the heater blasting, I have no more steam, and have pressure again in the cooling system. I may be out of the woods for now...

Shoot half a shaker of pepper in it. It'* small enough to fill small holes, but not clog rad fins.