Coolant leaking into cab…
 

Hello everyone, i went to go get in my car the other day when i found a red puddle on my floor mats, thankfully i bought some hard plastic weather tech mats, but the leak was on the driver side of my car. I proceeded to remove the entire dash because i couldnt see where the leak was coming from and i figured if i was gonna fix it at all id have to remove it anyways. I have no idea what this part is, i lack knowledge on this aspect, I’ve never even heard of this issue, that being said i would greatly appreciate any input you guys could add and or give me on what to do next, what part im looking at replacing or fixing or anything.

Thank you.

P.s. where im pointing to in the pictures provided is where the leak is coming from.

I would think it has to be the heater core or the connection to the heater core. may have to pull line from firewall side. hard to tell exact from pics. Look for a parts breakdown and follow the coolant lines to and from the heater core.
Best of Luck.

22R

100% ^^^ Especially if your engine coolant is that color

engine coolant should be subaru super blue. a very dark blue. unless someone changed it.

Even if red coolant that is a funky color!

almost looks like red locktite...

From what I remember my coolant has always been the Toyota red/pink coolant, it's news to me that it's supposed to be the Subaru blue one, now I'm thinking "did this red coolant mess up my heater core since it's the wrong one?"

If all one or the other you shouldn't have much issue. If two different were mixed it can indeed cause corrosion issues. That is a weird colour and could very well be the result of mixing two incompatible coolants.

Well since the dash is already mostly removed, go ahead and replace the heater core.

FLEX SEAL!!! j/k i also never heard of this issue before

do you think an a/c delete kit would stop the leaking? its coming from the hoses that lead back to the engine, not the hoses that come from the a/c compressor. i cant seem to figure out how to remove the bar in front of the heater core on the interior of the car, I never use my a/c and I'm willing to just buy an a/c delete kit to just get the leaking to stop.

All depends on exactly where it is coming from. To be honest I am truly baffled by that weird colour.
Here are the service manuals that will show you how to get it apart.

https://gt86stuff.onrender.com/t3Portal/

Not the A/C. You need to just join the two heater hoses. Trace them to the engine, disconnect and use 1 piece of hose connecting the two outlets.

Toyota does have a FRS/GT86 specifc super blue coolant for our cars, someone messed up putting red and some corrosion happened. I just replaced my heater core, to remove the crash bar you need to remove 8 bolts theres 2 T40 torx bolts on each driver side and passenger side of the bar, then 4 14mm bolts on the transmission tunnel that needs to be removed, also
I had to disconnect the steering shaft from the single 12mm bolt that connects to steering rack, I removed the 14mm bolt that attaches bar to chassis same area as the steering shaft bolt. That should give you enough room to pull out the whole unit, also the a/c system needs to be recovered too before removal, good luck

You guys need to chill out with the coolant colour though, you can get asian PHOAT coolant in a variety of colours.

Subaru's hot sauce isn't blue because of magic, it's blue because it's dyed blue.

Yes but it is dyed blue for a reason. The different coolants are different colours to distinguish between the chemical makeup. It isn't a fashion choice and they should not be mixed. Just because some place goes against the norm and makes random colours doesn't make it suddenly OK to mix the types.

Thanks for discharging the equivalent of over a thousand pounds of CO2 in the atmosphere.

You did a bad.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvuIc1a4aQY

i was in high school in the early 2000's. back when gm's dexcool cars started all the issues of people just putting the good ol' green stuff back in, 'because they knew better'...

i've sat on the side of the road from the aftermath in friends cars. i've seen the repair bills, at least before the car was scrapped because it cost too much to repair.

i'm not claiming that subaru's flavor of coolant tastes better or is in any way more superior, i'm only saying that these cars came with that flavor, and for anyone to make the choice to alter it to a different color/brand/type means that you're taking matters into your own hands, and bad shit happening ain't out of the question anymore. unless you've done the research to make sure that a different variant of coolant isn't going to soften silicones, or deteriorate gaskets, it's always a bad idea to change coolant types.

that sound indicated you need to get the car to a qualified mechanic.

Well the car is in pieces in my backyard with no way to move it. Any recommendations? Atleast the heater core/ a/c unit is out.

check your insurance. mine covers towing for something like 50 miles. usually plenty of shops within that radius.

This a/c delete is looking more and more likely…the rule of buy once cry once prevails once again. lesson learned i guess. 😭

If i take it to a mechanic who knows how long it’ll be in for, also we are at the end of the year which is going to make the whole ordeal longer, thats why i was trying to do it myself, also I'm dead set on learning things. Thank you guys for the humor though its making this experience bearable truly.

historically, beginning of the year is a slower time for the trade/service industries, as everyone blew their wads on the holiday's and big family events, so nothing left to repair that nagging vehicle issue.

meaning most of the shops are usually eager for work, and faster turnaround. just gotta call and ask.

Oops yes, you were supposed to have a shop recover the freon before disconnecting the line, replace the heater core, put the a/c line back in and you can recharge the a/c system. You might want to check on your radiator for any leaks too.

Yes, change coolant *TYPES*

Like Subaru's blue Super Coolant and Toyota's pink Super Long Life Coolant are both PHOAT, the color difference means nothing. I'm not saying to just dump green prestone from 50 years ago in there.

But what I'm getting at here is that I've seen this tendency a few times on here, where someone comes in with a picture of a leak or some shit and instead of helping, the fluid itself becomes the topic of the conversation.

That needs to stop.

It's OK to mention it so it gets properly flushed and refilled with the right stuff once it's repaired, but it shouldn't become the top issue.

The A/C goes into the interior manifold too and if that system fails in the heater box there is some lubricant in the refrigerant lines.
The color of that may have some relevance in diagnosis.

What are the common colors for random A/C lube?
Does R-134a make your voice squeeky if all the windows are rolled up?

AC lubes are clear or green. You don't want to be in an enclosed space if a system vents, 1 pound of that stuff discharging in a large shop is REALLY unpleasant. Discharging a pound inside a car... you're gonna have a bad time, or the time of your life if you're into that, but it might be your last time.

OP deleted their post but they yanked the lines from the H valve and dumped the whole system, the oily mess was not red.

How did you managed this what's the part did you replaced? I am facing the same issue and I am suspecting a heater core leak and maybe bypassing it.