Long story short, my car has been experience this TSB

http://www.infinitig37.com/TSB/1RW10.pdf

My car is no longer under warranty, so I performed a backflush on the heater core as suggested in the TSB, but I was not able to flush any debris out, noise is still there.

My question is will I encounter any issues if I bypass the heater core? I live in SoCal and don't have the need to use the heater in the winter. To me this seems like the best solution. I have heard people got this issue fixed by the dealer, but only have the noise come back in a couple of months. Thx in advance!

 

There shouldn't be any issues. Like you mentioned, you won't have a heater if you do.

 

Did you follow the TSB to the letter? When clamping the inlet and outlet hoses, did the sound go away? When unclamped, did it return?

Also, how many times did you flush it? Any idea how much pressure your water hose generates?

 

Yeah, I bought some hose pinch and followed the troubleshoot in the TSB and the noise was gone. I did the flush at least 10 times. It was just a garden hose attached to a regular faucet. I don't have a pressure washer or anything like that.

Bypassing the heater core is easy and quick, and seems like a good "permanent" solution. It's easy to go back to stock too in case I need the heat. I am just not sure if there's any negative impact on the cooling system.

 

Hmmmm, what do you think Infiniti would have charged you to get rid of the noise?

So far, you're in a set of clamps, a coolant drain, and I suppose you'll need a new hose to bypass? Are you just going to connect the inlet to the outlet? The TSB warns against clamping for more than 5 minutes, so I can only assume your plan wasn't to cap them both off right?

 

I am no mechanic but pinching both the inlet and outlet hoses would interupt the flow of the cooling system, that won't be good for an extended period of time.

My plan is simply loop a new hose from the inlet coupler to the outlet heater pipe right underneath the driver side intake. So the coolant will be passing through a heater hose instead of the heater core. There seems to be enough room between the engine and the firewall for a new hose.

I just want to know if there's any potential issues for doing this. Anyone?

 

Assuming there's no electronics involved with the heater core, I don't see a problem either. As you indicated, using a coupler and additional hose should do the job. If you have some source of vacuum, it'd be a good idea to get as much coolant out of the heater core as you can. Otherwise you'll end up hearing swishing noises when driving or making turns. Once the heater core is void of liquid, plug it up with something to keep it sealed.

This fix is better than tearing your dash apart which may result in additional rattles and creaks.

 

I have an '08 coupe and the driver side windshield gets foggy all the time it's like thick moist and when i turn the windshield defrost heater on it won't go away? What does this sound like to you guys? Faulty heater core or heater core leak? Need to flush the heater core? The passenger side is ok just on the driver side. It fogs the whole driver side as I drive with windows up. Happens on windshield inside the car only. Please advise. I need to fix this badly guys. Thanks.

 

Did the bypass procedure this weekend. Easy job overall just the stock spring clamp on the passenger side was a bit of a pain to remove. Replaced the spring clamps with worm type clamps in case I need to undo the bypass in the future.

Been keeping an eye on leaks and water temp in the last couple of days(it's been close to 100 degrees in socal this past weekend). So far everything seems normal. So nice not having to deal with the annoying tapping noise anymore.