Slight Antifreeze Smell Inside, But No Inside Leak?

Rick_Fury · 01-30-2010, 02:23 PM

Uh-oh. I had my heater running yesterday, and noticed the dreaded antifreeze smell in my 1998 Wrangler.

The first obvious thought was the heater core. The defroster works fine with no fogging up of the windshield. No steam coming from the dash vents, and the heater works the same as it always did. When I shut the engine off, the smell vanishes. When I start the Jeep for the day, the smell isn't there at all. I pulled up the carpet on the passenger's side expecting to find a puddle, but it was dry as a bone. No leaks anywhere inside the cab that I can find.

I checked under the hood, and I did find signs of a very small "trickle" coming from the top seam of the radiator (Radiator Barn special) but all the fluid appeared to be contained in the inside lip of the bottom of the radiator. No leaks at all on the driveway either, even when it sat for a week.

PLEASE tell me this is what is causing the antifreeze smell inside the cab when I run the heater! What else can I check?

I read the writeup in here years ago about what it takes to replace the heater core, and it scared me to death! I have gone the extra mile to take care of my heater core since I bought this Jeep in 1999, like only using distilled water, flushed it every 3 years, and even now, after two years since the last flush, the fluid in the reservoir looks new...no rust color at all, only a nice yellow-green color.

Bain98xj · 01-30-2010, 02:34 PM

well it is very possible it is the heater core it is just leaking inside the plastic case around the core and it just hasnt leaked enough to be running out to the carpet

**SpaceWrangler** · 01-30-2010, 02:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bain98xj

well it is very possible it is the heater core it is just leaking inside the plastic case around the core and it just hasnt leaked enough to be running out to the carpet

Yet.

10 char.

Rick_Fury · 01-30-2010, 02:41 PM

Will someone tell me WHY the heater core would be leaking?

I have spent a LOT of time over the years to take care of my heater core to avoid this situation since I bought this Jeep in 1999, like ONLY using distilled water, flushed it every 3 years, and the antifreeze in the radiator and the reservoir looks NEW.

WHY WOULD IT BE LEAKING?

browning · 01-30-2010, 02:50 PM

Metal fatique ...Fatigue life is influenced by a variety of factors, such as temperature cold.hot .cold .has nothing to do with distilled water ..

**Richd1963** · 02-04-2010, 10:12 PM

Heater core.
I hate that smell.