Howdy all,

Used my heater for the first time this season - it's been probably 10 months since last used. I swear there was a faint smell of antifreeze coolant, but only just an occasional whiff and I might be wrong.

No leaks under dash, and I'm not losing any coolant, level hasn't moved for months. The windows aren't fogging up with heater on, beyond what I'd normally expect in the wintertime.

Are there any other things to check? It's a 1998 Sport, w/ heat and AC.

Thanks!

 

I wouldn't sweat it. I have a 1998 Classic with heat and A/C as well. Sometimes it smells pretty sweet, sometimes it smells normal. It takes a while for the blower to start actually putting out heat, but when it does, it's hot. Got no leaks underneath the glovebox.

My advice? If it ain't' broke, don't try to fix it.

 

You should not smell ANY coolant thru the vents, unless the core is leaking. All it takes is a pinhole and you can smell it. You may not see any leaks, and the windshield may or may not fog up. You might not even notice a drop in coolant. I had a similar situation with the Mustang. Faint smell of coolant thru the vents, but no leaks that i could see inside, or from the case drain on the outside. There was some random fogging when it was cold out, but barely. Long story short, the heater core had a pinhole. Just enough to smell it. A pinhole is all it takes.

 

Thanks for the responses! At this point, I'm not going to worry about it. I'm still questioning whether I'm actually smelling something or not. If I am, it's a pinhole and not worth a dash teardown. If I'm not - I'm just crazy and that's not worth a dash teardown either.

When I see some other symptom that points to a leak, I'll take action.