Smell of coolant

Whenever I use my heater, after a few minutes when it warms up the smell of
coolant comes out the vents. The odor is also detectable outside of the car!

Help! 1997 Intrepid 3.5L

 

i'd say it was your heater core...does it fog up winshield?? if so
heater core would be my guess..

GOOD LUCK.....

 

What do you mean by "if it fogs up" windshield?

 

He means a leaking heater core inside the car will 'fog up' the windsheild
when the defrosters are on just like taking a hot shower will 'fog up' the
bathroom mirrors.

Check the rubber heater hoses running from the top of the engine back into
the passenger compartment and make sure all the hose clamps are tight. A
heater core is a little radiator just like the big radiator you put your
anti-freeze in. When you flip the switch to turn on the heat, a valve opens
and lets some of the hot anti-freze running through your engine flow into
the heater core inside the car (under the dash on the passenger side). A fan
blowing behind the heater core makes the warm air you feel. Some heater
cores can be a real pain to get to because they're buried under the dash. If
you can't find the leak with a visual check inside the car on the passenger
side and out in the engine compartment, take it to any auto repair shop
(even the local guy down the street) and expect a bill for 2 hours labor
(although 1 hour should do it).

 

For the sake of accuracy, very few cars these days have a water flow
valve in the lines to/from the heater core to control passenger
compartment temperature. Most have full water flow thru the heater core
at all times of engine operation, and the heat into the passenger
compartment is controlled by a vane (damper door) that controls the path
of the forced air to go either thru the core fins (for heat) or
bypassing around it (for air circulation with no heat). I believe this
to be the case with the first gen LH's.

The fogging would still occur as you said when heat is called for and
air is blown thru the core fins picking up moisture that is leaking all
the time.

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with the letter 'x')

 

Thanks to everyone for the feedback. As it turns out it was a bad "schrader
valve" ??? The smell was more of a gasoline odour than coolant.

Never got to speak to my mechanic....what the heck is a shrader valve and
why would it cause that smell?

 

That would mean one of the two valves used on the a.c. under the hood to
service the refrigerant - you were smelling the refrigerant that leaked
to the atmosphere. Another example of a schrader/shraeder valve is the
valve on your wheel used for putting air in your tires - basically a
manually-over-ridable check valve.

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with the letter 'x')

 

You forgot about one... There is also one on the fuel rail, which would
explain the "smell was more of a gasoline odour."

 

Possibly the shrader valve for the port on the fuel rail?

Glenn

 

Good point, Glenn

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with the letter 'x')

 

Yes, fuel rail it was.