antifreeze smell???

[ocbaud]

everytime i drive the truck for a little while, i can start smelling antifreeze in the cab and then the temp gauge starts going up quickly. after a while the smell goes away and the temp drops back down.

what is the problem???

the truck still runs great. no performance problems what so ever.

[79Silv4x4]

heater core?

[ocbaud]

yes, it is only in the cab, but not always.
and could that be the cause of the over heating problem?

also, it seems that a lot of people are having to replace theres recently

[ocbaud]

no, still the same old heater hoses, but it has only started doing this in the last month. the heater works great too. it doesnt seem to get any hotter when the temp goes up though

[ocbaud]

after coming home tonight, i popped the hood and took a look around. there is a small area right under the heater hoses on the firewall. not a lot of antifreeze, but enough to have it drip down and make it noticable.

there is NO wet area on the inside of the carpet also.

could it just be the hoses need replaced?? i've never replaced them since i've owned the truck(4 years)

[Slonaker]

Originally Posted by ocbaud

after coming home tonight, i popped the hood and took a look around. there is a small area right under the heater hoses on the firewall. not a lot of antifreeze, but enough to have it drip down and make it noticable.

there is NO wet area on the inside of the carpet also.

could it just be the hoses need replaced?? i've never replaced them since i've owned the truck(4 years)

I noticed the same wet spot on my truck over the weekend. It must be an '86 thing...

I am not getting any antifreeze in the cab, so I'm hoping I can just pull the hose, clean everything up, cut a couple inches off the hose, and reclamp it.

As old as those hoses are, I would replace them. You never know how long the PO used them before you bought it, and replacement is cheap and easy. (BTW, despite what the auto parts stores say, the hoses are two different sizes.) That will tell you if it is the connection or the core. Even if the core is leaking, you still need new heater hoses anyway.

Slonaker

[LOHRTBT]

Welcome to the club, mine started doing that about a week ago. Damnit!
Yes...its an 86 haha

[bloertcher]

Lucky succers,mine's an 82,so I've long since dealt with this problem.I didn't think there was an original heater core left in a 73-87!Seriously,that's your trouble,and there's no good news.It's a *****,plain and simple.I have never heard of a good or easier way to pull this one off.Anyone else know?If there's an easier way,I'd love to know!

[784X4GUY]

Nope not easy I did one in every 73-87 ive had and they have all been tough...Later Mike

[SanitysBane]

hmm..i knew mine was bad, so i pulled it out, couldn't find any leaks, so i put it back in, about a week later is started leaking, so i pulled it back out and put a new one back in. and if that stupid thing goes out again im just not going to have a heater.

[KShortell]

Yeah, I just replaced the heater core last week in my 1986. On the rarest of occasions over the last three or four years, I could smell a whiff of antifreeze, but nearly always no smell at all. When it blew, it was unmistakable.

The worst part is that you can't just inspect it. You have to tear down everything so far to get to it that you'd might as well replace it as to inspect it...

It might be your hoses, though. A heater core leak would not appear below the hose fittings, but at the bottom of the heater box in the cab or, less likely, the A/C evaporator box under the hood.

Good luck!

[ocbaud]

well, i bought some new heater hoses and a new thermostat to put in. i'll do that later when the truck cools down a little bit

hopefully that will fix it

[Destructo]

my 85 leaks sometimes under the hoses where they connect to the heatercore, I know why too, its because somebody put two 3/4" hoses on it and one is supposed to be 3/4 and the other is a 5/8s I think?

[784X4GUY]

Good luck with it ocbaud hope that fixes it...Later Mike