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Hell, I would have them go over every single solitary inch of the cooling system. I lost a car to cooling system issues, which led to a cracked cylinder head, so this is an area I don't play around with.
You mean the freeze plugs should not be them hardly ever leak. It's more than likely the heater core if smelling inside the cab of the vehicle.
So.... How did you arrive at 100% diagnosis that it IS heater core? Ruled out say leaking hoses to it? I mean, you already wasted nuff money on useless replacement. Now you want to install more into a heck of time spent to replace something that may not even be broken?
"smell" inside does not automatically point towards coolant. Coolant has VERY particular smell that easily identifies it. So what does it smell like?
Rotten eggs maybe? That's cat.
You may have something as common as pinhole hose leak right onto exhaust pipe or manifold. That WILL result in SMELL and will leave NO trace as fluid simply evaporates. You drive, it all gets hot, holes open, leaks starts. What you SHOUL do is do dye test. That is by far a wise money saving option to investigate. Of course, you will need to able to get underneath the vehicle, safely, as you need to shine UV light everywhere.
Just saying.
I have a 2006 Jeep Grand Cherokee that is experiencing some kind of leak that I believe is coolant.
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Sounds like it smells like a tiny leak in the heater core. Check the carpet. In the old days you could isolate the hoses to the heater core, but probably need professional help with a 2006.
You mean the freeze plugs should not be them hardly ever leak. It's more than likely the heater core if smelling inside the cab of the vehicle.
Mine actually fell out of my last car. And that wasn't even the only source of the leak. Turned out to be a crack in the overflow tank. This after two different dealerships told me it as #1 the thermostat, and #2 the heater core (oh, and you need your radiator replaced because it is so gunked up we couldn't flush it). It was neither one, and by that point I wasn't trusting anyone, so I just kept refilling the coolant every time it leaked out. Finally got the real problems taken care of, and several months later I was in the shop with a cracked cylinder head and a recommendation to replace the whole engine. On an 11 year old car with 124k miles on it. I junked it and ended up with the Cruiser I still drive 8 years later.
One good thing came out of that. I became really "take no crap" when it comes to car repairs. You either do it right the FIRST time, or you correct it on your dime, and if you agree to that I MIGHT extend the honor of you working on my car again.
Bypass the heater core. If the smell subsides, you know the heater core is the problem. If you are smelling antifreeze inside the vehicle, there's a 90% chance it's a heater core issue. On occasion, other antifreeze leaks can be smelled inside the car while driving because the fumes are pulled in through the cabin air intake.
I have a 2006 Jeep Grand Cherokee that is experiencing some kind of leak that I believe is coolant.
Symptoms: Strong smell inside the cabin of the car but cant seem to smell anything under the hood or find any puddles. It happens when I am on the highway and the smell is so strong that I have to pull over. It will sometimes happen when driving around town but the smell is not very strong.
I have taken it to two mechanics. The first mechanic replaced the water pump which did not solve the issue. The second mechanic did a pressure test and let it sit for a few hours but the pressure did not drop. But my coolant level had dropped slightly before the test.
From my research, it looks like the issue might be the heater core. I have opened the radiator cap and it is full. I have checked the areas around the passenger dash and there is no fluid on the floor. I have also read that it could possible be a cracked head gasket
1. Would the pressure test rule out a heater core leak?
2. If it is the heater core, is there a way to test if it is leaking?
3. Why does it happen when I'm on the interstate?
4. Why does the smell seem to only come from inside the car?
5. Any checks I can do to pinpoint exactly what the problem is?
6. Do you think that maybe the heater core is OK, but that the leak is somewhere under the hood, but the fumes are just coming into the cabin? Maybe the radiator cap is bad, which is why the pressure test did not find anything?
What are my next steps here? Seems like the local mechanics cant find the problem.
Thank you!
did you try the heater hose? that part is under the hood. i had a leak and could never find out until one day i popped the hood immediately after i got home and sure enough there was the smallest cut in the hose.
Can the fumes not be pulled into the cabin from under the hood?
Could but not likely because of all the insulation used in today's cars to keep out noise and smells from a hot engine, just get a pressure check with dye and a black light then you will be able to see exactly were the leaks are.
Bypass the heater core. If the smell subsides, you know the heater core is the problem. If you are smelling antifreeze inside the vehicle, there's a 90% chance it's a heater core issue. On occasion, other antifreeze leaks can be smelled inside the car while driving because the fumes are pulled in through the cabin air intake.
I will try this.
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