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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.
The heater core can have pinhole leaks that will result in very tiny loss of pressure.
Does it smell more strongly, or only when the heater is on hot? One test is to let the car warm up, turn on hot defrost and small the air coming out of the defroster. Look up how hard it is to replace your heater core. If it is a one hour job and the heater core can be had for $50 just replace it. Sometimes replacing the heater core is a huge job where you have to remove all kinds of things and it can take many weekends. For me that would determine how much time and money I want to spend confirming it is the heater core.
Shop around. For our volvo, the Volvo heater core was $300 plus. I found one elsewhere for $50. You may be taking a risk, but to me it was worth it, since I had $50 but did not have $300.
The heater core can have pinhole leaks that will result in very tiny loss of pressure.
Does it smell more strongly, or only when the heater is on hot? One test is to let the car warm up, turn on hot defrost and small the air coming out of the defroster. Look up how hard it is to replace your heater core. If it is a one hour job and the heater core can be had for $50 just replace it. Sometimes replacing the heater core is a huge job where you have to remove all kinds of things and it can take many weekends. For me that would determine how much time and money I want to spend confirming it is the heater core.
Shop around. For our volvo, the Volvo heater core was $300 plus. I found one elsewhere for $50. You may be taking a risk, but to me it was worth it, since I had $50 but did not have $300.
Most heater corse's are replaced by going through the dash by the glove box its very involved and not really something the weekend warrior should do. And if you put on the defrost and the windows steam than its the heater core and you will smell antifreeze.
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.
Some cars have valves that allow fluid to pass through the heater core only when heat is requested.
If that is the case and the test was done then that valve was closed. Leading to a misleading pressure test result. Trace the hoses going to and out of your heater core to find out.
Most heater corse's are replaced by going through the dash by the glove box its very involved and not really something the weekend warrior should do. And if you put on the defrost and the windows steam than its the heater core and you will smell antifreeze.
I have done a handful of them (5 I think). Some are very easy and take only an hour. Others were a bear but there was no reason why a "weekend warrior" should not do the work, rather than a high school drop out working for a shop, other than the time it takes - you can end up with the car down for a month if it is a difficult job.
The heater core can have pinhole leaks that will result in very tiny loss of pressure.
Does it smell more strongly, or only when the heater is on hot? One test is to let the car warm up, turn on hot defrost and small the air coming out of the defroster. Look up how hard it is to replace your heater core. If it is a one hour job and the heater core can be had for $50 just replace it. Sometimes replacing the heater core is a huge job where you have to remove all kinds of things and it can take many weekends. For me that would determine how much time and money I want to spend confirming it is the heater core.
Shop around. For our volvo, the Volvo heater core was $300 plus. I found one elsewhere for $50. You may be taking a risk, but to me it was worth it, since I had $50 but did not have $300.
Well, I havent taken it on the interstate in a while, but just the other day I was driving around town and could faintly smell it. The heat was not on. I am not sure if the mechanic had the heat on when doing the pressure test. I honestly cannot remember if the heat was on when on the interstate. I will have to take it back out to test this.
I have done a handful of them (5 I think). Some are very easy and take only an hour. Others were a bear but there was no reason why a "weekend warrior" should not do the work, rather than a high school drop out working for a shop, other than the time it takes - you can end up with the car down for a month if it is a difficult job.
It is a 10hr job for my particular vehicle. I did some research and found a few workarounds for this. I can cut through a few welded brackets to be able to get to the heater core in an hour, but I dont want to do this unless I am positive it is indeed the heater core that is causing the problems.
It is a 10hr job for my particular vehicle. I did some research and found a few workarounds for this. I can cut through a few welded brackets to be able to get to the heater core in an hour, but I dont want to do this unless I am positive it is indeed the heater core that is causing the problems.
Yikes. Ten hour book job means 15 or more to do it in a driveway especially without air tools or a lift (although only one car that i remember required me to go under the car). Some of them are pretty awful to do. Some are easy.
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