85 Ford Explorer (F150) 2WD Heater Problems

Once I get the truck warmed up and I turn push the handles to defrost and heat I smell radiator fluid for a little bit.



Second problem, the heater blower only works on high.



The heat works great. I do not hear liquid moving behind the dash like I had on a Mazada that had the heater core go out. So what gives with the radiator smell and what do I do about the blower only working on high?

The blower only working on high is probably a bad resistor, they are not expensive. The antifreeze smell is probably a bad heater core. The heater core is usually under $100 but the labor can be a bear. If you only want to get one more year out of this you can try some stopleak and if it makes it until spring just loop the heater hose back into the block.

I looked up “resistor” at Advance AutoParts and it would not pull up anything for my make and model of truck. There is a blower switch though. Could that be it?

This is the Straight 6 engine so just about everything is really easy to get to and replace…so far. I am hoping that the heater core will be the same.