I just purchased a 2005 Pontiac Vibe. There is a sweet smell coming from the vents when I turn the heat on that’s really strong and making me feel sick. My initial though is the heater core is leaking. The mechanic did a pressure test on the system and found no leaks. They said that the tested it at 25 when it only needed to be checked for 22.5 and it showed no pressure loss.
I’m at a loss what to do as the smell is still there but I’m told there is no leak.
The mechanic said they found stop leak in the coolant and that flushing and refilling the system should help remove the smell that it might be related to the stop leak burning. This didn’t make sense because if it’s not leaking the smell shouldn’t be coming from what’s inside the system because it’s not leaking for the smell to get out.
Any suggestions on what to do or how to get the smell out? Could thier test be wrong and it’s still leaking? If it was leaking and stop leak was put in which fixed the leak would it take a long time for the smell, coming from what already leaked out, to go away?
A heater core can leak for a long time without dripping. A pressure test will not prove that the heater core is not leaking, you could be losing only 1 ounce per month.
If you smell coolant and the windshield fogs, the heater core is leaking.
The windshield isn’t fogging up when it switch the vent to defog. When I have the air on with the dial turned to cold the sweet smell isn’t as strong. When the heat is on with the dial turned to hot the sweet smell becomes very strong. The smell always seems to be there.
Will the windshield always fog up with a bad heater core? I think it seemed difficult to get them to defog right away when it was raining out. When I turn the vent to defog it doesn’t fog up immediately or anything like that.
It doesn’t always have to fog the windshield. I picked up a new heater core at Napa and the windshield was clear. On the two miles home, all heck broke loose and the car steamed up so bad I could hardly see to get it in the garage. Stop leak doesn’t fix anything permanent. Obviously if they used it, there was a problem. Who knows if the pressure test actually included the core since the valve could have been shut off. If it was a core leak and the stop leak stopped it, you still need a new core. Either it is still wet or still has a leak. Spend your time and money replacing it and wiping up the coolant. Some are worse to put in than others. Check the procedure in the book. Mine only took a few hours.
You want someone to say you don’t need a core when you smell coolant?
Good idea to make sure the hvac drain is open. Simple/fast job for a shop. If that doesn’t do the trick and you are pretty certain the heater core isn’t leaking, investigate how difficult it is to remove the hvac blower motor. If within your skills you could take a look what’s going on in that area. Maybe there’s a bunch of wet leaves fermenting in there, creating weird odors. Even if no leaves, may still provide a clue.
Breathing coolant fumes isn’t particularly healthy, so you do want to solve this as quickly as possible, even if you end up throwing parts at the problem if it comes to that.
When getting the car they had many air fresheners in it. The smell doesn’t seem to go away. At the time I thought I could smell a mix of air freshener and antifreeze. I’m thinking maybe it isn’t leaking and I’m mistaking the air freshener as antifreeze.
My friend suggested I flush the system and just run it with water, instead of antifreeze, and see if what I’m smelling stays or goes away. If the smell stays and doesn’t change that would imply I’m just smelling air freshener. If it changes or goes away that would imply there’s a leak. I don’t think it’s good to run a car with just water for coolant but I’ve done that in the past many years ago with my runners and didn’t have any issues.
I think clamping the lines could be similar. How do you go about clamping the lines? Or could you just get some sort of U pipe, remove and connect the lines together that would go into the heater core?
Yes you can also as I mentioned, bypass the heater core by removing the hoses from the heater core (should be 2 different size hoses) and joint them together with a connector and hose clamps… But clamping off the hoses is normally easier…
Because my old Pontiac had no way to shut the heater off, I would clamp the hoses off each spring. Then replace the ruined hoses again in the fall.
Not to be a broken cassette, but I suspect replacing the Hester core with one that doesn’t leak will fix the problem and eliminate the need for. Air fresheners.
Excellent idea. If coolant is found under the carpet, or soaking the underside of the carpet, either the heater core is leaking or one of its connecting hoses has sprung a leak. In either event the heater core will need to be removed and inspected. This is probably very labor intensive, so expect a sizable invoice.
Alternate theory: It’s possible the prior owner experienced a heater core leak and fixed it, and the odor is what remains from that. The solution to that probably requires replacing the passenger side component of the carpeting, and a thorough cleaning of that portion of the metal floor pan.
A pressure test will only tell if there is a large size hole.
There could very well be a pinhole leak that won’t fog up the windshield.
They tried to add stop leak hoping it would stop a small leak but it didn’t work.
I’m going to get a lot of flack here but I would think again before flushing out the stop leak.
You could open up a gusher.
If you decide to flush, have the funds on hand to fix.
Keep note that it’s August so nobody cares right now and you could just bypass the heater core.
Depending on where you live, it’s going to start getting cold real fast, real soon.
I’ve got 50 cents cash that says the seller knew there was a core leak. Got the $1000 estimate and threw stop leak in and air fresheners and decided to sell. If you are handy and take pictures or have a good memory, you can do it yourself. Some say you can go in from th3 bottom of the dash and don’t need to evacuate the ac. Not sure what the book procedure would be. So the options are do it yourself and save $900 or so, pay someone, or sell the car. Sorry.
Just to note though that being faced with choices like this is how some of us became handy.
NOTE 1: Estimates shown DO NOT include recover, evacuate and charge system. If necessary to open refrigerant system; refer to System Charge (Complete) for appropriate time. NOTE 2: Estimates listed are for factory and dealer instrument panel installed Integral type Air Conditioning Units only. Use necessary clock time for service of aftermarket units. DOES NOT include Air Conditioning System recover, evacuate and/or recharge.
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