xjarayax

Sorry in advance, I know it's not really applicable to these forums but you guys know cars way better than what I can find on the Sable "forums".

The car is one of my daily drivers.. I've found that recently when I've switched the heat on inside the car that it smells like anti-freeze... leading me to suspect that the heater core is failed or failing-- however it still blows heat.

The anti-freeze smell goes away when the air conditioning is switched off or back to cold...

I went ahead and flushed and changed radiator fluid-- and put in some stop leak but neither action seemed to do anything.

I am wondering if anyone has experienced similar symptons and if they know what the problem potentially is, or just confirm that it is indeed the heater core.

Thank you.

ZeeVert

If you have an antifreeze smell, it could be coming from anywhere under the hood, not just the heater core. Stop Leak type products may not work very well on seals, such as water pumps, or some gaskets.

Does the coolant level go down?
How fast?

The pressure in the cooling system is usually the highest when you shut off a warm car... open the hood, smell, look and listen.

xjarayax

That's just the thing, the coolant doesn't really seem to be going down much at all. I can only get a big draft of antifreeze smell inside the car when I throw the switch to heat. Under the hood everything seems pretty normal.

ZeeVert

Well, as you already know, there may not be a lot off help at an LS1 website.

Anyway, al the symptoms you describe make it sund like a very small heater core leak. You can get someone else to confirm with pressure test, but that would cost money.

What would I do?
Keep driving it and keep an eye on coolant and temp levels. If it doesn't overheat, you're not going to hurt anything with a little leak. Carry a gallon or two of pre-mix in the trunk as a back-up.

You could bypass the heater core and verify the smell goes away.

Replacing a heater core is usually not an easy thing, and if you can't take the smell, it looks like you're going to have to pay someone to dive in. It'd be interesting to here what the estimated cost would be from a dealer... I'd guess $500?

CW00BlackTA

iTrader: (31)

Sounds like a heater core leak. When I've had them go bad, I'd notice the windshield fog up on the inside when the defrost was on (moisture in the air). I'd watch it as the previous post suggested.

xjarayax

Thanks for the advice, I appreciate it. I think I will try and bypass the H.c. and confirm or deny if that smell goes away.

zoomer02

iTrader: (1)

You also want to either run this by-passed until you get it fixed. If it get's worse it will leak antifreeze down the heater vent onto the floor and the carpet. This gets to be a real mess to clean up.