Q: Air conditioner smells like radiator coolant, 2000 ford f150.

asked by on June 05, 2017

When running air conditioner, cab smells like radiator coolant. Looking at engine shows no leaks or steam. Truck does not overheat. What is wrong?

My car has 104000 miles.
My car has an automatic transmission.

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You may be developing a leak in the heater core. Your truck is about the right age. The heater core lives in the heat exchanger with the air conditioner evaporator so anything that happens in there will come out of the vents. The leak will eventually show up as oily looking spots on the windshield when you run the defroster and a the drip under the car where you expect to see AC discharge water will be coolant. Overheating will start when it gets low on coolant. Save yourself some trouble and get it looked at before it gets worse. Contact your Mechanic to have a technician come out to your home or office to check out your truck and replace your heater core if that’s necessary.

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