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sean
Dodge Dakota
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3/30/2004
01:27:09
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 Subject: burning coolant, steam through vents
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i have a 98 dakota magnum club cab with about 95k miles. sometime around october last year, the a/c went out. at the time i didn't sweat it since winter was coming. around january or so, i began noticing the smell of antifreeze occasionally when i drove. the antifreeze smell was stale and a little fishy. about a month ago, in hindsight, deforsting the windshield became a problem which is normal here ( N FL) at that time of year. yesterday, the interior vents begin leaking (billowing is a bit of an overstatement) antifreeze vapor. i checked the resivoir: bone dry. i filled it with water which immidiatly emptied out on the passenger side near the firewall. i was unable to pinpooint the leak, but as i was looking for it, i noticed a fairly hot pipe under the truck was discolored (chalky white) as though something was dripping on to it and evaporating. the engine temp is normal, as are all other interior gauges. also, the heater is still plenty hot. i figured it was a leaking hose of some variety, and was hoping a can of radiator stop leak would be a temp fix. please advise as to the cheapest / easiest way i can fix this. or if i should just start hoping someone steals it.
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JimC
Dodge Dakota
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3/30/2004
11:00:40
|  RE: burning coolant, steam through vents
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Message:
Sounds like the heater core is leaking. If your getting steam out of the vents and that telltale smell I'd say that's probably the problem. Usually this is not too expensive of a fix, but does cost a little. Usually the heater core is located on either side of the firewall. It is basically like a small radiator inside of the heat/AC ducting. My 86 Ford Ranger, about 12 years ago, had the same symptoms and it was the heater core. The leak may be small in which case the loss of pressure at the leak and the atomization will cause the coolant to flash to steam. A lot of times the temps stay normal, provided that too much coolant is not lost, and the heater still may work. You need to get this fixed as it will only get worse. Luckily the leak seems to be on the outside of the firewall. I wasn't so lucky with the Ranger. I ended up with a puddle on the passenger side floor. Sorry about the leak. The only quick temporary fix is to find the inlet and outlet lines to the core if you can get to them. Put an appropriately sized boltin each line and hose clamp it. This fix is kind of trailer park, but it will stop the leak and allow you to use the truck until you save up the money. Hope this helps. Jim
01 QC 4wd 4.7 5-speed 33" Swamper LTBs
03 RC 2wd 4.7 5-speed
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jcham
Dodge Dakota
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3/30/2004
23:00:08
| RE: burning coolant, steam through vents
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Message:
It's probably the heater core. This sucks, cuz mine went out last winter, and it is a costly fix. The heater core isn't the expensive part. Our cores are under the dash, and mechanics charge a hefty fee, because the heating/cooling system has to be recharged also. People said I got a hell of a deal on mine installed for $250. I heard some people talking about paying upwards of $500 to have this fixed. Sorry to have to bear the bad news. Anyway, good luck.
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