2003 Dodge Ram - Smell of Radiator Fluid When Heat's On

You either need a new heater core, or you have a leaky hose connected to it.

Not the radiator.

They share the same fluid, but the heater core is inside the cabin, thus your smell with the heat. Replace your heater core and thoroughly inspect all hoses attached to it. (most likely behind/under dash on passenger side.)

Could it be related to my previous radiator problem?

Heater core is expensive stuff.

GA.

My money is on you.

It sounds like that this vehicle was run for a long time with only water in the cooling and corrosion happened in the rad and the heater.....other parts should be checked!

Probably needs a good flush out of the engine block to get rid of any leftover debris.....after the new heater is installed.....

Also, for a long time after the new radiator was installed, heat only blew out of the passenger side vents. The other day, I could feel heat out of the driver's side vents for the first time in months. This is all very strange.

I doubt they were related other than the fact they were the same age, and had experienced the same amount of corrosion. If your radiator had corroded to the point of leakage, your heater core has been subject to the same. They both share the same fluid, and the same contaminants/corrosion. I replaced the Heater core in my Chevy S-10 myself. The core cost me about 50 bucks, and the install cost me about a six pack of good beer.

The venting issue is strange, the heated air is usually controlled by a series of vents and valves, which sometimes are vacuum controlled. I would not be able to give the proper advice without being able lto inspect the vehicle.

Not too strange

Dodge (I believe) still uses vacuum (motors and switches) to handle air in the cabin. Problem is they have a tendency to clog and the vacuum source is none too robust.

Given this is a 2003, I would not be looking for corrosion yet - tho you didn't tell us how it got a hole in the radiator.

SO - does the smell go away if you turn heat off? Where is the valve for hot water to the cab?

If the smell goes away, then your system is good to the valve. Find the leak past the valve, could be the heater core, but I would be sure - they are not free.

If the leak is tiny try this stuff -Rislone

Do NOT EVER pour Bar's products in your radiator - just my humble

Many old timers talk nice about standard black pepper for radiator leaks, pepper is damned expensive to pour in your radiator.

It's also possible that you have a leak under the hood from the repair. It's just filtering thru the fire wall or in one of the fresh air intakes of the heating system.

Get your cooling system pressure tested. If there are any pressure drops, you have a leak. If you can not find it, it may be your heater core. If you are looking for a shut off valve for the heater, you will need to have two of them in order to stop a leak. One valve will only stop the flow of water and heat. The pressurized water will still leak if it is not flowing. Good luck.

Great advice so far. I'm going to spend some time checking this out for myself before throwing more money at my neighborhood mechanic.

Heater core failure happened in my wife's Taurus and was just like you described. In the Ford, this was a known issue and a HUGE pain to repair, they had to take the dashboard off. Thankfully, someone stole and totalled that POS a few months later before something else could fail on it.

Memorable days in my life:Getting married, birth of my children, having the last Taurus towed away.

Heater-core, say-no-more, Monster's it!

You never stated if you were noticing a loss of antifreeze ... Put a pencil mark on the reserve tank or fill it to the appropriate line and check it frequently to verify a leak. Check the passenger side floorboard for dampness (near the back higher up). Can you only smell it in the cab when the heat is running or when you lift the hood can you smell it outside of the vehicle?

A leaking heater core will normally leave some deposits on the windows when you use the defroster. Their is a drain for condensation in the evaporator case with the heater core. If you park on concrete watch for anti freeze deposits.

http://www.alldata.com/ has a years subscription for around $29.95 buy it if doing the job yourself.

Could be a new problem. A clean radiator allows for more flow and more pressure. That can blow out old parts.

Thats why I fix these things myself. I couple of wooden pegs with rags on them to stop up the raditor hose tubes. Fill the radiator with water take another rag wrapped around an air hose and I slowly add pressure to test my own radiators. No one to blame but me If I make a mistake. If there is a leak it does not take much pressure to blow them out.

Never use acytlene to attempt a repair on a Radiator !!!!!!

I would just get everything checked out. Unfortunately not all mechanics should be allow to mechanic , if you will.

http://www.ineedaradiator.com

Sounds like a heater core, depends how strong the smell is. Usually when the heater core goes out, you will end up with water/coolant on your passenger floor.

A quick change is totally out of the ball park in your model truck. I have an '02 Ram with a bad heater core, I just bypassed it temporarily to still get to work.

Anyhow.. The part is costing a low price, it's the labor that is expensive. We're most likely talking another $600 - $700. The entire dash has to be torn out from left-to-right, all the little screws and so on. You need your A/C unit discharged just to get to the darn thing. So, all the time in on disabling the Air bags, doing the dash, discharging the system, replacing the part, putting the dash all together again, vacuuming the A/C system, recharging it, Air bags, and so on.

It's not for the everydayer, but I'm gonna do mine myself... I need a new dash board anyways (California Sun for ya)...

If it is not leaking, it is probably from the semi recent install. Coming from past coolant that hasn't yet burned off.

Hope this was helpful