Hi Everyone,

Having a problem with my truck lately. Have been getting an intermittent coolant smell in the cabin but it normally goes away after a while. I know this usually indicates a bad heater core. Tonight I parked my truck at walmart and when I came back it was leaking coolant from underneath the truck. I couldn't pinpoint the source of the leak as it was getting dark but it was dripping off the transmission housing (I don't think that's where it originated from obviously). Also - it wasn't pouring out or anything just a drip drip drip sorta thing. Driving back the windshield fogged up from coolant I suppose. I also noticed that the upper rad hose is hot while the bottom rad hose is not and I can't feel definitive pressure on either by pinching the hoses. Observing the coolant it looks rusty and smells like rotting rubber hoses. I don't think the previous owner(s) have ever changed the coolant on this truck at 127k+ miles so I'm sure that's why the trouble has arisen. The dipstick shows no traces of coolant in it if anybody is wondering. Can someone confirm that this sounds like a bad heater core before I go to all the trouble of ripping my dash out to get the sucker?

 

I think that there are a couple other possibilities so I wouldn't buy any parts yet. could just be a cracked hose, the heater core its self could be fine. Tearing apart the dash is probably unavoidable though so go for it!

 

Sounds like a heater core, but would check hoses first to make sure you dont have a broken one first. With fogging of the windsheild it does sure sound like it though.

 

Bump, friends 2001 V6 F150 is leaking as well. Common heater core symptoms like wet floor mats, smells bad in cabin, loss of coolant. To bypass it, can I just cut the hose and attach it to the other hose?