s70 Coolant smell from vents?

Post by **xtrattitude4u** » 10 Apr 2010, 18:08

98 s70 2.4l NA I can smell coolant coming from the vents, but if I turn the temp to full cold, smell goes away. No coolant loss, none in driver compartment. I'm guessing heater core, but what else could cause this?

Post by **jblackburn** » 10 Apr 2010, 18:16

I have what I figure is a small crack in the heater core. There's no visible loss of coolant and no damp carpet, but it does stink for about 1 minute when I turn the heat on. The fittings to the heater core are another suspect item if the core itself is OK.

On full cold, the air is directed another way, and the flap to the heater core is shut, so no more smell.

Post by **xtrattitude4u** » 10 Apr 2010, 18:21

Thanks, Lee. I'm gonna add it to my Endless list of repairs. I'm guessing it won't hurt much to wait awhile on it.

Post by **polskamafia mjl** » 10 Apr 2010, 19:18

Lee??? lol

Post by **xtrattitude4u** » 10 Apr 2010, 20:05

whoops! sorry.

Post by **cn90** » 10 Apr 2010, 20:59

I am very aware of the heater core problem of the 850/S70/V70 issue.
In the majority of the case, it is leaking from the O-rings.

So my question is, let's say the car has only 100K miles, why replace the heater core when you can replace ONLY the O-rings?

I understand the Radiator lasts some 180-200K miles, so I expect the Heater Core itself to last as much?

Post by **jblackburn** » 10 Apr 2010, 21:24

Really it comes down to what's actually wrong with it. The heater core on my Saab was a piece of junk, the stupid thing started dripping antifreeze all over your feet about every 5-7 years. It never in its 20 years or 300,000 miles had a radiator put in it.

I haven't dove into mine to see what's wrong actually wrong with it, but I suspect it could be just the O-rings. You can easily pull off the access panel under the console and have a look around for yourself.

And it's OK, I've been called Jesse, Dustin, Seth, etc. Lee's a new one though

dang5001 · Post by **dang5001** » 12 Apr 2010, 05:22

I had the same problem, smell and losing a small amt of coolant. I checked the heater core, O-rings and there were no signs of leaking. I did find a crack in the hose at the coolant resevoir. I should have checked that first. Changed hose and the smell went away.

Igo · Post by **Igo** » 06 Aug 2010, 07:34

cn90 wrote:I am very aware of the heater core problem of the 850/S70/V70 issue.
In the majority of the case, it is leaking from the O-rings.

So my question is, let's say the car has only 100K miles, why replace the heater core when you can replace ONLY the O-rings?

I understand the Radiator lasts some 180-200K miles, so I expect the Heater Core itself to last as much?

Many mentions of those O-rings. I see no seeping or dripping from my O-rings, does that mean they are OK, or does O-ring leak mean an internal leak which you cannot see?

Post by **JDS60R** » 06 Aug 2010, 08:44

Time for some UV dye and a light. Find it, fix it ,drive it.

You can look at the core through inspection holes or see the dye in the vents,drain hose etc. Wash it down with a little simple green HD and water when you are done and there are no traces of it. I use Tracerline 3920 dye and a 1700P long wave lamp. It makes the leak a "very fluorescent" blue. You can't miss it.

You can use the regular stuff from your local auto parts store if you are not running long life coolants or are out of warranty. I guess the 3920 does not change the color of the coolant (true) . I think that is the only difference. The dye is cheap but the lamp costs. The 1700P is $100-$150 where the auto part store lights are $20-$30.