Anti-Freeze Leak?

[Cynthia Grant]

2003 ST with 190K miles (original owner)



My ST is in the shop right now and my mechanic seems to be stuck. Whenever I turn on the air (whether heat, A/C, vent or defrost), a strong foreign odor has been coming into the truck. It is particularly bad when the heat is turned on -- brownish smoke comes into the truck. When the hood is opened, more light smoke is seen directly in front of the passenger side of the truck.



When I took it in, the mechanic immediately said it was an anti-freeze odor and there must be a leak somewhere, although there have not been any puddles under the truck. However, after three days, he still can't find the leak.



Has anyone out there had a similar problem? Is this something that might be specific to an ST? My mechanic is very good for most things, but he is not an ST specialist. So if any of you have any ideas of things to look for that a general mechanic might not think of, I'd appreciate your suggestions!



Thank you!!!!!!

 

[Mark K 2]

Pull up the rubber flooring on the passenger side and see if it's wet or damp. If it is, then your heater core is probably shot.

 

[Igor Smetaniuk]

If it is then find a new mechanic because that should have been a no-brainer diagnosis on his part.



Did he at least check your coolant level?



Also, I'm not sure how this would make brown smoke enter your cabin while engaging your climate control settings, but he could check the ever so popular cracked thermostat housing. He should see residual around it. Not always an easy area to view and spot the problem.