Antifreeze Smell, & Loss

[1994RangerMan]

I just replaced the radiator, waterpump, thermostat on my ranger about a month ago.. i am getting a horrible antifreeze smell. and i am still using antifreeze.. there are no leaks of anykind that i can find.. the engine itself smells of antifreeze.. it is not going into the oil.. the oil level remains unchanged... any ideas???

[2000mudder]

you could have a blown head gasket that might only alow it to pass through the exhaust. do you have white smoke comming from exhaust?

[1994RangerMan]

I have no white smoke, and the system doesnt pressure up, which is a sign of a blown head gasket.. i am puzzled..

[freeclimber]

Why did you replace all those parts to begin with?
What was the previous problem?
Inability to hold cooling system pressure doesn't mean that you have a blown head gasket necessarily.
Does your truck have auto/man trans?
Do you have a pressure tester handy?

[1994RangerMan]

i replaced the parts because my truck seemed to be getting hotter than usual.. and it was out of antifreeze on the overflow tank.. so i found my cap wasnt holding pressure and it was leaking out the cap.. but my temp gage kept fluctuating up and down.. not to an overheat temp but just over the middle.. so i replaced the temp sender unit first.. then the radiator.. so i also did the water pump cuz it was right there... why do it later.. my gauge only says NORMAL instead of temp numbers.. now it only moves the slightest bit which is NOT unusual.

Now i get an antifreeze smell and it only uses a little antifreeze... the smell comes from under the hood not from the exhaust..

[freeclimber]

Is it possible that the small amount of usage is just the air being worked out of the system and the coolant resevoir is filling in the space? It can be hard to get all the air pockets out.
Otherwise, all I can say is to check all your connections again and maybe get your hands on a pressure tester (some parts stores will loan).

[1994RangerMan]

Yeah i have put a pressure tester on it and the system holds pressure correctly.. i was out at a mechanics house tonight and he said, there has to be a leak due to the smell..but it is hard to find.. i am going to put some of that special dye in it to see if i can find the leak... i have an assumption that it may be leaking out the back of the intake manifolds.. but it is very hard to see back there. The mechanic told me that if the antifreeze was going into the engine you wouldnt spell it and it would go out the exhaust. you can smell it from under the hood....

[AILS92T]

Look at the heater control valve. Mine was leaking a very small amount and dripping on the exhaust manifold. No leak on the ground, but it smelled of antifreeze. relatively cheap part and not hard to change. Apparently it fails quite often.

Rich K.

[1994RangerMan]

i will try that, thanks

[1994RangerMan]

does anyone know where that valve is located??

[1994RangerMan]

??????

[freeclimber]

the valve connects to the small diameter heater hoses leading to the heater core.

[1994RangerMan]

Here is the latest updates. I have had to truck to the shop to put dye in it, they went over it with a black light a week later can not find the leak. does not smell out the exhaust, just under the hood, no in the cab.

any suggestions??

[DJoyce]

I just recently found a leak where the heater hose passes by the air cleaner assembly. One of the screws that actually holds the top half of the air cleaner on had rubbed a hole in the heater hose. I found this while changing the air filter.

[asemstr]

What are you packing under your hood?