Coolant Smell

[HTC63]

I have a 99 Venture with 104K and so far it's been a pretty reliable mode of transportation. Recently I've notice a strong smell of coolent after the van's been running for awhile. Decided to investigate and discovered a small amount of water trickling from the top of the transmission to the ground. The size of the puddle is about a quarter. I can't see the back of the engine without removing a bunch of stuff, but from what I can see, it looks wet. I checked my coolant level and it's full. Any suggestions on what esle I can do.

[dschlact]

A smell of coolant when the heater is running would indicate a problem with the heater core...a smell in general might mean you have a coolant leak. Is the little puddle water or coolant or another fluid? If it is coolant than I would say chances are good that you have an issue with your intake manifold gasket as many on this site have. Do a search on this site for "gasket" and you will find plenty of threads to research your problem. If your puddle is not coolant than we need to know what it is to know if its a problem. We had a small amount of fluid dripping from the base of the radiator and it turned out to be coming from the AC Condenser, not the radiator...so try to find out where the source of the drip is.