2000 altima cooling question

[jccrane]

ok well my 2000 altima is losing coolant its forming a puddle somewhere around the thermostat, but the thermostat isn't the culprit. also, a few days ago i noticed dew on the inside of my windsheild and a brown-sugar smell, and lastly, my a/c takes forever to get cold - when i hit the a/c switch it sounds like the blower comes on, but the air just blows harder, not colder. someone told me that these all sound like symptoms of a bad heater core, anyone here know for sure? thanks a lot!

[jimmy-Hands-on]

I agree - the heater core "area" should be the problem, may be the core unit itself, may be the connection.
Be aware your vehicle has low coolant now and it's likely to overheat when keep driving.

[jccrane]

thanks alot! but i just had the car pressure tested and the mechanic and i didnt see any coolant coming from the heater core area, we didnt look at the actual core, since it requires dash removal, but didnt see any coolant coming from the area. anyway, i replaced the radiator, as it was leaking and i resealed the thermostat as it was leaking just a little bit.

the mechanic said that the radiator and heating ducts can suck coolant or just that smell into the cabin, much like the heater core...and since its a much cheaper fix, and i needed it anyway, i just did it myself. so, yeah, how about a heater core and labor is EXPENSIVE! but hopefully that fixed my problem... id still appreciate any input you guys have!