Noticed excessive fogging and coolant smell in cabin

[WrenchinBrit]

Hey Guys ... suddenly noticed the windshield wouldn't defog the other day .. didn't think to much on that trip as its starting to get a little cooler. Then the other day started to smell coolant in the cabin.
Looked under the bonnet (hood) and sure enough a little low in the expansion tank .. couldn't see obvious leaks put a pressure on the system and sure enough dropping slowly ... no obvious drips underneath ... recently did the intake man gasket and no steam from tail pipe so fairly confident its not burning it and Obviously I'm smelling it in the cabin ... how can i do a test of the heater core (front and back) and can i get a look behind the glove box or is it buried ??

 

[Yupster Dog]

suddenly noticed the windshield wouldn't defog the other day .. started to smell coolant in the cabin.

Year Trim Engine? If your windshield wouldn't defog it's the front one.

or is it buried ??

It is so buried.

 

[WrenchinBrit]

2014 triton 5.4 3v EL with heavy duty tow package

 

[WrenchinBrit]

Year Trim Engine? If your windshield wouldn't defog it's the front one.

It is so buried.

Oh my ...wonder if there is a REALLY long youtube vid on pulling the dash apart ... bit like watching a horror movie before going camping

 

[Yupster Dog]

Oh my ...wonder if there is a REALLY long youtube vid on pulling the dash apart

Ya here's one/ do not turn sound on.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVt9IOTdxJI&ab_channel=IsleVlogs

 

[Ellison Brown III]

Two other places I’d recommend checking are the following…

1. On my ‘04 there is a heater control valve on the passenger side (as viewed from the front) near firewall. It’ll be a valve that has the heater pressure, and return, lines going to it. Look for leaking/ cracks.

2. Also, the 5.4 plastic manifold has a metal water crossover pipe that mounts to the underside. The manifold, and pipe, have a rubber gasket that seals the two together. After years of use the plastic becomes weak, and the channel the gasket sits in blows out. Causing the seal to be compromised. At which point antifreeze will leak out into a deep channel on top of the engine block while being hidden under the manifold.

I realize the setup is different on an ‘14 compared to an ‘04. Check it out… these ideas may translate. Good luck.

 

[Hamfisted]

Any wet carpet up front ? You also have a rear heater core back there in the HVAC box of the right rear quarter panel.

 

[HavasuMike]

I had a similar problem. Fluid was low so I topped it off. Became low again in a few days. Turned out to be the water pump leaking.

 

[rwmorrisonjr]

Ya here's one/ do not turn sound on.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVt9IOTdxJI&ab_channel=IsleVlogs

Thanks for sharing. That's a brutal teardown too replace the coils! Fingers crossed I don't need to do that anytime soon.

 

[WrenchinBrit]

Guys .. it was the heater in the dash up front .. in the meantime i bypassed it so had no heat up front for the winter.. even with heated seats it got real cold in the footwell
i have the replacement and an evap coil too just in case i get all the way there and its going out . only want to do this once.. no skimping on the parts OEM's only from rockauto