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Terrible Smell from the Heater Vents


Cynxing

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86 Dolphin 67,000 mi.

Wretched smell coming from heater vent - for about 1500 miles now.  Sometimes so bad I have to close the vents and open the windows so we don't asphyxiate.

First off, no, it's not coolant.  I know that smell very well and that doesn't grab your tonsils and threaten to choke the life out of you.

Only happens when engine hot
Possibly only happens when heater has been used
Much stronger when on recycled air setting
Super strong after the vehicle is stopped
Lingers for days in the seat area
Definitely coming from the vents ( I thought there was something in my toolbag on the passenger floor, but I moved it)
Is not dissipating with time
First smell to come out of heater vent was a sweet crayon smell
Then came this Brake fluid meets WD 40 meets Round Up toxic nasty stink

I have looked at the videos of dash removal and the 40 different bits and bobs stuck under there.
Am intimidated but can't think of how else to find the culprit without setting eyes on the leak / pool / dead alien rotting under the dash.
Not sure I want to know

Has anyone else had this problem?  This is a Car Talk problem for sure.
 

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Very common issue, chances are high it's in the blower that's not a very hard fix. Yours no matter what is not are real bad one to deal with the latter ones were. If you are getting rodents I would suggest you remove the air filter this maybe why you are having running issues they get inside the air box but can't get past the filter and build huge nests under the filter drastically reducing air flow.

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When I bought my Escaper, the blower housing was packed full of crap that the mice had carried in.  The cage would not even turn.  I disassembled the unit and vacuumed out the mess.  I used a leaf blower and  blew air into the outlets and stuff came out of the ductwork.  It took awhile for me to get all of the mouse house cleaned up.  

I had an '82 Toyota pickup that had mice in the housing when I turned on the fan.  Dead mice can really stink.  It took alot of cleaning to get ride of the smell.

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Ok.  Perhaps I am not being descriptive enough.  The blower works great.  The heat works great.  The heat DOES NOT smell.  It's coming from in there but is not heater related - unless someone left a can of brake cleaner in there.  I can 100% guarantee you this has nothing to do with mice.  This is a man-made chemical substance.  I knows from meeces.  This 'aint natural.  The sun is shining down on the dash right now.  I haven't run the vehicle or the blower in four days.  I can smell the chemical.  Looks like I have to go in just to prove it's not mice.  Rats.  Pun intended.

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Well if it ain't mice, then you are going to Utube a video on how to remove the blower motor. Then you can look.

On second thought, if the smell is stronger in the recirculate mode maybe there is something on or under the carpet. Check there before removing the fan motor.

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the only thing I can think is that it is man made - something burning, etc.   OR   animal related.  Either way if you can't find something in the duct work, it will have to come apart.   Hopefully starting with the easier stuff.

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the blower motor resister  is held to the heater housing with 2 screws it gets hot if you run the heater fan on lower speeds any crap on that could make a stink maybe

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I took apart the dash and stared at the duct work for a couple of days.  Greased up that horn contact continuation doohickey and fooled around with the radio.  Then I put it back together, afraid if I waited too long I would forget how it goes.  In that time the smell went away so much I couldn't sniff out a location for it.  Before the smell disappeared it was strongest in the center vents and around the steering column. 

Another clue, possibly unrelated, is that when starting the engine and revving the accelerator in place, there's a gurgle in the center vents - only when revving. 

 

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Gurgle            in the center vents . that is most likely the antifreze                                 going through the heater core . I have that sound sometimes when you first turn on the heater control valve that opens the water valve to the heater core . are you shure the raditer is full .

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1 hour ago, Cynxing said:

Lysol - eeeeyyyww :P

And yes full radiator, possibly over full

Pine-sol ???:devel:

Because the smell seems to be fading have you rechecked your tool bag?

Edited by WME
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It wasn't coming from the tool bag.  My snoot detected it coming from the center vents and around the steering column.  It has faded.  I have to wait for it to reappear to open up the dash again.  Next time with more confidence and therefore FASTER

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The idea is not to replace or mask one nasty smell with another.  It's to find the source of the original nasty smell and eliminate it.

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Germs, by definition, have some biological source.  I am quite clear that the smell is a chemical that is man-made and probably is designed to kill things itself.
So, until there is Smellivision adapted to this forum, you're all going to have to believe me, it's not a germ, mold, mouse, flora or fauna, rot, or anything else that is, was once, or could be alive.

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Non organic pretty much narrows heater vent smells to antifreeze. Since it seems to fade you might have a heater core leak. They stop smelling if the heater is off and the leaked stuff burns off. Takes very little to really stink up the air so you might not see too much coolant loss.

Linda S

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If the core is leaking it will leave a film on the glass that's hard to get off and have a sort of a sweet chemical smell. Like Linda said it does not need to leak a lot to make a big stink.

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OK peanut gallery idea. Turn the temp control to cold and run fan at full speed. Drive around until the truck is at full temp. Do a smell check and then turn the heat to max and see what your nose says

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I almost got on Car Talk once with a Plymouth Colt Vista problem...
But I'm definitely stumpin' the chumps here, because it ain't coolant.

I believe it is something that has been added - like brake cleaner - where it doesn't belong.
I'll keep you posted the next time I get a whiff.  And I'll try to be more specific about the particular notes and bouquet of the wretched stench. 
Maybe we could introduce scratch n sniff to the forum?

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Brake cleaner  and carb cleaner evaporate quickly, so that shouldn't be your problem. Engine cleaner is slow or non evaporative. Did some body do work on your rig just before the smell started.

About the worse smell is if the shop has an old fashion hot tank for cleaning dirty parts. That smell takes days to clear, even if nothing from your rig was cleaned it the tank

 

 

 

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Well, good to know about the quick evaporation on those chemicals.  This has been a problem since December when I had work done in Oxnard.  I asked the mechanic what he sprayed in there and he said, "whatever it was it won't kill you - I'm still alive."  Not encouraging.  I don't believe he hot-dipped anything.  We did spray the EFI cover and the heat shield with silver high heat rustoleum, but I would have thought after two months that would be long gone.  Because the smell was intermittent, like all of the other symptoms in this rig, the source has been hard to pin down.  I have a pretty sensitive nose and consider it a good diagnostic tool - as long as I can identify the smell. 

The first smell that came out of the heater vent (in October) was a distinct crayon wax smell.  Very nostalgic, and possibly Blue Green, but maybe Green Blue.  At any rate, that smell has gone away and I found no melted crayola in the dash, sad to say. 

Yesterday I drove to the bustling metropolis of Belen - about an hour and a half each way with a few inclines.  I ran the heater part way, and also the fan on cool.  There was zero smell before, during, or after.  The outside temp got up to 70 (it has been in the 20 - 40 degree range), so the engine definitely got warm.  I smelled a faint bit of antifreeze as I got out of the vehicle, but no drips anywhere.  I can't believe that anything I did when I took the dash apart made the smell go away.  Befuddling.

So until I get any more stinky clues, this thread has tapered to a close.  If it aint broke, don't fix it. 

So I'll turn back to the computer codes 4&5 that continue to flash.  But that's a different forum category...

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Lo and behold, a new clue.  I haven't gone anywhere for five days and haven't smelled The Smell for at least 2 weeks.  Today the temp got up to about 66 with the sun shining down hard on the dash and hood.  The smell came back to the point where I have to open the windows to breathe.  Strongest from the right center vent.  What would do this????!!!!!! There's nothing to see!!!  Ambient heat triggers it and you don't have to drive to get it going.  :angry:

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Next warm day open the hood and sniff around the cowl area. Also maybe try a hair dryer and heat up different places.

 

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I WIN !!!!  And it only took me four months to figure it out.  oh well.

The POs left a plastic caddy between the seats.  On hot days it would heat up - and stink.  When the truck ran for long enough to get hot, it would heat from beneath - and stink.  The vents where it smelled the strongest - were right above it.  I used a hair dryer (had to borrow one, don't own such a thing) to heat it up and yuppity yup yup that was the smell.  So cooking plastic.  Yum.  Bet I lost a few brain cells on that one. 

Thank you all for your suggestions.  And now I know how to take apart the dash (and put it back together) and how to fix the squeak in the steering.

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OKey DOkey. If the floor and transmission are generating enough heat to do that, its time to research Reflectix. Remove the seats peal back the carpet and lay one layer over the front floor and up the firewall as far as the carpet goes. Put an 2nd layer over the transmission hump and the driver side floor over the cat converter. Flip the carpet back over and install the seats. 

Your toy will be cooler and quieter

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Good idea.  I used something like it for my custom window covers.  Wish I'd thought to stick the rest under the front seat carpet. 

The rig does get awful hot.  The new muffler (put in by POs) ticks audibly during cool down after driving a while.

I had the radiator rodded, so I'm not worried about the engine so much, but it's pretty toasty under the cab.

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