i have a question that has just about stumped me. whenever i turn on my a/c, i get this antifreeze smell for just a second and then it goes away immediately. i know that i havn't lost a drop of fluid though. what could be causing this, and how could i fix it. any help would be great. thanks.

Mine turned out to be the heater core, replaced for $50.00 under extended warranty.

Regards,

Mike Harris in Sandy Eggo

If you are truly smelling antifreeze, then you must have a small leak somewhere. When you say "turn on the A/C", do you really mean when the air conditioning is on, or just when the ventilation blower is on? Does the smell occur when the recirc switch is on as well as off (fresh air)? If it occurs when in recirc mode, you probably have a tiny leak somewhere in the heater core. If it occurs only when in fresh air mode, you may be getting it from the engine compartment. Some leak areas in a Volvo are (1) defective reservoir cap, (2) pinhole leak in the reservoir tank, (3) around the thermostat gasket, (4) water pump weep hole, (5) radiator itself. I don't hear much about leaking heater cores.

Gerald C

thanks for the reply. i only smell it when the blower just cuts on. it isn't in the recirc mode. the only thing is, i know i'm not leaking any antifreeze because it isnt disappearing. no signs of leaks anywhere. maybe i am getting a smell from the rad cap. i might go and buy a new one from the dealer. thanks.

"the only thing is, i know i'm not leaking any antifreeze because it isnt disappearing. no signs of leaks anywhere."

But you DON'T "KNOW" this.

The fact is that all you need, to be able to smell antifreeze, is a single drop, or maybe two, or three. If you are losing a single drop per day, you wouldn't notice it. After all, it's not dripping on the ground--it's dripping inside the heater box, do you never even see it. So, even though you say that you "know" it isn't leaking, the fact is that you don't "know," 'cause at a drop-a-day, there is no way you would "know."

You've got a leaky heater core, or a leaky nearby connection.

What you have described is a classic pinhole/seepage leak of the heater core.

Maybe you can get by a few more months with a good radiator stop leak ( i did once with an old mustang).

Good Luck.

I also have a minimal heater core leak.

Anyone one know if this can be bad O-rings connecting
to the core housing and not necessarily the core itself?

If so I'd like to change out the O-rings first before
the core and see if this works.

Or maybe tightening the O-ring pipe screws. maybe they
become loose over years?

I wonder if many people had their cores changed when they only
needed new O-rings.