Lately anytime I've tried to use the heat in my 98 Blazer a syrupy antifreeze smell consumes the car?? My temp gage is still reading pretty low/normal, and nothing else seems out of the ordinary. What could this be?

 

Is your coolant level OK? If not you may have a leak from your heater core?

 

yup, heater core is most likely leaking at the seam and "cooking" off what little seeps out and taa daa...you get your lovely scent.

 

Thanks! Would this cause a "smoky cloud" to come out of the air vents when the system is turned off?

 

could...and a nice fog on glass as well.

 

yep you need a heater core my friend =)

you can bypass the hoses but you wont have heat or defrost this winter =(

 

I can live without heat or defrost, but is it dangerous to drive otherwise? If I don't run the heat/defrost will that eliminate the smell?

 

you can bypass the hoses under the hood

and that will prevent the heater core to leak

No heat and defrost sucks trust me ive been threw it


edit: you can use something like this to bypass it

there should be 2 hoses on your firewall on the passenger side

 

the smell won't go away completely and the leak will eventually get larger

 

i wouldnt use plastic though..it will crack and fail.
use brass.
i take it your i a warmer climate then me...i would be scrambling to fix that bad boy.
i looped mine off on my mustang no issues...summer wheels.