Antifreeze Smell and No Leaks ???

Hello all,

Thanks for taking the time to read my post!

I have a 2004 Liberty 3.7L with only 242,000 km (150370 m). It runs like a charm but there is one issue I can't seem to put my finger on. When the vehicle is warm and I run the heater, there is this slight antifreeze smell. I only seem to smell it when I set the temperature dial anywhere in the red zone of the temperature setting. Anywhere on the blue part of the temp setting and the slight smell starts to go away. This has been happening since the fall of 2023 when the temperature started dropping and I started using the heater to present time. I have not found any moisture on the carpet or puddles on the the driver or passenger side floor, seen any obvious leaks, nor have I had to add any antifreeze to the degauss bottle. I just want to mention, the antifreeze was flushed June of 2022 and replaced, like usual with Mopar HOAT.

Has anyone experienced a similar situation as this and what was the solution?

Thanks in advance!

J Lib

Unfortunately that most likely means that your heater core is seeping/leaking and needs to be replaced.

seafish said:

Unfortunately that most likely means that your heater core is seeping/leaking and needs to be replaced.

Click to expand...

I thought the same, but again, no moisture in the carpet and no windows fogging up like when a heater core is bad.
I have never done a heater core job in one of these. What am I looking at?

Probably just seeping and evaporating for now, but unfortunately they dont self heal.
Need to do the one on my Toyota ranch truck.

What ever you do, don't add any products like radiator stop leak.
That would clog up the whole system .
Replacing the heater core is a big job indeed.

Thank you! I found a video of a guy replacing the heater core on his 04. I agree....What a job! Not out of my league, but like I need to have to do a job like that on my off time LOL

Thanks again!!

^^^ Post the link up here??

Here are some links for the heater core job on an 04 Liberty. Also here are the parts and part numbers for my 2004 Jeep Liberty 3.7L I'm considering using (Please verify part numbers for yourself) :
1) Spectra Premium P/N: 93029 $72.20 (Parts Avatar)
2) UAC P/N: HT399421C $59.30 (Parts Avatar)
I have bought from them a few times for my vehicles. No complaints.

I like this video, cause he does it without removing the refrigerant.
Part 1) Part 2) Part 3)
This is vid is for a 2008 Liberty/Nitro. I know it's 4 years newer, but still very close (except the actual part) informative and a well organized mechanic.
Hope this helps.

My Moms Liberty had the same problem a few years back. For a whole year she complained about the bad smell and would not run the heather or AC because of it.
It smelled like antifreeze to me, but it actually wasn't. Her cabin air vent was caked with debris. It even looked like a mouse nest on it or a massive ball of lint. With all the rain this year the debris was wet and moldy. After cleaning it and spraying disinfectant all over and down to the fan zero smell. The Liberty does not have a cabin filter just a mesh screen. So, I also made an actual cabin air filter for her with replaceable filters. The filter came out so good I since made one for myself and brother-in-law. I'm not saying this is your problem but worth a shot to take a look. Here is a pic of the filter after.

Also, this is not my video but a reference to the location I'm referring to.