This has been posted in two other sub-forums so no you're not seeing double or triple. Any a fellow E-Series friend/owner's '06 E350 has developed what resembles a leaky heater core smell. Pressure tests hold as they should and even close examination of the exposed heater core shows absolutely no leaks at all.

With the outer evaporator case removed for the inspection air cannot/does not flow through the core into the interior ducts---I notice the smell seems to be carried in the air stream the blower motor produces. This van has had varmint issues which might be unrelated but at this point I think cleaning the engine bay side of the heater intake including the blower motor wheel might get rid of the smell. This smell is much more noticeable when heat is required, A/C almost nothing. The heater core is amazingly clean and free of accumulated debris, cannot yet see the evaporator from all sides

Has anyone used or recommend a product for this? I've seen foaming-type cleaners you inject into the interior ducts that expands and supposedly cleans the inner surfaces, you simply suck it out with a vacuum cleaner after a while, the claim being any residual smells would be gone.

Anyway if anyone has any ideas please add them here. I'll be further disassembling the air flow components so access won't be an issue. It would be great if you have direct experience with this issue.

TIA

 

well, this isnt a direct correlation, but...I had a mouse die in the heater duct and as far as I have been able to find out,the only way to access the heater/AC ducts is to pull the whole dashboard out to get to the ductwork.Something I have planned for Memorial weekend.

 

Hey Rick---that's also a good answer and something I've considered. So far this doesn't seem to be in the ducts, just coming through the blower motor housing. My buddy's house where this is parked 6 days a week is having rodent problems so the dead mouse thing was discussed. I can't say one never could get into the duct work but again that's a possibility.

I would think or hope if the core itself is leaking with the part I have removed a drop or two or coolant would show itself---the core is literally just hanging loose inside the cabin.

While removing the entire dash is somewhat "easy" for us motivated DIY's thankfully its not overly complicated--just a lot of unscrewing, disconnecting etc long before the actual work begins. I may come to that but will probably work just as hard working around it as I'm doing now.

 

There are different kinds of smells so that would help diagnose it. Is it more of a mildew, anti-freeze, or dead animal smell? They are all pretty distinct. Find a woman to check it out for you (they can smell a gnat fart a mile away). My wifes Neon had a mildew issue because of a design flaw so when the heat or air was first turned on it was always bad but cleared out pretty quick. Does yours quit after a few minutes or continue on while running?

 

True 'nuff there-----my g/f isn't available for this sniff test but then again she'd not know a coolant smell from Chanel #5 so not really helpful in this.........

But as it turns out the friend who owns this van isn't the least bit concerned about getting rid of the smell---he thought it was a leaking heater core and wanted to address that. Having disassembled, pressure tested and inspected the heater core as installed its not leaking at all. He's good with the minor smell so I'm all done now.

Thanks for all the good ideas guys----might be helpful down the road.

 

i have seen the detailer at my old shop, as well as our trimmer, use a clothing steamer and shoot steam thru the ducts. something like this.

 

I had a similar issue as there was a lot of sand and dust in the ducts.

Picked up a six pack of Off Brand Lysol Spray disinfectant and a spray nozzle used for injecting rust proofing spray wax into kick panels etc, just like this one: https://www.kbs-coatings.com/cavity-wand-36.html

Even went into the AC condensor/blower motor box and the heater core cover.

After a few days of leaving the stuff to do its magic, my van now has the distinct smell mixture of summer breeze and an ambulance that has been thoroughly cleaned 😁.

Nice to know that this treatment will help people with Asthma, too as it will get rid of mold and of course kills all of the Coronavirus that may hide in the depths of the car after installing all the aftermarket parts 😎😅