so this morning i was running late and jumped staright in the d and took off. i always warm it up some. once it got up to normal oper temp i started getting very thin white smoke coming through my vents (dash vents and defrost up top). its not a burning smell and its not really an electrical burning smell. kinda makes me think antifreeze ?!? what could this be. it also started up on my way home.
its a 98 durango with 111k
mechanically the truck is great

 

your heater core is probably leaking...

 

leaking ?!? or on its way out. it does it when the heat isnt on also. but im pretty sure it runs throught he core regarless, i may be wrong. thanks for the fast response

 

you are right, it does always circulate through the heater core regardless of if the heat is on or not. There should be a door that opens and a fan to blow air over the heater core when the heat is on.

Does it smell sweet like coolant inside the truck? Can you see any coolant on the hoses that run into the heater core through the firewall and is the carpet damp anywhere?

 

Just make sure you get to at least see the replacement core in person before it gets installed if you go thru a dealer! When I bought my replacement core from dealer, I asked them that I want to see the core in the box before I left the parts counter and luckily I did. First two cores look shot, but 3rd core was brand new. Also, I recommend you get a OEM core over a aftermarket core. It's better built and comes with 3/36k warranty. I am not sure if dealer will cover their labor for 3/36 if you let them install it but would be worth the extra bucks if they do. tearing down the dash and steering colum is truly a PITA!

 

well the d is up and running once again. picked up the core for 65 bucks early this monring and spent about6 hrs installing it. gotta use up the last of my vacation days anyways. dash def wasnt fun. steering, airbags, loads of elec harnesses (sp?). wasnt my first dash removal so that helped quite a bit. also swapped the tstat back to the oem. noticed last year my heat wasnt as good with my superstat. def feel a diff already

 

Layitlow, glad to hear you replaced it. Just saw this thread. Had to replace mine also. Saw the smoke for a while but when it rained the windows fogged up so bad I broke down & had to replace mine also & it really made a world of diff.

 

yeah the smoke started up tuesday morning. tried to make it last to the weekend but the d wasnt having any of that. all is well now.