96 dodge 1500 5.2 truck.. smelled antifreeze and found thermostat housing leaking, replaced it but still get occastional strong antifreeze smell in truck...No leaks are visible, fluid level stable pressure test showed nothing, and nothing wet inside cab...The passenger window at the a post steams up ,even with defrost on ,within 1 mile driving....Any ideas....

 

heater core could have a pin hole leak which would spray a mist. You would definitely smell it but until it gets larger or is not fixed fairly soon, you probably will not find anything wet.

 

Speaking of heater cores then, is there a preference on where to get one from?

 

Get the all aluminum one or OEM. I am on my third one so far. The one with swivel lines have been known to leak. They do that so you don't need to disconnect the evaporator lines to install. No real easy way to do it.

 

I've replaced mine twice (318K miles) and it is leaking again. The lesson here is if you want to keep your D then DON'T install a cheap one! you should only install the OEM or at least the higher priced (and hopefully the higher quality) cores you find at auto parts stores. You must remove the entire dash -or at minimum pull it away from the firewall- to get access to the heater box. So it is definitely worth it to pay the extra money for the higher quality core.

 

There could be a hole that leaks in the heater core.

 

Mine required removing the A/C and recharging