Hi guys , today I was driving and had my heater on and smoke came out of my vents. I thought my truck was on fire that's how much smoke came out. I turned off the fan and it disapated. There was no smell like overheating and no smell of electrical burning the temp gauge didn't move. Any ideas? Thanks

 

Either your heater core is leaking or perhaps your a/c evaporator is leaking refrigerant.

 

that is a sign that the heater core has gone bad

 

Hi guys, I smell antifreeze in the cab now but I also saw that the black canister of the a/c unit is wet so I might have a dual problem. The overflow tank was low so I added more fluid. If the core is bad will I still get heat coming out of it because I am still getting heat and also will there be any harm in running the truck until I have time to fix it? Thanks for the help.

 

you can run it as long as you want if you don't mind coolant leaking into the cab. fix it asap, you don't want that sweet musty smell that come with neglecting such a repair.

 

i will agree with slim on that....that happened with my 02 ram....and that smell is hard to get rid of

 

It will stain the carpet and leave a nasty, oily film on the windshield that is hard to get off.
I would fix it asap if it was mine!!

 

Is the core behind the dash on the passenger side and is there any way of replacing it without removing the dash? Can I get to it by removing the glove box. I was told that removing the dash is a huge project and that you have to drop the steering column and that the whole dash removal and installation takes about 6 hours for experienced techs. Is that true or b/s? There is a guy at work who had his core replaced on his Dakota and they banged him for $700.00. I don't have that kind of cash to shell out so if it is something that I can do I would rather go that route. BTW how much is a core for this type of truck:2002 RAM 1500 4.7 liter 2wd Thanks again

 

From what I've heard the core replacement is a fairly extensive job simply because of the work needed just to get to the core.

I could be wrong though...

 

It's a big job. The dash must come out. takes me 6 to 7 hrs to do my 88 Mustang and I've done it 3 times over the years.