Hey all, first post. Having an issue googling isn't being reliable enough with. 95 Rodeo LS 3.2L V6 ~135k miles. Runs strong, is mechanically sound, as far as I know and was last checked. Recently took a trip down south on the freeway and after about 30 minutes at highway speeds, i started smelling a very strong "sweet" smell that I can only assume is coolant. I don't normally see any drips when parked, so it doesn't seem to leak regularly, and the levels and temp gauge remained normal the whole time, just the smell.

I'm wondering if anyone has any suggestions on where to start looking? I'm assuming a leak thats dripping onto a hot part and burning off, leaving little evidence but lots of aroma. Never have experienced it at city speeds of 50mph or less, only once I hit 65-70 for more than 15 or 20 minutes does it start in, and then continues until I shut down and let it sit for a bit, but will return immediately if I get back on the highway and drive another 20 minutes.

Thanks all! Hope someone has an idea.

 

Sounds like your heater core is shot

 

Thanks for the reply. What leads you to that assumption? From what I know, a blown heater core will exhibit some of the following effects:

No heat
Bad smell when heat is on
Fogging when heater/defroster is on
Leak on passenger side.

I exhibit none of those symptoms, just a strong sweet smell after 15-30 minutes of highway driving. Heat can be on or off and it still does it.

 

so only highway, that means high rpm - higher pressure. One connection I can think of (mine is a 2000, but should be kinda the same) Under the intake manifold (next to the thermostat) is a coolant line connection metal to metal sealed with an o-ring around the smaller end which goes inside the bigger one. that would be a candidate under above mentioned circumstances....