Ktm Scott here in San Antonio Texas. My 99 xk8 running great . But...
I smell antifreeze with the a/c on. Enough to where I can’t use it with windows up! So I have not used for last 6 months.
i don’t smell outside if I pull the hood. Only in cab with a/c on.
loose about a cup of antifreeze every week. Daily driver (40 miles)
has new water pump, hoses ,cross over tube ,thermostat and aluminum housing.
new line to new overflow rank and new line to expansion tank.
only visible moisture ( don’t see a drip or accumulation)is at the joint where the hose that goes under intake meets a plastic fitting just under the driver side below the throttle body at back of engine.
heating system seems to work with no visible leaks in cab or smell?

any ideas?

 

Valley hoses would be my prime suspect.

 

Ktm, your going to have to pressure test to find IMO. Here's some background if yougo that route. I had trouble finding a good fit.

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...ghlight=Sander

In case you're wondering, "sander" was my search term. I remember using that word in this post, narrowed down.
John

 

So, you have a coolant smell in the cabin with the windows up? Have you tested with the recirc on and off? Fresh air intake is below the wipers, so it picks up all the smells in the engine bay. Recirc picks up air in the footwell areas. If there is a smell in both cases, and you can confirm recirc actually closes the fresh air flap, then it seems to point to the heater core (uncommon). If the smell goes away under recirc, then it is likely from the engine compartment. If you use Dexcool, it leaves a white powdery residue when "burned" off, otherwise, it seems to concentrate into a dark orange goop. Start with all the easy reachable areas, including the radiator end tanks. Check the EGR valve and the various water hoses involved (if you have EGR). Check the recovery tank and associated hoses behind the wheel well liner. Double check the octopus hose, especially the ends (should be easy as they are near the cat converter and should show that white residue). Heater valve, pump and hoses to the core can leak, too, but this is less likely. Check the overflow tank connections as well as the sensor at the bottom. Check the thermostat area. Later check the valley hoses if you somehow can (pinch them and replace if soft). They likely need to be replaced if they are factory original at this point (PITA job). For the core, I believe there are A/C drain pipes that might somehow give you access to the bottom of the air box to see if you have coolant. These heater cores seem to not be a source of problems on these cars though. As already pointed out, best is to do a pressure check with a kit (the Harbor Freight kit reputedly has the proper adapter), but it is not super cheap. Best might be to start with a good flashlight and finger test for moisture. These coolant leaks are normally not terribly subtle, but the cooling system is unfortunately pretty expansive.

Best of luck, keep us posted.

 

Check under the brown recovery tank. I had a micro crack there for a long time before it opened to the point of revealing itself.
John