01 Dakota 4.7 with antifreeze smell

check for coolant from the a/c drain-could be heater core

rt

Not sure about head gaskets, but don't rule out the heater core leaking. Is the smell stronger inside the cab than outside?

That sounds much more like a heater core leak.

Where is the a/c drain? I don't smell the anti-freeze in the cab though. I had a couple guys riding on my tailgate for a short while yesterday and they smelled it and then I thought I smelled it coming from under the hood after that while standing outside the drivers door. But, couldn't find any visual evidence of a leak under the hood. Heck, I can't even tell where the thermostat goes on that engine.

Take a good look around the water pump. The seal went on mine at about 45k miles. There wasn't much more than a couple of drops at any one time. Had the dealership replace it; the "new" one failed at abour 200 miles. The "plastic" impeller split into two pieces.

Wayne

Heater core if you can smell it inside at all. Way up under the dash, The floorboard or jute backing under the carpet will be damp generally the carpet can be dry unless it is really a bad leak. the bad news... the heater core means the whole dash and steering column must be removed. disabling the airbags is imprtant too! Seats, removal optional. The heater core inlet / outlet tubes are in front of the drivers side of the firewall. They feed along the inside of the firewall to the passenger side and are inside the a/c evaporator box. The A/C will need to be evac'd and recharged too. Dealers charge around 1000.00 to do the job!

Good luck

my 2001 dodge Dakota quad cab 4x4 has been giving out a coolant smell and when the engine is hot there is steam coming from the vents even when the thermostat controls are turned off, I changed the rad and thermostat and now this smell is coming I do have some coolant fluid loss what can be the cause of the smell Thanks

Sounds like a leak in the heater system.