I Smell Coolant

I don't doubt this has come up at some point or another, but I am unable to find any such discussion. I have a 98 Cherokee with the 4.0, often times when I am driving I can smell coolant through the vents, it seems wether it is on outside air or heat. I am thinking it may likely be the heater core, or possibly a head gasket. I am not able to find any apparent leaks. Does anyone know if it is dangerous to be breathing that air as well? This is a family dual purpose rig. The second odd thing I have observed is under heavy acceleration I will lose all air pressure coming from my vents. It sounds almost like it is sucking air through a straw, this is the second Cherokee I have had do this. If anyone has any suggestions on where to start I would greatly appreciate the help.

You could very possibly have TWO seperate things going on.

By your description, one of them is that your heater core is starting to leak. Smelling sweet coolant in the cab is almost always due to that.

The other might be some kind of a vacuum leak issue.

Here is a link to a heater core related thread that is currently active on this forum.....

http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1048460

Do you still smell it with the air off? Have you checked for obvious leaks at the radiator, cap, hoses, water pump, heater hoses, T-stat housing? Yes, your heater core may be on its last leg...

Your vent issue is more than likely due to a vacuum leak. Check under and around the battery, there is a vacuum hose that often gets coroded and torn there.

Awesome, thanks for the suggestions. I have checked the main areas you would see a leak and have not been able to identify any leakage on the interior from an apparent bad core. I do not smell it when there is no air being pushed through the vents.