I have a 97 Montero Sport I bought for my daughter. It had a small leak at rear of engine but could not locate. I pressurized system and got under vehicle and coolant was running down from around transmission pan.

I then disconnected heater core hoses and bypassed heater core, re-pressurized and no leaks.

The thing that gets me is this thing don't smell like antifreeze inside, it don't get wet inside and never fogs up windows. Dealership said these heater cores hardly ever fail.....

My question, does it sound like it is the heater core for sure? And if so.....why and how is the leak getting outside the vehicle?

Thanks!

 

bad heater hose/fitting