83 Lincoln Continental

[Adam]

So I'm driving down the highway with the AC cranked, and I start seeing mist coming out of the vents and smelling coolant. So the first thing I think is that I have a leaky heater core. The coolant level was low, but I found a leaky hose - it's a smaller diameter hose that connects from a T-junction in a heater hose to the intake manifold (not sure what it's for - I have to get a service manual for this thing, I know the cars of the 60s and early-70s inside and out, but even by 1983 I come across a lot of stuff that I'm not familiar with). There's tight 180 degree bend in it and I couldn't find a pre-bent one anywhere so I just got a longer hose and ran it a goofy way to avoid having the tight bend in it. I'll try that Green Ford parts next week and see if they have one.

But that is not the end of my problem - I drove around with the AC cranked up for a while after I changed that hose to see if it would happen again, and I did still get that white mist coming out of the vents after a while (but it didn't smell of coolant anymore). The carpet under the dash was also wet with the stuff (and there was a big puddle of it under the car) - it was clear but sticky. At first I thought it was leaking freon, but then I thought if it was leaking that much freon - how's the air still blowing cold? But if its just water, it's the wrong consistency, too thick and sticky. What do you guys think is going on?