A while back I posted a issue about smelling antifreeze and a member**cusinartvette** I believe told me to get it pressure tested. My resovoir was cracked on the top so I replaced it. It was fine I thought and then I started smelling it again. So remembering his advice, I took it to a radiator shop and told them to check it out. Came back. Nope no problems. Ok. Well as I posted before. New radiator, waterpump, serpentine belt, antifreeze, hoses are good. Fairly new thermostat and a new overflow tank/resovoir. Everything seems to be good. I just got home a few minutes ago from running a errand and I popped the hood and I hear it bubbling. Its not overheating. I smell more antifreeze though. A little steam/smoke coming from the radiator. I am to chicken **** to go poking around when its hot so I am going to wait about an hour and look. No leaks prior that I have noticed. So what do I do know? If I could do it myself, Id check it out but I have no idea what to do. The shops I took it to seem reputable. I dont know what to say other than I am lost and I am kind of annoyed that I have to keep asking you guys the same quiestions and you guys tell me what to do but it seems to do no good. Dont want to keep bring up radiator topics but im tired of smelling it and I don twant it to overheat. Maybe my coolant sensor is bad so its not overheating. Also the fans DO come on. So that should be good. So?

 

What year car do you have?

 

1986. Nickname: "The $hit-Mobile"

 

What temperature was the car reading when you came home? And if it was gurgling the you may need to burp the cooling system. When you open a closed system at times air gets sucked into / through the hoses or other openings. This just happened to me.

Hope this helps

 

First off, pokes like this aren't going to win you over any friends here!

Good, sound advice will only be as good as YOUR description and analysis of YOUR problem.

With that said, you should first ensure that your cooling system was adequately "burped". You may still have air in your system.

 

Did you change or check out the radiator cap

 

burp it first. If that doen't do it, drop by a jiffy lube or some such and have them put a pressure tester on it. If you have a leak, it should show up then.

 

Use a hose to rinse the radiator, overflow reservoir, etc. You are washing away any coolant that might have been spilled as they were testing and/or topping off.

Go ahead a burp first for good measure. Following the normal procedure, remove cap, bring to point where thermostat is open, take RPMS up to 2000 or so, add coolant, then be sure to replace the cap and tighten down before letting the RPMs return to a normal level.

 

If you smell coolant, then you probably have a leak somewhere. Park the car on concrete and look for drips on the ground...might even what to put some cardboad under the car after a drive. Look around the intake manifold/injectors for coolant. Check the hoses and connections. Feel the passenger side floorboard for wetness.

What engine temps do you run on the highway and at idle? The bubbling sounds like you overheated or air in the coolant.

 

I wasnt ditching on YOu guys. I was saying that its annoying to me that I have to keep bugging you guys on the same problem to help me pin down the issue. A shop should have it figured out. I did have it pressure tested and they said no leaks. I looked under the car a little bit ago once it cooled down. No drips. How do I know if the radiator cap is bad. Its the one with this little plastic cclip on it. You push up th eclip and it lets out the pressure so you can open it sooner. Was this a bad idea to get? It came from the radiator shop when they replaced it. To burp it, dont I take off the radiator cap, crank it up let it get to operating temps and then fill it with antifreeze let it go down then keep refilling it until its full? On the actual "interstate" doing about 75 its running about 175 to 180. Idling it goes up depending on how hot it is outside and how long. If its about 85 outside and I have been sitting for a few minutes itll get up to 235-240 which is when the fans should kick on. Again, I wasnt saying I am annoyed at you guys. I just hate to keep asking because no one in this craphole knows what the **** they are doing. Thanks though. Ill go out and rinse if off and take it out a little tonight or something. Cheers and thanks again.

 

You shouldn't see over 230* with the stock chip. The main fan comes on at 227* and the aux fan comes on at 235-238*. My aux fan has spiderwebs on it. You should replace the radiator cap every time or two you flush/replace the coolant.

 

If it is steaming from the radiator take a close look at exactly where. you may have a defective core or tank.

 

I dont have a auxillary fan. I only have one fan. I saw the post about checking the passenger side for wetness. Its damp and its been sitting for a while. I removed the mat and all its not soaking wet but yea. So its pretty much the heater core thats making the car stink like antifreeze? Any advice on what to do next? Did a search and its expensive and is a pain to fix. Its summer and pretty warm so I dont need heat but when when we get a cool front, its chilly. Thanks for the input.

 

Yes.


Replace the heater core??? Either that or go out into the middle of the street and run in circles screaming, "The sky is falling! The sky is falling.


It isn't too expensive when you do it yourself. You can drain your coolant into that bedpan I sent.


Chances are you will be able to finish the job before the next freeze.

RACE ON!!!

 

 

But if you ever get a cool front and it's warm, let us know asap, there could be problems.

And there should be no steam from the radiator. It's normal to hear bubbling into the overflow tank, and even get some steam at the vented overflow cap. The coolant heats up more after you shut the car off, it expands into the overflow and boils when it gets past the cap.

 

If you suspect the heater core now and you don't want to replace or fix it... then just bypass it. You wan't have a heater if you do, but it will give you time to get the heater core, make time for the fix, and read up on how to.

 

I would bypass the heater core and remove the MAF just to be safe.

 

... by disconnecting the MAF, your PCM should richen out your AFR which should drop your engine temps considerbly. Your PCM will adjust your timing accordingly. Disconnect your knock sensor if you hear audible engine pinging though.

 

Sounds like I need to put my highwaters on, because it's getting thick.