SteveBlakeman

Yesterday while changing my right front tire I smelled antifreeze. The car was cold and had not been started. I raised the hood and the smell appeared to be coming from the coolant overflow plastic container just forward of the right front wheel. So I didn't think it was a problem.

But today after a few-hour drive, when I parked it in the garage and got out of the car I could smell antifreeze, again coming from the right front tire area. I raised the hood and looked thoroughly throughout the engine bay with a strong light and could not see any signs of leakage. The smell had permeated the garage after about 10 minutes, when I re-entered the garage.

I've owned the car since August and have never smelled this before. So it appears to be a new issue. The coollant level is perfect, both when cold and when hot.

What do you guys recommend I do?

PatternDayTrader

The overflow tank is vented. So when you are near it, say by the rt front tire, then you might smell antifreeze.
I wouldn't get to excited about it if the coolant is full and you don't see a leak.
​​​​​​​in the event you are certain there is a problem, then pressure test the cooling system and inspect closely for leaks.

yd328

I'm not sure if you have an original radiator but you can take a look at the plastic tanks on the ends. They get old and start to crack or the tank to core seals start to leak. It may not be big enough to drip but enough to cause an odor. Just a thought.

Gary

SteveBlakeman

Thanks, Gary. I just took a look and really can't see much without removing some of the stuff covering the radiator. I'll keep watching for leaks on the garage floor.

SteveBlakeman

Pressure check...good idea.

jv9999

If you smell antifreeze, there's a 98% chance it's leaking in my experience. Pressure test as Steve recommended above.

aklim

I'd like to see you dump some dye in it and drive for a bit. That might help you see where it is really coming from. I sure hope it isn't in the heater core.

Dump about double the amount of dye so that even if the coolant gets evaporated, you can easily see the trail when you pressurize the system. I wouldn't go much more than 15 psi, IIRC. That might be the pressure it supposed to hit before the cap vents.

Goldcylon

Other possibilities are a leaking heater core if you smell it inside the car and if you are running silicone hoses they tend to weep. A bit. GC

aklim

Wouldn't that be more inside the car where he can smell it when driving? Mine fogged up the glass and they had to fix it before continuing on the dyno.

john6277

I had same issue in my 95 C4. Through a post on this site I learned of a coolant sealant tablet GM installed in the engines. Package of 5 (I think) was about $8 from Amazon and I used one half of the package. Smell is gone. Hope this helps, Enjoy the ride, John

Goldcylon

Normally yes however not always I could smell the weeping hoses from inside the car as well

SteveBlakeman

There's no smell inside the car, otherwise my wife would have smelled it. It's definitely near the rt front tire area, under the hood.

SteveBlakeman

Great idea on the Dye.
Thanks

Goldcylon

Take a look at the heater hoses and the metal lines from the heater core suitcase all the way to the radiator. How did the cap pressure check go?

JrRifleCoach

Dump the coolant
Flush system
replace the t-stat
inspect and replace hoses as required
fill with the appropriate coolant
Make sure you pack and burp before going out for the first test drive.

GL


Unless you've all ready done this in the past year, then...

never mind

car addict

I'm for the pressure test with dye added to system. Friend has POS van that you could always smell coolant around, but no leak visible or puddles. Turned out he had a minuscule leak in core. Heat from core evaporated the leaking coolant. Until one night the small leak gave way to a large leak, 60 miles from nowhere in the wilds of WY.

aklim

Heater core or radiator core?

60 miles away from home? Why is it usually not in your driveway but somewhere in the middle of BFE? I had a car trans that was slipping back in 91. Found silt in the pan and the guy serviced it, put some snake oil and there I went, happy that I didn't have to do the rebuild. 300 miles away, the trans broke and the rebuild shop could rape me as much as they wanted without lube too

car addict

Radiator core. Sorry for lack of clarity. 600 miles from home BTW, just 60 miles through narrow, windy mountain roads to nearest small town.

aklim

Not good. Did he run into some weird looking kid on the porch swing playing the banjo?

car addict

Who could tell. Was so dark you couldn't find your **** with both hands and a flashlight. Added to the joys of stopping every few minutes and pouring water in the radiator. Fortunately we had water with us.