Coolant smell a mystery

Kevin

Kevin

Administrator
Joined
Jul 28, 2008
Messages
7,148
Location
Sydney, Oz
Car Year
MY'03
Car Model
Forester
Transmission
A/T
For a long time now I've noticed a strong coolant smell from the engine bay after driving the Foz - but - the system was successfully pressure tested a couple of months ago, no loss of coolant, no leaks, no overheating so it's a bit of a mystery for me to solve. It may simply be that the overflow is not properly sealed and/or fluid is leaching from "somewhere" so my investigation will continue :-)
 
I found my recent leaks tend to be very small weeping which appear at the hose couplings as the engine cools down, then the pooled coolant will smell at next startup/warmup, especially if its on a surface that gets hot.

Strong smell suggests something larger though - shouldn't be too hard to find it.

That's unless someone spilt some coolant during a maintenance, and its still burning off.
 
I had a bit of a sniff around today and the odour seems mainly to be around the cap but I also discovered the overflow hose was kinked inside the container. I am "assuming" the cap was pressure tested at the same time as the radiator but to be sure I'll put my spare cap on and see what happens.
 
funny you mention this because im getting the same thing but it might be some coolant burning off after the recent Rad change
 
I walked past a Toyota in a carpark the other day and smelt coolant. I didn’t have time to stick around to talk to the driver. It wasn’t really old either...

Cheers

Bennie
 
Kevin said:
I had a bit of a sniff around today and the odour seems mainly to be around the cap but I also discovered the overflow hose was kinked inside the container. I am "assuming" the cap was pressure tested at the same time as the radiator but to be sure I'll put my spare cap on and see what happens.
Click to expand...

I have the same issue in my XT, no leaks, not loosing any coolant, but after a 30min drive, I can smell coolant and the nose takes me to the filler neck/cap every-time.
 
Maybe it leaks just so little that it hit exhaust and just burns there so nothing to be seen. I had those smells outside car when i stop after longer drive , but outside not inside car
 
@ABFoz I don't remember exactly when but at least a year ago
 
I am also thinking about the behaviour of the radiator cap during cold seasons where there might initially be a coolant mist for a few seconds when the seal is still a bit smaller. Then the mist is good enough for the smell to linger for a while. It's pretty strange but it's truly hard to diagnose.

I also notice the scent coming from some passing cars.
 
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Water pump is new so no issues there! Got replaced along with timing belt etc.
 
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