Coolant smell, just can't pinpoint it...... (1 Viewer)

[concretejungle]

about 3 weeks ago i installed the prestone coolant flush kit and flushed the cooling system. I replaced all the hoses that looked to be in bad shape. Now, i occasionally get a sweet smell, like coolant, every once in a while like in a drive-thru or at a stoplight. I have checked every hose in the engine bay for signs of leaks; none. I have checked the overflow resevior for bubbles indicating HG failure, none. I have checked overflow/radiator coolant levels to see if any coolant seems to be dissapearing; level stays constant. Maybe i'm paranoid but i can't seem to pinpoint the smell or a leak. Any ideas?

 

[treerootCO]

heater...

 

[concretejungle]

heater...

What do you mean? I haven't been using the heat.

 

[elmariachi]

What do you mean? I haven't been using the heat.

If you smell coolant and there is none visible in the engine bay, then your heater core might be leaking. I won't even try to speculate if its associated with your recent coolant system work, but I would start peeling up the passenger front carpet and looking for moisture and smell there around the firewall.

 

[landtank]

I had a similar situation for about the last year. Kept topping off and looking. I replaced several hoses that were bad but finally got to the bottom of it as the lower tank on the rad had a leak. Not allowas and it wasn't until it started dumping coolanft in the driveway that I was able to find it.

 

[tusk74]

Wait until it gets cold enough to need to use the heater. If your cabin fills up with a sweet smelling fog and you can't keep the inside of the windshield clear, heater core.