I smell coolant.... WTF?

[C4Tom]

No drips whatsoever. Everything is dry under the hood and on the ground. The level is not decreasing, the heat is fine, no exhaust steam(smoke) and nothing is wet. I just catch a whiff every now and then, sometimes when I pop the hood and sometimes sitting at a light. It's annoying and it bothers me that something may blow soon.

Any ideas?

[chevybrat]

No drips whatsoever. Everything is dry under the hood and on the ground. The level is not decreasing, the heat is fine, no exhaust steam(smoke) and nothing is wet. I just catch a whiff every now and then, sometimes when I pop the hood and sometimes sitting at a light. It's annoying and it bothers me that something may blow soon.

Any ideas?

Um...is that a sign of coolant leak? I noticed when I shut my truck off and get out, there is smoke/steam comin from my tips...I didn't know what to think about that. I didn't know if it was normal or from bein cold or what.

Sorry, I can't help ya with your problem...

[C4Tom]

Well... excess steam from the tip(s) could mean a blown head gasket or cracked head. Most people get condensation from their exhaust... in certain weather conditions. :D

[Mikz86TA]

Heather new exhaust sometimes has an odor and will exhibit more condensation puffs than older exhaust. Plus your climate may have something to do with it.
Tom is the smell inside or out? Inside could indicate a heater core (sux) and outside could be a number of things. If you smell it, then its burning off and you probably wont see any signs of it if its a small leak. Check around the thermosat housing and also where the heads meet the intake. Chack for signs of corrosion around the petcock on the radiator and any place where a hose ends.

[chevybrat]

Thanks Mike and Tom

[JONGO8]

On mine I had the same problem. Come to find out it was the intake leaking. It had a leak in the back where I could not see it. It would never make it to the ground. I looked for a leak for a month. I have a presser gauge on a pump that fits on the radator and pumped it up to 15 psi and started looking and I would see the gauge go down and WTF. I pumped it up again and got the flashlight out and found it. It was in the back by the ac so it's hard to see. I pulled the intake and it was leaking. Put new gaskets in and no more leak.

[holsinger17]

is there any loss of power, change in idle, anything out of the norm? also what temp are you at when the smell occurs, you may be running a little on the hot side because of a partially stuck thermostat. also when i had my 04 blazer i had a leak right where my thermostat is held in in the housing (sorry if i didnt use the right term) my seal had like a needle size hole around my thermostat and was leaking just enough to burn some of coolant off, but and i only caught the scent at operating temp or after a long drive. i also did not see any drop in fluid levels nor any wet spots

[Blazer69]

random coolant leaks must suck

[C4Tom]

Okay... no driveability issues, no overheating and I looked all over and didn't see any wet spots or areas. It looks like a barely used engine. I do only smell it outside the cabin after it has warmed to operating temp and it only runs well within temperature range, never overheats. That's why this is so damn annoying because it doesn't meet any criteria for a cooling system problem.

[Hammer Head]

I've got the same problem, Tom.. I smell the coolant but no sign of leaks.

[northcoastrides]

Take a wiff of the exhaust right at the tailpipe, cup your hands in front of the tip so the exhaust blows into your face you should smell that sweet aroma of antifreeze. I had the same thing happen to my astro I found it was coming out the exhaust even though there was no sign of steam or smoke. It turned out to be the intake gaskets they are weak and will fail in almost all 4.3 motors The gaskets are a composite design and when they age the plastic base cracks at the thermostat port this causes coolant to be drawn along the silicone inlay right to the intake ports bingo instant water injection

[Blazer69]

good thing mine were replaced under warranty right before i bought my truck...lol

[Jay_Pollard]

check the ceep hole on the waterpump...thats where my smell/leak is commin from...you'll either see brown sludge crap around the hole, or white crusty's around the outside of the hole..hole can be seen if standing beside the drivers fender.
I hate it when i get crap around my hole. :(

[Sparky2263]

Put some dye in the cooling system, black light type. Wait until after driving a day or so, find the darkest spot you can and hit it with a black light.

The leak will jump out at you.

[Hammer Head]

I found the source of my coolant smell.. I'm leaking coolant from the water neck gasket.

[northcoastrides]

Nice, easy fix

[JONGO8]

Put some dye in the cooling system, black light type. Wait until after driving a day or so, find the darkest spot you can and hit it with a black light.

The leak will jump out at you.
That is scary. Do they bite??

[bespurcell]

That is scary. Do they bite??
Not very hard.

[Sparky2263]

That is scary. Do they bite??

Only if your plug wires are bad and you get close enough.......

[C4Tom]

Yes but, if the vehicle is older, it won't hurt because they have no teeth. :D

[bespurcell]

lol

[dt4ts3]

Has this been figured out yet? Only thing I could figure is there's a leak somewhere that is not evident yet. Or perhaps the coolant resivoir is causing the "aroma". Nothing in the oil right?

[LowSDime97]

this is kind of an off subject question...i have a 160 stat in my truck and i notice that the heat is not very warm, is it because the stat is set so low the truck doesnt get warm enuff? therefore blowing out kinda warm air instead of hot? i didnt keep my stock one since i ddint think i would need it again

[JONGO8]

this is kind of an off subject question...i have a 160 stat in my truck and i notice that the heat is not very warm, is it because the stat is set so low the truck doesnt get warm enuff? therefore blowing out kinda warm air instead of hot? i didnt keep my stock one since i ddint think i would need it again
Your heat won't work as good as your stock one.

[LowSDime97]

thats what i was thinking cuz i thought i heard ppl talking about the lower temp. stat not heating as well in the winter and ppl will throw the stock one back in

[bespurcell]

Yep. I put my stock one back in for the winter. Heater works alot better.

[LowSDime97]

yeah now that ppl r putting the stock stat back in for the winter, kinda makes me wish i would have kept mine, oh well