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Old 12-20-2011, 03:57 PM
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Smelling coolant
So I've been smelling coolant after drives. I had someone put it on the lift, noticed they smelled it, too. But didn't find any leaks. Also the coolant reservoir is always topped off, so there couldn't be a leak or I'd notice the levels dropping down.

Is this normal? I've had my radiator switched out after an accident and put in by DBTuned, and have had AutoHQ maintenance my car the last time and nothing seemed out of place. Wondering if I should have it looked at again or something.
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Old 12-20-2011, 04:00 PM
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inside too? heater core?
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Old 12-20-2011, 04:51 PM
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i smell mine when i pop the hood. no leaks and no changes in temp or fluid level. i didnt smell it before a coolant change about 2wks ago. the shop that did mine used some japanese brand thats concentrated... maybe still on the concentrated side and thats why im smelling it. i also have an alum radiator (greddy)
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Old 12-20-2011, 04:52 PM
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notice any smoke coming out of your tail pipe? Turbos are water/oil cooled.
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Old 12-20-2011, 05:11 PM
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You could try pressurizing the coolant system and look for leaks. It might be a small leak somewhere close to the headers or exhaust and its just burning right away at higher pressures.

-- Ed
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Old 12-20-2011, 05:22 PM
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Originally Posted by wrxBRAH
inside too? heater core?
Yea sometimes I can smell it from inside the car.
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Old 12-20-2011, 05:26 PM
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Your head gasket is ****ed... and so is your wallet.
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Old 12-20-2011, 05:45 PM
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Originally Posted by joltdudeuc
Your head gasket is ****ed... and so is your wallet.
If you can smell it inside the car I would be extremely worried! Check for signs of a headgasket issue. Like the overflow tank, coolant drop, compression test, exhaust smell, color of the exhaust smoke.
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Old 12-20-2011, 05:51 PM
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Originally Posted by strider327
If you can smell it inside the car I would be extremely worried! Check for signs of a headgasket issue. Like the overflow tank, coolant drop, compression test, exhaust smell, color of the exhaust smoke.
In subarus the exhaust tends to go into the coolant. So look for browning coolant, or exhaust smelling coolant from the overflow tank.
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Old 12-20-2011, 06:58 PM
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If by chance there is a leak, would it be worth building a new engine or not? =P
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Old 12-20-2011, 07:13 PM
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If the headgasket is blown, you will need a full engine overhaul. Replacing all the seals taking the motor apart. Having the heads sent a machine shop etc. You have some options, you can just fix the head gasket problem and your done for about 1k or so. Or you could do a Hybrid 2.5 Shortblock. It really depends on how deep your pockets are and if you are planning to keep the car to make it worth it.
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Old 12-20-2011, 07:39 PM
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Guess I gotta find a shop and have a compression test done for the coolant system first, and begin from there.
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Old 12-20-2011, 07:41 PM
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Pull your oil cap and rev. See any smoke coming out the hole?
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Old 12-20-2011, 08:28 PM
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We can pressure test your cooling system and do a compression and leakdown test. This will show a severely blown headgasket but not likely to show a slightly blown headgasket. You can also try to find a shop that has a gas anylizer (smog shop) that can test if there are exhaust gasses present at the coolant reservoir. I would rule out a leak first, however.

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Old 12-21-2011, 12:16 PM
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Originally Posted by strider327
If the headgasket is blown, you will need a full engine overhaul. Replacing all the seals taking the motor apart. Having the heads sent a machine shop etc. You have some options, you can just fix the head gasket problem and your done for about 1k or so. Or you could do a Hybrid 2.5 Shortblock. It really depends on how deep your pockets are and if you are planning to keep the car to make it worth it.
I might be in this same position. What kind of range would I be in for a hybrid 2.5 shortblock completely installed and tuned?
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