Well the smell.... was some coolant spilled in the engine compartment during the test or the (I'm assuming) top off?

 

Do you smell the antifreeze inside the cabin? It's probably the heater core. I had this happen in my Trooper and noticed it most when changing the dial from cold to hot

 

I tried turning on the heater and smelling inside- thats not it. I park it in the garage the last couple weeks and the coolant on a hot engine smell takes over the garage for a couple hours. The coolant test happened after the missing coolant and smell so if some spilled on the engine today it doesnt explain anything since the smell has been there for weeks.

 

I just went out to mark my coolant reservoir to keep track of the coolant loss and the dang dealer filled the entire thing with plain water. Thats just lazy crap and why I do my own maintenance. Now I have to take it back in so they can "make it right".

 

Is the smell stronger at the back of the car? Near the tailpipe?

 

Sometimes a stone can put a hole so small in the radiator that the antifreeze evaporates as it escapes. When the pressure goes down, no more leak until pressure returns at next warm up. Enough residual heat remains to evaporate the leaking antifreeze during cool down. Winter is your friend. The moist hot evaporate will be obvious in cold weather.

 

might also be losing it through a leaking water pump.
did they test the pressure with the engine on?
if they didn't ,this might be the case.

 

i had a head gasket go that leaked from the coolant system directly into the exhaust manifold - when cold, the pressure test was normal as the gasket closed up, only 'opened up' when hot, dumping coolant into the exhaust

 

you'd get antifreeze smell aout of the tailpipe then,i guess

 

Do you notice any rapid temperature swings? Could be a sticky thermostat and your coolant might be boiling out.

 

this could be another explanation.

 

Pressure testing is time consuming so your dealer's tech won't spend much time on it. Water in the overflow tank is a clue to this.

I have done my own testing in the past. I drilled out an old radiator cap and inserted a tire valve stem. The assembly was sealed with epoxy or silicone. With this, the system can be pressurized to 15psi while cold. Any leak will show up as liquid. If this fails to detect the leak, suspect the radiator cap, the most likely cause.

 

The temperature is stable and normal. At this point its a wait and see if there is more coolant loss. I am going to clean the engine real good to try to get rid of the smell, but I'm sure it will come back. Leaks don't go away on their own.

 

Sometimes they will corrode shut. But that is never the best fix......:icon_rolleyes:

 

guys what for the anti freezes are used for ..................in cars


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guys what for the anti freezes are used for ..................in cars

Antifreeze is what we northern Americans call radiator coolant.