Coolant smell after driving

[devnull]

Lately on my 21 supra (10k miles) I am noticing a faint coolant smell when I walk past the front drivers side. Popped open the hood and couldn't find any traces of leaking coolant. Floor is clean as well. Noticed the smell is only coming from around the coolant reservoir.

Checked it (the one closest to the front of the car)and it was a little low. The secondary one was actually a little over max. Since I bought the car used a few months ago so I don't know what it was at before. The bleeder screw was replaced with a Ti one and when I checked the coolant, I didn't see any dried up coolant on the cap.

Does anyone have any ideas where I should be checking or if theres some kind of common places for coolant to leak? Since I can mainly smell it right over the res, I am assuming I should just order a new cap, but no signs of dried coolant makes me think it could be something else. I'd prefer not to take it to a dealer, but unless I can find it myself that's what I'm left with.

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[lucky phil]

Lately on my 21 supra (10k miles) I am noticing a faint coolant smell when I walk past the front drivers side. Popped open the hood and couldn't find any traces of leaking coolant. Floor is clean as well. Noticed the smell is only coming from around the coolant reservoir.

Checked it (the one closest to the front of the car)and it was a little low. The secondary one was actually a little over max. Since I bought the car used a few months ago so I don't know what it was at before. The bleeder screw was replaced with a Ti one and when I checked the coolant, I didn't see any dried up coolant on the cap.

Does anyone have any ideas where I should be checking or if theres some kind of common places for coolant to leak? Since I can mainly smell it right over the res, I am assuming I should just order a new cap, but no signs of dried coolant makes me think it could be something else. I'd prefer not to take it to a dealer, but unless I can find it myself that's what I'm left with.

Most vehicles that use an overflow tank or secondary coolant tank as Toyota refer to it will have an overflow hose somewhere off the top of the tank. The system bleeding procedure is a bit complex and very procedure driven from the manual and I can see if it's ever been bled by the home mechanic it could be overfilled easily. The overflow cooling tank level at an engine temp of under 50 deg C should be at the full line after the bleeding procedure. I'd look for an overflow tube from the reserve/overflow tank and if necessary adjust the level to the full mark with the engine cold. You can do this with a plastic syringe and some plastic hose easily.

Phil

 

[devnull]

So, you're suggesting just pull from the overflow and put the coolant back in to the main res? Even that being the case, why would it smell of coolant when hot? Is it spitting the old coolant out somewhere I can't find or is it evaporating?

 

[devnull]

Just an update, I got a new cap in hopes that would be an easy fix, but I’m still smelling the faint smell of coolant. I can’t find any indication of a leak from the top of the car or it leaking on the ground. I mainly smell it over the reservoir, nothing on the turbo side.

When it cools off I’ll check the reservoir, expecting some coolant to be missing though.

really hate going to the dealer.

 

[armenh7]

I smell the same thing on my friend's G20 M340i and on the Supra I rented.

Coolant Smell - Drivers Side (xbimmers.com)

 

[devnull]

lol so it's one of those "Its there, but hell if we know how to fix it" things.

 

[BigRon]

Now when I read about it I remember smelling coolant too sometimes. But it went away after around 20k miles, also I haven’t filled up any coolant and the fill level is good. (I’m at 30k now)

If you want to dig deeper you can make an engine oil check and check the fill level of the coolant.

If everything is fine you can wash your engine or engine bay, maybe when they did the first fill something went aside on plastic parts or similar.
The coolant is very sticky and vaporizes when the engine gets hot.

or you can replace the cabin filter

 

[armenh7]

Now when I read about it I remember smelling coolant too sometimes. But it went away after around 20k miles, also I haven’t filled up any coolant and the fill level is good. (I’m at 30k now)

If you want to dig deeper you can make an engine oil check and check the fill level of the coolant.

If everything is fine you can wash your engine or engine bay, maybe when they did the first fill something went aside on plastic parts or similar.
The coolant is very sticky and vaporizes when the engine gets hot.

or you can replace the cabin filter

How would the cabin air filter help something you smell when you're outside the car?

 

[zrk]

How would the cabin air filter help something you smell when you're outside the car?

 

[BigRon]

Didn’t see the “when I walk past the front drivers side”.
But it’s always a good idea to change the cabin air filter anyway tho

 

[devnull]

Taking it to the dealer today. Let’s say what they say.

 

[devnull]

Sorry for the lack of update.

They said they pressure tested everything and didn't see any signs of a leak. So, I guess I am going to be ordering ANOTHER cap in hopes it gets fixed as I still smell coolant and some has been lost. I don't drive the car that much so it's not getting empty.

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