Thread: I smell coolant
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Old 12-24-2017, 01:39 PM
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bcredliner bcredliner is offline
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I would refill to the proper level and drive it 50 miles.

If you only smell the coolant for the first 50 miles the time to check for a leak is after that 50 miles and engine has cooled. Check the reservoir especially the bottom, heater hoses including the ones at the back of the engine, the water pump and the alternator if yours is water cooled. Sometimes a slow leak collects on the reinforcement plate or the plastic cover under the engine and doesn't show on the ground. If you don't find a leak looking from the top of the engine then check the bottom of the engine for an indication of a leak and trace it up to the leak. I always search using a very bright small beam LED flashlight to focus on a small area and leaks show up better under white light.

If the leak is internal you should be able to see some white smoke in the exhaust on startup or be able to smell it in exhaust fumes.
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