Antifreeze Odor???

[TJKashin]

I have run into the issue of a strong antifreeze odor under the hood after running for awhile. I'll try and explain everything to the best of my ability here, maybe someone can tell me what could be wrong.

First of all, When I drive on the highway, it seems that the temp gauge hardly goes up. There is heat, but the gauge only registers a little less than a quarter of the way up. Then, when I am around town or cruising under 40, it will register up to halfway. After driving for awhile, the odor of antifreeze can be smelled under the hood. I have not lost any coolant, do not see any fresh drips or leaks in my garage (I even parked over some clean white paper for a couple days). I have heat 90% of the time, but occasionally there seems to be a cold spot that shows up.

I suspect a couple of things, but maybe other members might have other suggestions.

1) Thermostat either stuck open or non-existent. I haven't done anything as far as checking that yet due to the ass-biting cold weather here in Chicago.

2) Heater core hoses about to go out, no actual leak but just about to.

These are the things I have come across in past experience that might lead to this, but since I am a new Mark VIII owner, there might be something else I am not aware of, and yes, I have searched here and a couple other sites before deciding to post a question.

Thanks for any help in advance...

Tim K.

98 LSC Black/Black

 

[unity]

I am betting you have a leak. Its steams out so you dont see any leakage. This also drops the pressure which means the coolant can boil creating air in the system. This would be the possible cause of heat drop outs.

You need to open the crossover, when cool, and see if air is in there. If so top it off and drive a bit. You may have to repeat. Once you are sure the air is out continue as normal. If it happens again there certainly is a leak.

My first guess to a leak location is the water pump. I dont think you core is bad.

 

[mafioso]

open the cross over tube and bounce the car a little while idleing, if there is air in the system it will "burp" out. you could be losing it from the overflow tank.

 

[unity]

Oh - and if you are lucky it may just be the over-flow tank cap. Try a new one, quick and easy! Odds are if it is, the tank will be above full.

 

[Movie Muscle]

I'm with Unity. I have had leakage at the water pump when running under load but zero on the ground etc. I found I would lose AF on both my gen ones once up around 110 000 miles, after really hard running all day up high in the rpm band. It sometimes leaked a bit on the floor but would stop leaking on it's own, and be bone dry for months or years if you can believe that! I had the heat issue with it once.

 

[JMiles_T]

If you smell antifreeze, then you have lost some coolant. It just may not be enough to notice it through visual inspection.

It could have boiled out from the reservoir.

If it's becoming a problem, you can try adding a slightly higher concentration of antifreeze than water.