Ah, the sweet smell of coolant ?!

[Jonzo]

Is this the norm or do i have a problem?....after a 'spirited' run in my S2, followed by a slow run in town traffic etc i get a real strong stench of hot coolant wafting through and over the car wether the roof is off or not, i presume coming through the heating vents?? but not sure. Is there a remedy to this? do i need to drain and replace the whole coolant system or alter heater controls etc etc....as its projectile hurling inducing, which my lady has threatened to do over my nice leather dash! The smell is not very pleasant at all. (the coolant..not her!)

[GreenV8S]

quote:Is this the norm or do i have a problem?....after a 'spirited' run in my S2, followed by a slow run in town traffic etc i get a real strong stench of hot coolant wafting through and over the car wether the roof is off or not, i presume coming through the heating vents?? but not sure. Is there a remedy to this? do i need to drain and replace the whole coolant system or alter heater controls etc etc....as its projectile hurling inducing, which my lady has threatened to do over my nice leather dash! The smell is not very pleasant at all. (the coolant..not her!)

Have a look around the engine bay, you will probably see where it is coming from because there will be anti-freeze coloured stains. If it's a hose clip, the solution is obvious. If it's the pressure cap, get a new one and also keep an eye on the temp gauge to make sure it isn't overheating under load. If its coming from somewhere else, you'e got a problem.

[Jonzo]

Thanks Green V8, but there aren't any splash stains or noticable leaks that i've spotted. Its more like the fumes of it coming into the interior..ie the vents.
The temperature is fine always and the fan kicks in at 90 degrees. All the time the car is moving reasonably quickly, theres no problem, but once your sitting in traffic (after a motorway journey, say) the waft is very strong.

[mhibbins]

Are you losing any coolant though? Measure height from top in the red swirl tank.

Mark

[Jonzo]

The swirl tank is the one nearest the cockpit or the radiator? The nearest to rad is full to top and hasn't needed topping up in 3-4 weeks of driving, the one nearest windscreen is about 1/2 to 1/3 full (murky mucky looking water in that though).
The car is going in for 6K service friday, do they replace the coolant in this service?

[dreammachines]

just a thought but it could be your heater matrix leaking, which would give you the coolant smell though the vents

[Jonzo]

Heater matrix?...sounds expensive!? what is it exactly?
and does it involve any major work?
I take it by these replies that this isn't a normal occurence after a long-ish fast run?

[dreammachines]

The heater matrix is very much like a small radiator that it is placed in the airflow from your heater fan, this is what gives you hot air from your vents, if this leaks then you get a lovely sweet smell though your vents, it doen't take much of a leak to smell strong, or it could just be a loose connection on to it.. as for price a griff one is about £62 plus vat and fitting....

[moosey]

I had a similar problem with the sprung swirl pot cap. I used to replace it on a yearly basis, it seemed to start to fail about that time. It seemed to me that the spring strength was degenerating slightly within that time. It didn't lose enough coolant to notice after one run, and only a little after a week (I was doing 40 miles a day in mine). The other sign it was beginning to go was that gurgling noises were heard from the coolant pipes/rad/swirl for a few moments after switch off.

[mhibbins]

quote:The swirl tank is the one nearest the cockpit or the radiator?

It's the tall column nearest the rad. The other is just an overflow catch tank.

quote:The nearest to rad is full to top and hasn't needed topping up in 3-4 weeks of driving, the one nearest windscreen is about 1/2 to 1/3 full (murky mucky looking water in that though).

Mine is normally bone dry as water only goes to the plastic tank if the pressure in the system gets high enough to overcome the pressure cap on the swirl tank. You have got the pressure cap on the swirl tank and not the plastic tank haven't you?

quote:The car is going in for 6K service friday, do they replace the coolant in this service?

No idea I'm afraid. I've replaced mine several times when the rad blew and then the pump and then when the first hose went and...

I can't believe it's possible to get a coolant smell and not lose any over 4 weeks. My bet is that you've got the pressure cap on the plastic tank and the none pressure cap (no spring or rubber washer) on the swirl tank. If this is the case you probably aren't running the system under any pressure and the smell you're getting is the vapour from the plastic tank overflow. You should (do a search on this as it's been the subject of many a heated debate) have the pressure cap on the swirl tank and the non-pressure cap on the plastic tank. The plastic tank then simply serves as a catch tank for any extra coolant the system 'rejects' under pressure (and often it just goes straight out of the catch tank overflow pipe onto the floor and your catch tank will probably be pretty much empty all the time).

Hope this helps.

Mark

[Jonzo]

Thanks Mark, i'll check the caps tonight and see if they are around the right way. But i definitely know there has always been some water present in the plastic tank, i think i even put some in when i first got it (before i found out about the swirl tank!)
cheers for the help guys.
Mark.

[mhibbins]

Just another idea...

While you're under the bonnet make sure the air hoses go all the way to the front of the car and are attached to the air scoops which are, in turn, attached to the bonnet behind the upper grill (from memory). That is where your air comes in. That will flow down the tubes and over the heater matrix and into the cabin.

I used to get weird smells because the air scoops in mine were just floating free so I'd get oily smells from the engine.

Also, when you switch the heater control to cold you should be closing the valve under the bonnet just in front of where the driver sits... it'll be a valve in a pipe with a cable running to it and is probably just above the plastic tank. If you're getting cold air and not slightly warm air then this valve should be holding firm and, if your heater matrix is leaking, the smell of coolant should lessen over time if you keep the heater control on cold. You can test the operation of the valve by shutting it (move heater to cold), get the engine warm so that the coolant pipes are warm (rad pipes) and the pipe the valve on should be cold if that valve is closed.

Also, does the intensity of the smell change with the fan speed? Do you get any steam out of the vents when the engine is hot and you move the heater control to hot - you probably 'want' to do this early in the morning to see the steam though.

Good luck,

Mark

>> Edited by mhibbins on Thursday 19th September 14:50

[jonzo]

Well i checked the caps and yes they were the wrong way round !!...(doesn't fill me with confidence about the previous owner!).
Also as the car was at Motorvation today for a service, they replaced the pressure cap for me as well.
Thought that might solve the problem but unfortunately on the way home after motorway drive still got the coolant smell.
Perhaps it will take a short while to wear off?, otherwise it looks like it could be the heater matrix..is this an expensive and complicated job?

>> Edited by jonzo on Saturday 21st September 00:18

[mhibbins]

I'd give it a few days for the coolant smell to dissipate, it's pretty strong stuff and may be sitting in pools around the engine slowly evaporating. Myabe you could give it a good run in the rain or hose down around the back of the gearbox and around the back of the engine (stay away from the electrics).

No idea about you heater matrix I'm afraid... is the details in the bible?

Good luck,

Mark

Edited to add: With the caps on the right way around the system will reject some of the fluid if you filled it right up to the top of the swirl tank. This varies from car to car from what I've read on here but mine will chuck out plenty and then settle to a level about 4 inches from the top of the swirl tank. It is very likely that you car got warm on the way home, spat out the stuff it didn't want and this will go into and probably straight out of the plastic catch tank and over the chassis depending on where the overflow pipe from the catch tank goes. My guess is that this is what you can smell. Check the swirl tank when cold and you'll probably find you lost some coolant. I kept topping mine up and it kept spitting it out until I got bored and it seems perfectly happy now.

>> Edited by mhibbins on Saturday 21st September 08:45

[shnozz]

moosey said: I had a similar problem with the sprung swirl pot cap. I used to replace it on a yearly basis, it seemed to start to fail about that time. It seemed to me that the spring strength was degenerating slightly within that time. It didn't lose enough coolant to notice after one run, and only a little after a week (I was doing 40 miles a day in mine). The other sign it was beginning to go was that gurgling noises were heard from the coolant pipes/rad/swirl for a few moments after switch off.

just read through this - symptoms sound identical - can anyone give me a part number for the swirl pot cap - presumably its a Ford part?

[JSG]

Phil,

I can't remember the answer, but there have been a number of threads on this - try a search and you should get a couple of 'standard' listings.

As much as anything is standard with a TVR of course.

Cheers,
JSG

[JSG]

Hows this for service. I knew I'd seen it somewhere. Theres a FAQ here that should help.

Cheers,
JSG.

[shnozz]

Thanks JSG - I thought you are only supposed to help me with my computer skills - or lack of!

had a good read of the postings and the bible spread across my desk at work so as I know what I am doing when tomorrow comes!

Phil

PS - looking forward to getting up to another berks meet once the evenings lighten up