Noob Question - Smell from Engine Bay

[BlackGT]

Check your heater core hose that runs to the firewall. There is a metal fitting inside the hose that restricts the flow/pressure to the heater core. They are prone to cracking/splitting. If its a small pinhole and coolant is getting on the exhaust and boiling off before it has a chance to drip then it will smell inside and out of the car.

[neos281]

Do the defrost test.

Tried this but no humidity filled the window. It seemed to work fine.

Can you not tell if the coolant level is dropping or not? I've had a water "seep" before and a radiator leaking at a seam, and it took me forever to find them.

Yeah, it has to be a slow leak somewhere.

[neos281]

So owning a 2V myself and dealing with coolant issues before, I'd read both of SN's posts. They're the most relevant yet in this thread. Start there since you've had someone look at it. 3 drops of coolant in the bay being inhaled into the inside of the car and smell like a gallon spilled on the seat.

I think and hope you are right. The cap did have a leak a few weeks ago but thought nothing of it. I will check on that next and get the engine a rinse off.

Check your heater core hose that runs to the firewall. There is a metal fitting inside the hose that restricts the flow/pressure to the heater core. They are prone to cracking/splitting. If its a small pinhole and coolant is getting on the exhaust and boiling off before it has a chance to drip then it will smell inside and out of the car.

Yeah, that's what my buddy suggested as he has the same issue with his S351. He gave me instructions on re-routing the hose but it seemed complicated. When the engine bay is open, you can clearly smell the coolant but it almost seems isolated to the coolant area. Going to re-examine everything this AM and I will update you guys.

so far the help here has been great!

[neos281]

Did anyone check your cap?

See if there are any signs of moisture coming out of your overflow tank.

So owning a 2V myself and dealing with coolant issues before, I'd read both of SN's posts. They're the most relevant yet in this thread. Start there since you've had someone look at it. 3 drops of coolant in the bay being inhaled into the inside of the car and smell like a gallon spilled on the seat.

This is what I found this morning.

hmmm...