coolant smell...PLEASE HELP

[kaz1116]

hey guys ive done the search about the possible issues and fixes
but last night when starting up the car to show off the HID's when turning off the car i noticed a coolant smell
now i have read what could be causing it but my question for u guys is where should the car be taken to be checked out?
where is the best place and who do u reccommend i talk to about it?
the car wont be driven until the issue is fixed or at least i know exactly what is going on with it
also anyone else have this problem?
car is a 94 with 66,000 kms on it

 

[nsxtasy]

There are a lot of components in the cooling system, and failures in several of them are not unusual. I recently had the exact same thing. There is an overflow tube that leads from the top of the coolant tank in the engine compartment, and if coolant reaches the top of the tank it can drain out through this tube. Unfortunately, it doesn't just reach the ground, but instead drips onto the parts in the engine bay. In my case, it was caused by a failure of the cap on top of the coolant tank.

Another common point of failure is the coolant tank itself; the seam in the middle can leak.

Other things can happen, too. Cooling system hoses can fail, especially when they're 12 years old. And in our '94 Integra, I just noticed a coolant smell under the hood, and it turns out the radiator was cracked.

It may help if you can at least isolate the smell to either the front area under the hood, or the engine compartment.

Folks in your area can recommend a good shop with NSX experience. It may help to mention the above description to them.

 

[BioBanker]

My car goes to Allen at Erin Mills Acura.

He has done a great job on my car.

We are also in the process of setting up a mutually beneficial relationship between the NSX Club of Ontario and this dealer for parts and service. Not sure it will be available in time, but make sure you tell them.

Good luck!

 

[kaz1116]

the smell is definitely comming from the engine bay i determined that last night
i will call erin mills today and setup an appointment for them to have a look

 

[Hugh]

Is any coolant actually reaching the ground or does a visual inspection of the engine bay uncover any of it? Pay particular atention to the front side of the engine and the frame parts down below.

 

[nsxtasy]

Is any coolant actually reaching the ground or does a visual inspection of the engine bay uncover any of it?

Good question.

Pay particular atention to the front side of the engine and the frame parts down below.

Especially the area underneath the end of the overflow tube coming down from the big white coolant tank, and underneath the tank itself.

 

[Hugh]

Its entirely possible this was a one time event like an air bubble causing the car to puke out some coolant via the overflow. You'll smell it for a day or two but it will quickly burn off. Worst case scenario it could be the beginning signs of imminent hose failure, a pinhole that seals under heat but is continuing to rot from the inside until you get total failure. Can't hurt to pressure test the system with a cold motor. Ask me how I know.

 

[kaz1116]

thanks alot guys for the quick responses
i will have a look at those few things when i get a chance
the car is also book at Erin Mills Acura thursday at 10 am so that Allen could have a look and let me know for sure

thanks again u guys are incredible and even have some of u posting in this thread that are not even from Canada

 

[Hugh]

thanks again u guys are incredible and even have some of u posting in this thread that are not even from Canada

That's because you should have posted this in the Do It Yourself forum which should have kept it's original name of Technical and Do It Yourself (hint hint) because now people are confused about where to post when they have a problem that needs solving.

Being from Canada has nothing to do with it. You had a question and needed help, it doesn't matter where you are as long as you're on Prime.

 

[nsxtasy]

That's because you should have posted this in the Do It Yourself forum which should have kept it's original name of Technical and Do It Yourself (hint hint) because now people are confused about where to post when they have a problem that needs solving.

For the "what's wrong" part, yes. For the "where to take it" part, it was posted right where it belongs.

 

[kaz1116]

For the "what's wrong" part, yes. For the "where to take it" part, it was posted right where it belongs.

yea the main reason y i posted in here was for that purpose to ask the ontario guys where to take the car it would be useless asking someone in the US :biggrin:

 

[Hugh]

My apologies, my reading skills have been dulled the last few days from a cocktail of prescription meds, tequila and nicotine. I didn't notice the post was "two pronged". In any case I'm sure it's a minor and easily fixable problem.

 

[NSXCessive]

hey guys ive done the search about the possible issues and fixes
but last night when starting up the car to show off the HID's when turning off the car i noticed a coolant smell
now i have read what could be causing it but my question for u guys is where should the car be taken to be checked out?
where is the best place and who do u reccommend i talk to about it?
the car wont be driven until the issue is fixed or at least i know exactly what is going on with it
also anyone else have this problem?
car is a 94 with 66,000 kms on it

On my 91 I had the 2 main rubber hoses leading to solid lines to the rad rupture, and also there are a few smaller hoses running off the coolant tank, and around the intake portion of the motor that could be a pin-hole leak in any of those smaller hoses. Thats assuming there is no coolant dripping to the ground that is? I see your already booked into Erin Mills...

 

[NSXCessive]

My apologies, my reading skills have been dulled the last few days from a cocktail of prescription meds, tequila and nicotine. I didn't notice the post was "two pronged". In any case I'm sure it's a minor and easily fixable problem.

I'm sure any help from a 'dulled' individual is of some help... :wink:

 

[kaz1116]

On my 91 I had the 2 main rubber hoses leading to solid lines to the rad rupture, and also there are a few smaller hoses running off the coolant tank, and around the intake portion of the motor that could be a pin-hole leak in any of those smaller hoses. Thats assuming there is no coolant dripping to the ground that is? I see your already booked into Erin Mills...

yup booked for thursday
anyways i pulled the car outside the garage after comming home from work today
no drips no nothing
turned the car on for a bit let it run and no smell reved the car a bit no smell
this is weird the car is still gonna go in for service but i dont understand y i had the smell one day and now its gone?

 

[Hugh]

this is weird the car is still gonna go in for service but i dont understand y i had the smell one day and now its gone?

Re-read post #7.

Is it possible the smell came from another car parked next to you?

 

[kaz1116]

Re-read post #7.

Is it possible the smell came from another car parked next to you?

thnx i re-read the post and it is a possiblity
no its not possible from another car as it sits in the garage beside a car that was not started in a few days and at the time

 

[kaz1116]

Re: coolant smell...PLEASE HELP *UPDATE*

well just got the car back from Erin Mills last night
and had Allen have a look at the car... its fine compression is fine no coolant leaks anywhere so whatever it was could have been a one time thing
no coolant hoses were slit or bad while there he gave the car an oil change and topped off the fluids to make sure everything was ok the only thing the car needed that i was not aware of was a new oil pan.. as it was starting to drip
all in all im very pleased with the service given by Erin Mills and especially Allen.
I will definitely be taking the car back there in the future!!
Thanks again guys and Dave (Biobanker) for reccommending me there

Zak

 

[BioBanker]

Re: coolant smell...PLEASE HELP *UPDATE*

Man - Ive gotta put the heat on Erin Mills to give us something formal re deals.

You guys are getting stuff done and we could be getting it less expensive! Blasphamy!

 

[kaz1116]

Re: coolant smell...PLEASE HELP *UPDATE*

Man - Ive gotta put the heat on Erin Mills to give us something formal re deals.

You guys are getting stuff done and we could be getting it less expensive! Blasphamy!

so get on it Dave! haha
i was going to mention it to Allen but ran out of time as he was very busy and when i picked up the car later that night he wasnt around

 

[NSXCessive]

Re: coolant smell...PLEASE HELP *UPDATE*

well just got the car back from Erin Mills last night
and had Allen have a look at the car... its fine compression is fine no coolant leaks anywhere so whatever it was could have been a one time thing
no coolant hoses were slit or bad while there he gave the car an oil change and topped off the fluids to make sure everything was ok the only thing the car needed that i was not aware of was a new oil pan.. as it was starting to drip
all in all im very pleased with the service given by Erin Mills and especially Allen.
I will definitely be taking the car back there in the future!!
Thanks again guys and Dave (Biobanker) for reccommending me there

Zak

I ran into similar problem with my oil pan, turns out it was a ~$45 gasket that can be replaced and about 1.5~2hrs of labour. Is your oil pan rusted? I had the main engine hoses go on my 91, which I later found out was a TSB back in 92~93 my hoses split at 90 Degrees to the diameter.

 

[kaz1116]

Re: coolant smell...PLEASE HELP *UPDATE*

I ran into similar problem with my oil pan, turns out it was a ~$45 gasket that can be replaced and about 1.5~2hrs of labour. Is your oil pan rusted? I had the main engine hoses go on my 91, which I later found out was a TSB back in 92~93 my hoses split at 90 Degrees to the diameter.

im not sure if it had rusted but i believe not something was leaking but was a very minor leak so there was no warning or symptoms that arrised although Allen found that it was serious enough that it had to be changed which is fine with me since id rather problems be fixed before they become bigger and worse issues