hello all i recently bought a 99 z28 it has 76,000 for miles, after i bought it after driving around for a bit i can smell a small wiff of anti freeze at a stop sign with the windows down once in awhile, but when you open the hood after im done driving and pop the hood you get a good wiff of it, since i got the car which was almost 2 months ago i did the tb bypass and it dosent seem to smell as much, but the smell is still there, i put on a new radiator cap, and the other day i took out the battery and then i took out the over flow tank for the hell of it, and i found that where the battery tray is molded to the coolant tank, there was about a 2 inch long sepration and coolant just pored out of the crack when i tipped it, so i bought a new coolant tank, the hose from the tank to the radiator, the grommet that the hose goes into on the coolant tank, and another new radiator cap, it seems that 95% of the smell is gone but i thought i smell it when i got out of the car today, and i popped the hood and i cant smell it?? do any of you guys have any ideas of what this could be? i changed the oil there is no antifreeze in the oil, there is no white smoke from the tail pipes, i just changed the plugs ans wires and none of the plugs were wet, and i replaced the whole coolant overflow system, the whole under side of the car is completely dry of antifreeze, there is no leaks from what i can see, thats why im so heated? is it possible the water pump is going? how can you tell if its the water pump? what is the weap hole in the waterpump? what is its purpose? please help me out... thanks in advance.. bob

 

Use paragraphs next time, makes it easyer to read....anyway...THe weephole is on the underside of the pulley shaft...housing...it's a small hole, less than 1/4 in diameter. It just leaks when the seals have failed, I'm pretty sure.....That basically means that your WP has shat the bed...

Try pressure testing it. A cheap man's method is getting the car upto operating temp and shutting it down. Check everything. the side of the block, head gasket sealing areas. check the heater hoses, I believe, on the pass side of the WP...

Try washing the engine comp down when it's cool. Wash underneath and everything! soak her down. Get it warmed up and see if you still smell it. Prey it's not a heater core....

 

why, is the heater core hard to replace? i cant smell anything inside the car? what do think it could be?

 

If you don't smell it in the car that's good!! THe HC is a BTCH!! You have to basically rip the whole dash off! Well, not exactly sure on our cars, haven't done one.....YET.... It's like a little radiator that has coolant running through it, the heat from that is blown into the car for.........heat....

Try cranking the heat, if you don't smell anything.....GOOD!!

 

it deffinatly dosent smell in the car but what could the smell be comming from?

 

It's probably just residue that hasn't burned away yet. I agree with washing it. I think it'll go away once it's hosed down.

 

i just cleaned it a week ago. the motor came out mint, it dosent smell nearly as bas as before, i just caught a small wiff of it, unless im going crazy, my mom smelled it before and since i was with her today, i popped the hood and she said she cant smell it??

 

99zman- I have a '00 Z28 and I recently have ran into the same problem. I don't smell the antifreeze all the time, but just like you, I come to a stop, windows rolled down, and there I catch a small wiff of the stuff. I changed out the coolant about a year ago and all hoses seemed to be fine. I've checked them just recently and the hoses are still fine. I'm confused as well....

 

mudpuppy i dont know what it could be i cant see any leak, i guess if its bad enough ill eventually see where its comming from..

 

my '94 Z had this problem, ended up being a very small pinhole leak in one of the hoses that only showed when the car was on and under a small load (revved).
Leak was so small you could not really see any steam nor did it leak onto the ground. But it was enough to produce the coolant smell.

 

i think im gonna change the coolant and all the hoses to see if that helps, i only smell it a little now compared to before i put the new coolant tank in. thanks for all the input.

 

I have noticed the same thing with my car--coolant smell with no visible sign of leak. If there is a leak, it has not appreciably changed the level of coolant in the system. I think I may try this...

http://www.diynetwork.com/diy/en_mai...271227,00.html

Anyone have any experience with a black light/dye system? Comaptability with dexcool?

 

That's the first I've heard of the ultra-violet light test for coolant leaks. Seems as though it works pretty well. As far as compatability with DexCool, I assume that it should work fine. But then again, you know what assume means...

 

Just to add to the comments, my 2002 SS also gives me a whiff of coolant now and then, but there seems to be no leak. Might be a common problem?