Newbie here. I have a '97 Z28 and I am getting a strong coolnat smell after it's been driven awhile and I open the hood. Everything is bone dry. Any ideas where the smell might be coming from?

Can it bad a bad radiator cap? That's where the smell seems strongest.

 

It could be the cap. Also, check the plastic tank on the passenger side of the radiator for a crack. You may need to pressurize the radiator to find the leak.

 

If you still have the stock radiator cap, you should replace it. Mine wasn't holding any pressure and was leaking a lot. Like moparman said. The bearing in the water pump has a tendency to leak, it will usually wet random things under the bay and will come from behind the pump. Check your oil to make sure it isn't frothy, that could indicate a blown headgasket.

 

Also check the tanks on both sides of your radiator. Sometimes they have hair lines cracks that start leaking. Does it get a little warming than normal?

 

Hows your coolant level? Most common place is the weep hole under the water pump. Look from under the car with a light.

 

Thanks for all the advice.

Oil is fine so I'm ruling out head gasket. The water pump was replaced about a yesr or so ago, so I'm thinkiong it's not that either. It runs nice and cooland the coolant level is up that's what's so confusing to me. In addition the low coolant light came on yesterday, but the level is fine. I did a search and found that the sensor seems to be a popular thing to go bad so I'll replace that and see what happens.