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DanV
Hey guys....
I’ve just returned from my first long drive following a repair – about 18 miles.
As I arrived near my home, I notice that the front cooling system blowers were running long and hard (this rarely happens but on the hottest summer days). The temperature gauge was running a little hot which struck me as odd, because again — I’ve only seen it rise on peak summer days here in Chicago.
I'm also smelling an electrical burning smell coming from the left-hand engine cooling vent. I noticed this smell occasionally throughout my drive home, but I was sitting in Chicago traffic and didn’t think it was coming from my car.
When I popped the rear trunk, there is clearly something wrong with the cooling system. Antifreeze is leaking from the filling point (see photos), and also leaking from the bottom of the car.
I’ve received no warning/CEL dashboard lights.
Your thoughts? Many thanks.
-Dan
My limited experience is that's a lot of water from just a bad cap. And to see signs of water outside of the fluid access bay for instance water on the trunk weather stripping and to see coolant hitting the ground is not just a leaking cap symptom.
But get the new cap. That's good advice. And be sure the new cap is properly threaded and tightened securely. That's good advice too.
I suspect though you'll find the coolant tank leaking.
Once you get the new cap and before you install it top up the coolant level with distilled water. As you have been advised be sure the cap in threaded on the tank properly and the cap it tightened all the way. This takes more force than one might believe. But of course don't overtighten the cap either.
Then take the car out and drive around the neighborhood until the engine is hot enough to trigger the radiator fans to come on. Head home and on the drive way then raise RPMs to around 1K until the radiator fans come on. Shut off the engine. Wait. The heat load of the engine will raise the coolant temperature and pressure and if the tank is leaking I think you'll soon have clear sign of this. In my car's case I did the above and as the hot engine sat the coolant tank split opened up and gushed hot coolant right to the ground around the passenger rear tire.
If the tank does have a leak when the tank is replaced this is probably a good time to have the coolant drained and replaced with fresh.
The electrical smell is probably just coolant contactng the hot exhaust. But with the benefit of having read the car was just in for secondary air pump work there is always the concern about some electrical wiring problem. You might consider bringing the car back to where you had it worked on and report the odor and have the car checked over. The shop should know this but for your benefit the engine access cover will need to be removed to expose the top of the engine so a careful check can be made of all the wiring for any signs of hot wiring or wiring that is loose, not properly secured or routed.
The car should be lifted in the air and a check made of the wiring from underneath the car too.