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09-26-2003, 05:09 PM | #1 |
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My car is eating coolant and smells like there's a dead cat in my engine bay...
Ever since my 30k mile tune up I've notice my overflow tank is ALWAYS low. Doesn't matter if the car is warm or not, its always below the low mark on the bottle.
I had it filled at 30K mile when I noticed it was low. Then again at 33750 miles because it was low. After a day its back to below the low mark. Also now when I turn my car off, after driving, I occasionally get a smell that can be described best "as a cooked dead cat".
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09-26-2003, 05:30 PM | #2 |
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Well. It's a well known fact that cats love antifreeze. If your girl friend has a cat and you hate the beast, you can put out a bowl of antifreeze out and the cat will suck it right up and croke. They apparently love the sweet taste. So perhaps you have cats that are climbing up into you engine bay at night, removing the caps and somehow slurping up the sweet fluid. Then they die inside you car somewhere where you can't find them and stink it up....
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09-26-2003, 05:31 PM | #3 | |
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09-26-2003, 08:52 PM | #4 | |
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09-26-2003, 09:37 PM | #5 |
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Maybe some mice decide to reside in your engine compartment and chewed through the radiator hoses? and for the smell maybe one of them died?
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09-27-2003, 01:27 AM | #6 |
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If your car is eating coolant, perhaps you have a leak somewhere?
What colour is the fluid in your overflow tank? Is it brownish at all? Or maybe a blown head gasket? If your car is not highly modded, why not take it to the dealer and have the problem diagnosed? Should still be under warranty right? Good Luck with that. Hope it isn't serious though. |
09-27-2003, 01:35 AM | #7 |
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First thing I would do is do a coolant test to see if there are exhaust fumes in it. A radiator shop should have a test kit. Also check your oil for foam.
So you either have a blown head gasket or... If you had your coolant flushed with a cleaner, it can cause the coolant to foam and overflow, and when the car cools back down, the coolant from the resevoir tank will get sucked back into the engine showing a lower level each time. |
09-27-2003, 11:45 AM | #8 | |
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09-27-2003, 12:01 PM | #9 |
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Check your lower radiator hose clamp where it clamps to the radiator side.
mines been leaking since around my 30k checkup as well... ive got 79+k miles on it now... i really should go tighten that clamp... |
09-27-2003, 01:04 PM | #10 |
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I can think of several instances offhand where a rodent has crawled into a car's internals and couldn't get out. Death and bad smell ensues. My buddy's Cherokee, an Audi 5000 at a dealership, etc. etc. etc.......
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09-28-2003, 02:21 PM | #11 |
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I've never noticed any coolant on the ground under my car. I check the area I park in every day when I leave work. So its not leaking out the reservoir tank.
The radiator tank is always full, the coolant tank is always empty. It has to be going somewhere??? |
09-28-2003, 05:51 PM | #12 |
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MInes never leaked out onto the ground either (unless im opening the rad cap while hot )
It seems to collect sporadically on the plastic front underpan and i assume the exaust manafolds dry it up and subsequently makes it stink evey once and a while. |
09-28-2003, 07:35 PM | #13 | |
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lol
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09-29-2003, 01:35 AM | #14 |
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I had a BMW that was leaking fluid at the heater core. (inside the firewall, no visible leaks under car.
Besides that problem- at one point the radiator cap wasn't making a good seal. Loss of pressure was making the coolant boil and then it would purge out the hose coming off the overflow tank. When I pressure tested the system, it checked out ok. but it ended up being a coolant resevoir cap. Or as was suggested, you have a blown head gasket. Any major white smoke coming from the back of your car? |
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