Sweet smell. Cant pin point

[fwdturbobov1996]

So Ive had the car a week. Runs great, made a 3 hour drive no problems, pulls fine, idles, not a damn thing wrong. Well today I get out of the car after cruising around and I notice this sweet smell coming from the motor. So I pop the hood, inspect and look for leaks and I cant find anything. The motor has 3500 ish miles on it and everything is brand new. The block is clean enough to eat on it all the way around, it doesnt smoke at all, it pulls great, the idle fluctuates maybe 3-400 every once in a while, nothing major. I can not find what is causing this smell. Doesnt coolant burn sweet? Im going to check all my hoses/radiator tommorow again, but today I couldnt find anything. Car ran fine. Hopefully its just a one time thing.

BTW 1990 tsi awd 5 spd. Minimal mods, rebuilt motor.

 

[1stGenRocks]

Yea sweet smell is usually coolant

 

[femmeDSM]

^^ Agreed. Most likely coolant.

Possible sources for coolant leaks exist all over the engine bay. Check all hoses, the radiator itself, coolant lines from the turbo, coolant lines to the throttle body, the coolant overflow bottle, coolant level, thermostat housing, and heater hoses. Just off the top of my head

If you think you're losing coolant but can't tell where it's coming from, put a piece of cardboard or poster board under the car overnight and check it in the morning for green spots. That'll at least tell you the general area that the coolant is coming from.

 

[talonTSIDriver]

put a piece of cardboard or poster board under the car overnight and check it in the morning for green spots. That'll at least tell you the general area that the coolant is coming from.

Thats why the call them the Wiseman.

 

[92_75i]

Sounds like Coolant to me...

like femmedsm said, check for leaks somewhere in the hose or even canister? (sp?) there could be a small leak, feel around a bit....

-az-

 

[lasertim]

A couple more things to check..

Check your oil, if you have coolant leaking into the crank case it will cause it to foam up a little and will make the oil look milky.

Check your exhaust with the engine running. If you are getting white smoke there is a good chance you are burning coolant.

Do a cooling system check. Most parts stores will rent you a tool that pressurizes the radiator like it would be if the car were at operating temps. This makes it easier to find small leaks because you dont have to do it with a running hot engine.

Do a leak down test. Pressurize each cylinder with your air compressor and a leak down guage. While it is under pressure you can look for bubbles in the radiator which would indicate a head gasket problem. It will also give you information on other components of your head and short block that a regular compression test doesnt.

Good luck, if you have any other questions I will help as best as I can.

 

[danyz250f]

My coolant lines had a small hole in one and when I reved the engine coolant would shoot out. That found my leak quick, it was in the TB coolant lines.