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In addition to a few other issues I’ve posted on here –
On a 1996 Lexus ES300 I have what I think is a pinhole in my cooling system/coolant hoses…
And as a preface – I bought this car just recently and I am heading toward fixing it up. So I have numerous little issues I am trying to figure out.
After driving the car for 20-30 minutes the car does not over heat, but seems to smell like a sweet, watery hot scent. Almost like antifreeze. Right around when I smell this I even see a little poof of steam/smoke come from under the hood and it goes away almost instantly.
The needle on the cluster stays at the same mark (right below halfway) and does not move. When I stop the car and park it I see no puddle of antifreeze or anything leaking after parking it to indicate the reason for the smell or the poof of smoke emitted earlier.
Does any of the above sound like a next-to harmless pinhole somewhere in the cooling system? This would explain the little poof of smoke/steam that may have dripped and burned off under the hood. It is tough because I do not see a leak at the floor and this can be anywhere. I also do not see a drop in the coolant reservoir, either.
Once again, I ask – any ideas guys?
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+++1 on pressure testing the system. with the car cool
you could search all the hoses and radiator looking for
the leak or coolant residue and maybe get lucky and find
something.I agree, surprised I never thought of it. I’ll run down and get one as I suppose this will be the only way to find it without burning myself.
Thanks guys!!!
I had a problem like that w/ my mom’s car. I had to change out a tempstat because of a leak, the lower housing had a crack in it & also had to be replaced. I would also check the heating & cooling hoses leading to cooling coil. Very easy to replace. I hope this helps.
Your info is appreciated!!! What I will do is get a pressure tester and pump it up to operating pressure and see what I find. I have a funny suspicion that the leak can be around the heater hose area. Something is just telling me to pay extra attention there.
Any other info you guys have is very much appreciated. I just have to get down to the parts place and rent that tester and let you guys know what I find out.
Sounds like a Heater core to me. It may have just started to leak, or just leak a little bit. Usually you see a fog coming out of the front windshield defroster, it will leave a greasy film on the glass that’s kinda hard to clean off.
I don’t think the heater core would be the culprit because I have no fog in the cabin. I have no greasy film forming on the windshield. In my initial post I mentioned what I am finding is a scent of antifreeze followed by a brief puff of steam/smoke from under the hood. I think my problem is caused by a pinhole somewhere in a hose in the cooling system.
I think the hoses under the hood (upper, lower, bypass) hoses can be to blame. I will have an idea once I hook up a radiator pressure tester. Thanks Doc for the idea…I just don’t know if I am dealing with Heater Core issues at this point.
This will be interesting to find out the reason for it. I have been getting a whiff of Anti-freeze sometimes when I park my car and run into a place to shop. I know I have a small leak somewhere, but I don’t know where it is coming from. I got a bad feeling that my intake manifold has a pinhole in it, I’m not getting any coolant in my oil. I need to have mine pressure tested as well, but at this point, it is cheaper for me just to keep my overflow jug topped off.
Let us know what you find.
Their only about 80 bucks, that’s how much I got mine for on Amazon, the bad thing is if you take it to a shop they will charge you that much just to hook theirs up.
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