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ok so i drive around anywheres and i get this burning coolant smell....... doesnt seem to smoke or anything but its losing coolant. doesnt seem like any leaks anywheres so i donno i did a coolant flush to it since the coolant was all old and dirty. could it be a thermostat or would you guys say a head gasket? it sucks cuz i did the coolant flush 3 weeks ago and now the resevior is just about empty. i kinda need to figure this out asap so if you guys would be able to help thatd be great.

Get your heater core pressure tested. For that matter.. get the entire cooling system pressure tested. It will help you find the leak.

Tunes67

I had a problem very much like yours, the headgasket had a slight leak which ran into one of the cylinders not enough to smoke but enough that i would have to add a small amount of coolant every otherday, this left the piston looking as if there was some sort of moisture on it. I eventually changed the gasket and that solved the problem.

Was the coolant smell post flush or any work? If you spill even a small amount its possible for it to smell bad for quiet a while.

If your are positive it smells of burning cooland and not just coolant pop you hood and start smelling around after driving, this will give you an idea of where on the motor to look for your leak (burnging smell takes a lot of heat, usually the engine block itself). Odds are you wil be lookgin for dried spots, coolant will leave behind some residue, think of how a black tshirt gets white rings when you sweat a lot and it dries.

My paranoid self usually checks the weep hole on the waterpump at first signs of a coolant leak. Really the best method though for small leaks is to get it hot and follow the smell.

as i stated in my first post... there are no leaks.... thats what got me all confused.... im pretty sure its the head gasket so im gonna stick with that.......

put on your thermostat on high, if your windows start to fog up, then your heater core is shot and you need to replace it. U will usually have a smell of coolant (sometimes without any leaks) when your heater core is gone

95 rs wrote:ok so i drive around anywheres and i get this burning coolant smell.......

I don't know if I know what burning coolant smell is, but I know what coolant vapor smells like... have you checked your radiator caps? one could be bad which is why you smell a coolant vapor as you are driving.

I had this issue last summer - I had a bad cap but didn't know it and I drove around for a week with no leaks or visible vapors or anything just the smell and my system went empty eventually burning up my water pump. All because of a $3 cap...

it is definately the head gasket...... started leaking today an di pulled a plug and the electrode is completely white.... its actually pissing the coolant out pretty bad now...... just ordered the arp studs and a head gasket set for a grand total of $200.00...... o ya and a bottle of whiskey to make all my sorrows go away...