OK, lookin for some help from that vast wealth of knowledge out there...

 

Really. I'm serious - this board ROCKS:grin:

 

So my '86 EA82 non-turbo d/r wagon was going through coolant a bit. I thought I'd try my luck and see how long it would keep going like this...

meahwhile, whenever i was driving with the window open (and only when the window was open) i got this badass smell coming in the cab. Sort of a mix of exhaust/coolant/whateverelse. This did not happen when the windows were closed during driving.

 

Last week, guess what.....................blew the frikin head gasket. Oh well, maybe when i put a new one on it will fix the smell problem...

put on the new gasket (pasenger side only, cause i'm too lazy to do both) start up the car and she is still pushing a bit o' steam for quite a while grrrrr.

Oh well, lets see what happens... take her out and drive like hell and the steam stops - no more coolant level drop, but the smell problem is still there and still only when the window(s) are open.

 

I do have a bit of an exhaust leak up front but pretty minor and I wouldn't think it would be the cause.

 

Any thoughts? Much appreciated.

 

cheers

i would throw a vote out for the exhaust leak. fix it and the smell will most likely go away

Yup, fix the leak. The nasty smell is probably still being created by coolant residue in/on the exhaust pipes.

I had a smell like that, and it ended up being a badwater pump. it was leaking enough that it'd run down and hit the exhaust, and burn off.

 

check the weep hole on the bottom to see if it looks like coolant coming out.