Sanjay who often posts here is on a road trip with his old Legacy. He is currently in arizona and has asked me to post for information fo him.

His temp guage works and he is not overheating, but he can smell coolant. He has changed the thermostat and gasket and can see no leaks. Does anyone have any advice on where he should look next?

Where does he smell it from....inside the cabin or engine bay?

 

Tell him to look at the front passenger plastic end cap. It typically cracks in the part facing forward.

Check the coolant level at operating temperature. Is it reaching very high? Like to the brim?

 

Is the upper radiator hose hard or soft?

 

The radiator cap seals may be leaking, meaning the cooling system is not kept under pressure, and this forces more coolant into the overflow tank - and makes for soft hoses. Need to a fit a new cap to cure this problem.

 

 

A 90% sure test: Once the engine is warm, switch it off. Wait two seconds and turn the key back to on, without starting the engine. Watch the temp needle:

 

If it moves all the way up to normal operating temperature, the cap is likely failed and the coolant system is running without pressure.

 

If the needle moves up to a point just below normal temp, the cap is most likely still working.

He will be in Dallas next week and would like to meet Josh. He will look at the reccomendations and I'll try to PM Josh Sanjay's phone number.

I would probably look for a heater core leak myself, but I'm not sure how common that is on an old Legacy.

Sanjay says that on a long trip the car used the water in the overflow tank, and he can smell coolant both inside and outside.

kinda sounds like a heater core issue to me as well.

Hey cookie. I'm in Houston. Is he just going to be in Dallas, or down in Houston as well?

 

If he's going to be in Houston, yeah I that'd be cool to meet up.

I think he is just wandering around enjoying himself. He may have the wrong idea of where you are.

I didn't even know he was going until he called from the road with his coolant leak.

By the way he said he will try a new cap.

I am kind of surprised he does not go to an internet cafe and check in.

News from Sanjay: Setright, your guess about the rad cap was correct. The gasket was badly worn; there was a groove right where the filler neck pressed against it. A new cap resolved the problem. Thanks to everyone for the help.

Glad it's sorted!

I think he is just wandering around enjoying himself. He may have the wrong idea of where you are.

I didn't even know he was going until he called from the road with his coolant leak.

By the way he said he will try a new cap.

I am kind of surprised he does not go to an internet cafe and check in.

Not exactly "wandering around". . . My Spiritual Teacher is on a US Tour and I'm following Her on it. I'm in DC now, and now that I have wireless, I will be doing just that (checking in from time to time). When in LA I had the coolant changed (no means to do it myself, like a workplace or a way to get rid of the old coolant, so I had to let someone else touch my car. You can tell from the formatting that this is not a happy thing for me. . .) and the dork refused to put the car up on ramps to burp it properly. Well there was a good ammount of coolant in the overflow, and when the car overheated, it actually burped itself. Talk about lucky breaks. . .