I've been consistantly losing coolant lately, and I feel like I can smell it in the car, I haven't noticed any coming in the car, but I think I can smell it, I don't notice any deposits in the engine compartment, or puddles under the car.. What're the usual culprits?

head gasket, intake manifold gasket, radiator cap, pinhole leak in a hose somewhere, water pump shaft seal, water pump gasket, water pump inlet O ring. If you arent getting anything in the cabin it PROBABLY isnt the heater core but it may be and you just arent noticing it.

 

Check your oil filler cap to see whitish, milkshake looking nasty.. could be a sign of a bad headgasket. check for oil in coolant, coolant in oil.. steam/antifreeze smell in your exhaust? thats a strong indicator of either headgasket or intake manifold gasket... Get a laser pointer or a flashlight and next time you pull into your driveway at night, pop the hood, leave the engine running, and see if you cant find any steam coming from any potential holes in hoses.....

 

theres ALOT this could be. these are SOME ideas. good luck

I've been consistantly losing coolant lately, and I feel like I can smell it in the car, I haven't noticed any coming in the car, but I think I can smell it, I don't notice any deposits in the engine compartment, or puddles under the car.. What're the usual culprits?

 

Curiously, or perhaps not, leaking heater hoses from engine to firewall will leak on the exhaust pipe and cause the interior to smell like coolant. If the interior REALLY smells like coolant, and you actually can see steam/smoke coming out of the vents, then you have a heater core busted. It could also be something else but leaks at those hoses always make a stink.

Ok, thanks. I guess there's a lot more options than I thought. I'll try to check tonight for steam, and look a little closer for residue around hoses. I'm hoping it's not the head gasket...

My coolant smell in the interior turned out to be my intake manifold gaskets

i'm losing coolant but i don't smell it. i add water to it and watch the temp gauge. mine has a turbo, are the coolant lines that run in and out of the turbo known for leaks or turbo cracking.

Get a coolant system pressure tester guys. It'll tell you for sure if there's a leak, and you can usually hear it hissing out of the leak when you pressurize it.

 

Autozone will let you rent one.