Smell of hot water ??

[macca 0]

Hi

Have noticed a slight smell of hot water from my VR6 (122k) after a run out, there is no obvoius leaks and no real loss of collant. The coolant top up bottle was a rusty deposit colour, and signs of previous overheating splash marks around top up bottle. There are no signs of oil in the water and "mayo" in the oil, or overheating on the temp gauge. The rad has been flushed recently and anti freeze added.

 

Any Ideas ??? when its left in the garage after a run you just get that smell like after you open the rad cap.

 

It doesn't seam to be affecting the cars performance, just a little concerened, any others with similar experience??

Cheers.

[sc16v 0]

MACCA- Sometimes new antifreeze can be smelt after it has warmed up for the first few thousand miles. So i wouldnt be to concerened at the moment unless you notcie loss of coolant and higher temps.

It might also be where the coolant was drained and it has sat and stained parts of the engine, rad and lower front panel. and when the car gets hot it heats up the dried coolant causing the smell :)

Just keep your eye on things

[16VG60 1]

I concurr with the points made by sc16V. I would add however that i have noted on a number of VR6 engines that the auxilliary electric coolant pumps are prone to weeping coolant. This weep invariably does not represent a significant coolant loss in it's own right, but in the early stages can give rise the the situation you describe. Might be worth inspection.

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Agreed with John, very common. Another VR achilles heel is the thermostat housing, also common for weeping. A top-tip for coolant refills is to fill via the radiator top hose. This method forces air out of the galleries via the expansion tank from the bottom up. If you fill from the expansion tank, you introduce air and therefore increase the chance of an airlock.

 

Cheers

Kev

[Rams 0]

I agree with those points too. The water pump outlet gets dirty and cakes up in crud and pushes the pipe off it slightly as a result. Take the pipe off and give it a dood run down with fine sand paper and a nice clean which will avaoid this from happening. You loose such a small amount but sometimes you dont notice it as the heat from the vr gets so hot and evapourates. Is your heating ok in the car?

[macca 0]

Yes heater works fine, or it did last winter. What does the auxilliary electric coolant pump do and where about is it.

Cheers.

[Rams 0]

I know where it is in my head, cant describle it to you well enough and I know someone will probably take a pic for you to identify.

 

Its purpose is to pump water and collant around your engine, its that area where everything is i.e. thermostat and o ring and sometimes they are prown to leaking.