Antifreeze Smell

[mcsportsnut]

I am new to Subaru and recently purchased a 99 Legacy SUS. Timing belt, head gasket and knock sensor were done 30K miles ago. Over the past 2 weeks I have been noticing the smell of antifreeze when I get out of the car. I added a little on Sunday. Also checked the oil to make sure it does look like coffee w/cream and the level and color were good. Any ideas or suggestions would be a big help.

 

Thanks

[MilesA]

Most common would be leaks in the radiator, radiator cap, hoses, water pump or thermostat. Get a good strong flashlight and get the car up in the air a little bit. Look carefully for fine jets of coolant squirting out tiny holes or cracks in the radiator, slow drips or spray from the hose connections, the water pump weep-hole, thermostat gasket, etc. If that does not show anything, inspect the head gaskets. An external coolant leak is possible without mixing into the oil supply.

 

Also, you'll want to inspect the hoses for the heater core and bypass pipe.

[Setnev]

Common place for coolant leaks is the most uncommonly thought of locations. On Subaru's, there are two rubber hoses that connect to the throttle body on the bottom/lower portion. These are fed directly from the coolant crossover pipe. Over the years, these hoses are subjected to high heat and will start to get brittle and will leak. You won't notice it because it will leak onto the block and get trapped in the little valleys, but you'll smell it.

 

Look at every hose connection to see if there is any green crustiness. It'll look similar to this:

 

 

If you don't see anything, get some coolant UV dye (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002M4E0VC) and put it into your radiator when you top off. After a few days, take a black light flashlight (also found on Amazon for under $10) and check if you have any traces of dye. It'll glow very bright in the dark and you'll be able to trace where it's coming from. I will warn you though, that dye stuff is no joke. Don't get it anywhere but inside your radiator. It's hard to wash off.