I have been getting whiffs of the unfortunate sweet smell of antifreeze from the 04 today. I checked the reservoir and it was about an inch lower over 4 months or so (about 16 oz). I filled it back to the normal level with distilled water.

I checked all the usual spots for sign of leaks........nothing. No spots on floor/driveway. No codes. Temp is normal. She now has 60K on her and is all original. This situation will get me to get rid of the Dexcool.......

Any suggestions? Is it worth just going ahead and change the throttle body gasket/heater? Reservoir cap? I bought the brass bleeder screw. Just have not switched it out yet.

Thanks
RS

 

Depending on what you are going to do next but it might not be a bad idea to go ahead and replace the throttle body heater gasket and flush your coolant and switch to something better than Dex-Cool.

 

Well you should check your hoses, clamps, the throttle body heater, and valve covers for leaking. Make sure you check the oil to make sure it's not milky, that could be a sign of head gaskets.

Also, I've been told that the DII's have their sweet spot when it comes to the fill line on the coolant reservoir. Some are just below the mold line, or some are a little deeper than that. You might have air in the system.

 

You can always run a test to see if there is exhaust gasses in your coolant system. That wouldn't hurt anything. Well worth it to see if you have a head gasket or block issue. Just so you can figure it out before it really screws things up.

 

x2 on this (or I am just being optimistic). The last time I flushed my coolant (when I replaced every hose and thermostat a few months ago (I have replaced the coolant every two years with universal) I re-topped it a after a few days to the seam.Shortly after that time, I observed coolant traces on the passenger side of the engine block, just above the starter. I have not refiled the coolant to the seam since, and the coolant has not dropped in the reservoir at all.

Upon topping it off to the seam and discovering the coolant seep from either the valley pan, or the right head gasket, I freaked out. But, I have been checking it every few days for the past 2-3 months, and it has not dropped in level.

FWIW, I have not cleaned the old coolant traces from the engine since I discovered this, but you (I) would think the reservoir would deplete measurably after several hundred miles.

I watch my coolant gauge more closely than my speedometer. If/when the coolant drops in the reservoir, I will take action.

 

In addition to chemical flush and refill with non-Dexcool; consider rent/borrow the coolant pressure test kit from the auto parts store. As previously mentioned they also have a "combustion gas in coolant" chemical test. If you have access to a data code reading scanner might run around with it for some miles and see what coolant temp is really doing, Rover gauge is a computer generated pointer that is not linear, it is IMHO an idiot light with a pointer.

As to the ever tempting application of stopz leekz - if you have used dex cool, conditions inside your radiator may be close to obstruction. The addition of a new material that tries to close up and bridge across every crevice might not be a good idea with dex cool sludge already in there. Could just finish it off. Also, your thermostat has four tiny holes that surround it to keep cooling working correctly, if plugged they will cause overheating in certain conditions.

Pix from Google images of dex cool mud or sludge.

 

now that everyone has told you what to look for on the outside, have you check the floor and carpets inside. This is the time of year that heatercore failures will start happening, must be getting chilly in Ohio these mornings. Just a very small leak in the heater core will give you that sweet smell and will leave no signs outside of the vehicle. You need to beg or borrow a preasure guage and preasure test your system to 20 psi; it may take some time to show up but it will just keep the preasure up. Just another thought.

 

So, all that being said, first stop driving it before something major happens that you can't control
Second, get the coolant pressure system test to find the leak and make the proper repairs.
Get back to us and let us know what you find.

 

Blue has been parked since Friday. Been driving the 96 D1 instead. I will go to Harbor Freight tomorrow and pick up their radiator pressure tester kit unless anyone has any other suggestions. I know I can "rent" them for the parts stores but hey.....I own two Disco's so I am sure it will be put to good use.

Thanks for the advice. I will check back in with the details.

 

If they have infrared thermometers on sale you might use one of those from time to time, like checking temps across a radiator or at various places.