Smell Anti-freeze/Coolant?

[shailey]

Open your hood and check your radiator cap. The caps are very poor in design and do not hold pressure. So when your cooling system pukes, the coolant can spew out the cap. yes this is covered under warranty.

Also, the cheap hose clamps do not hold pressure very well. If you have a continuing problem, replace the squeeze style clamps with a clamp that you can actually tighten down.

If you do not have any coolant spewing in your engine compartment, check your passenger floor board. Now it is time to panic because you probably have a heater core that has gone bad. If you are in the 3 year/36,000 mile warranty, it will be fixed, but it is not considered part of the powertrain.

[titanss]

It could also be your radiator leaking, there bad about splitting at the bottom right corner. Had mine replaced at 61,000mi, others have had theres replaced at much lower milage.

[GreenHulk]

stillen is working on a new aluminum one if not done allready

[shailey]

That is right. It is cheaper than an OEM replacement, holds more coolant and is all aluminum. No plastic.

[jestep]

does that go for the 07 titans aslo?

[shailey]

YEP! My 07 went through 3 radiator caps in less than 2 weeks.

[jestep]

well my cap looks fine but i can still smell it when i shut my truck off every once in awhile

[gtumblin]

I cranked up this morning and went back in to the house. My 5 year old and I walked back out and we smelled coolant. I popped the hood and didn't see anything in the engine compartment or ont he driveway.

Is the cap just allowing the fumes to release or will I see coolant? I just had the coolant flush done about 3 weeks ago and this is the first time I have smelled coolant.


I don't have the numeric temp gauge but the standard gauge is staying around the same area.

Did you guys get the dealer to replace the cap or did you go get one?

[jestep]

Thats what mine does, I cant find fluid anywhere but you can smell it. Real bad sometimes..

[TitanBlue]

Recognizing that the Radiator cap is not the normal kind with a pressure relief, that is done with the plastic bottle cap, what would happen if a normal cap was used?

Wouldn't it just relaese when hot, allowing flow into the bottle like all others?

What would happen different than other cars/trucks?

[shailey]

Considering the titan cooling system constantly uses the bottle, I don't know what would happen. If you notice on your reservoir, there are bubbles around the top of the bottle after you drive it, that is because it is used as a bypass as well and when it is hot, it constantly flows in there.

Joey, you need to run your heater real good one morning when it is cool and then feel underneath the floorboard on the passenger side up near the firewall and see if it is wet. If it is, then you have a heater core problem...take it to the dealer. That is bothersome when you smell coolant but can't find it.

On they dyno last week at Old Town, titan radiator caps did not have a good showing. We had 3 bust while on the dyno! The day before old town, my radiator split and a 4.5" crack was found in it. This is showing some of the Nissan junk making it through the quality control check right now.

[gtumblin]

It was when I turned my heater on that I smelled the anitfreeze the other morning. However, I only smelled it outside of the truck. We got in the truck and did not smell a thing, except my son's Pop-Tart.

Man, those things are good. LOL

[jestep]

Thats me you can smell it on the outside and not all the time either.

[gtumblin]

I went out to the truck a few minutes ago and checked my passenger side floorboard up near the firewall and mine is bone dry. Thank goodness.

I wonder if it's just overflow and it is evaporating quickly? I didn't smell it this morning.

[shailey]

If it is the heater core you will definitely smell it inside the cab.

But you guys are starting JUST like my last one started. Have you noticed if the reservoir level has gone down any? Take a flashlight and shine it BETWEEN the engine and the radiator down at the bottom of the radiator. If you are having a leak that is subtle, you will start having coolant cake up around the bottom OR you will be able to see it on the cooling fins of the radiator.

Also, look along the top seams for signs of coolant running along the top of the radiator and do the same along the sides.

[f-16]

i cannot find the leak in mine ...grrr

[shailey]

I thought yours was just from the cap itself and overflow hose. After seeing the bottle being about a quart too full, I thought it was just from pressure build up and it released.

[f-16]

nope . it is leaking at the bottom somewhere ....still havent found it

[shailey]

Is there coolant on the radiator? Lower hose?

Due to the amount it dropped and dropped quick, it had to be from a source that was capable of it and a head gasket is not capable of blowing that much out. Did you check the upper hose where it connects to the block?

There should be some kind of a "white" tell tale trail around somewhere.

[jestep]

Stephen my heater core is fine, no leaks on the passenger side...

[shailey]

Then check out the radiator where I mentioned above and see if there is any green running around anywhere.

[jestep]

i will look today and see .

[float_test]

My radiator took a dump 1 week before OT @30k. And im on my 5th cap i think.