i smell antifreeze

[bcampbell]

I have been smelling antifreeze for a while and my temp has been running at 210 if I'm driving around town. they have changed the waterpump twice and when i stop and get out of the car, i still smell antifreeze. do you think that would be a cracked headgasket?

[carnutcass]

Mine too.......

You didn't mention the year or trim level of your car but, intake manifiold gasket leaks are fairly common on the 3.8. Since the mechanic strike has ended, I'm taking mine in for warranty repair next week.

Cooling system are pretty complicated though. Your problem could any one of a number of things. Are your fans operating correctly? What condition is your anti-freeze in? Been flushed and filled? How old are your hoses?

[miksgtx]

YOu might also want to check your thermostat..it could be getting stuck open...simple and very non-costly thing to fix..what year is your car anyways..it makes things alot easier to describe with that info..cya Mik

[97grndprxgt]

You guys should check you water pump to see if its leaking, thats what i did and i just ended up replacing the pump and that fixed the problem easily. Take the belt off and, look at the water pump to see if you see any anti-freeze or feel anything wet. Also if you notice that when you drive it for a while it smells like somethings burning or you actually see smoke then i might be your water pump, most likely. This is how i removed it, first you empty your radiator, theres a little switch thats behind/above the air dam(youll need to remove that, its only a couple of screws) and the switch is only a quarter turn i think, make sure that before you turn the switch you have something for the antifreeze to dump into, and thats the easiest way to do it, if you look some more on this forum they might still have the thread its called "water pump removal" or something like that but this is how i did it: (1)took the belt off (2)unscrewed the pulley (3)loosened the power steering pump (if you dont know how to do then email me and ill tell you how i did it and it worked perfectly i didnt even have to take it out) (4)took the water pump out and put the new one in. Its that easy not a hard job maybe an hour tops

[97grndprxgt]

didnt read all the first question

[richtazz]

both the 3.1 and 3.8 have intake issues. the 3.8 upper intakes crack, and the 3.1 lower intake gaskets leak. Both would cause you to be able to smell antifreeze, even outside the car.

[stlwagon]

Check the water pump weep hole. When you see a trickle of antifreeze, it's the first indication of water pump seal failure.

[bcampbell]

it's a 98 gt. i had the waterpump replaced because i could see it leaking under the car(still had warranty then) but it still leaked so they said the bolt was loose. then it started getting hot, and smelling so they changed water pump again. that was about a month ago. very good answers guys! i know i have to tell them what to look for at the dealership because they never find it themselves!

[bcampbell]

ok, now i have had the water pump replaced twice, the bolt tightened once, and just the other day...the resealed the gasket. And then brought it back to me and I could smell it while they were still standing there. it's almost funny

[richtazz]

if it's a 3.8, I'd bank on an intake leak, right behind the throttle body.

[kustomkid54]

OK, head gasket, heater hose (pin hole), water pump, TS gasket, ect. Is there anything on the ground? Anything in the oil?
And, who's running the "ads"?

[bcampbell]

Originally Posted by richtazz

if it's a 3.8, I'd bank on an intake leak, right behind the throttle body.

is that something major?

[bcampbell]

Originally Posted by kustomkid54

OK, head gasket, heater hose (pin hole), water pump, TS gasket, ect. Is there anything on the ground? Anything in the oil?
And, who's running the "ads"?

I haven't checked the heater hose, but there's nothing on the ground and I don't think in the oil either but I'm not positive.
and what do you mean by who's running the "ads"?

[richtazz]

the upper intake isn't a horrible job, it's just a matter of unbolting what's in the way, and then making sure you torque everything to spec.

[bcampbell]

ok, water pump still leaking, power steering pump leaking, cv axle leaking,......... can't get the alignment quite right, carfax doesn't show any wrecks.
any suggestions or advice on missouri lemon law would be helpful. i am going to see what i can do. (even though i love my lemon)