Coolant smell under the hood

[rollguy]

I have a 99 Disco with a burning coolant smell under the hood. It has very little coolant loss, and no coolant in oil. After reading a few threads, the prevailing opinion is that the valley pan gasket is bad. Is there a recall on this? If not, mine is not under warranty, so I will need to fix it myself. Any other thoughts about the cause? Will it develop into an expensive fix if not fixed now?

 

[joey]

No recall... just normal rover stuff. Mine has had a smell for 7 years... and I lose around a quart of antifreeze every 1000 miles... or if it sits about once a month or so...

I haven't fixed mine yet.

 

[rollguy]

No recall... just normal rover stuff. Mine has had a smell for 7 years... and I lose around a quart of antifreeze every 1000 miles... or if it sits about once a month or so...

I haven't fixed mine yet.

Would a dose of radiator stop leak fix it?

 

[LROffroad]

I would avoid using radiator stop leak.... The car should still run fine even with the smell. As far as I know, it's no big deal.

 

[joey]

Agree with LROffroad, I would not recommend stop leak as it will clog up the already sensitive coolant system.

 

[mayordaily]

I have a leak as well, ongoing for about 16 months now with no change. I have to cap off the coolant every week. I plan on a rebuild in the near future so I figured it wouldn't hurt to try a $16 dollar fix---Bar's puts out a product called Liquid Copper Block Seal. It sealed the leak for one week, failed for about 3 days and then sealed up again. It's been 3 months now and not a drop has escaped and no cooling system issues. For fun I looked at the product under a microscope and found it to be merely micro flakes of cooper. They are irregular in size and rough in texture which would explain why it makes a good material to seal up gaskets. I'm with LROffroad, if it's a minor leak don't worry about it---if it's more you'll be facing a gasket job so might as well try this new product.

 

[rollguy]

I plan on a rebuild in the near future so I figured it wouldn't hurt to try a $16 dollar fix---Bar's puts out a product called Liquid Copper Block Seal. It sealed the leak for one week, failed for about 3 days and then sealed up again. It's been 3 months now and not a drop has escaped and no cooling system issues.

I saw a similar product that cost about $28. It says that the entire cooling system needs to be drained and flushed (product not compatible with coolant). I may give that a try.

 

[mayordaily]

The Bar's Liquid Copper does not require a flush. You simply unhook the radiator hose and pour it in. You will spill some antifreeze when unhooking the hose but simply cap off the coolant reservoir tank when you are done and your good to go. The products requiring a flush scare me as they may coat all sorts of things in your cooling system which may cause blockages. I read in other forums of nightmares with such products. Good luck with what ever you decide to use.

 

[rollguy]

The Bar's Liquid Copper does not require a flush. You simply unhook the radiator hose and pour it in. You will spill some antifreeze when unhooking the hose but simply cap off the coolant reservoir tank when you are done and your good to go. The products requiring a flush scare me as they may coat all sorts of things in your cooling system which may cause blockages. I read in other forums of nightmares with such products. Good luck with what ever you decide to use.

I installed the Bar's Liquid Copper yesterday, and we will see how it works.

 

[mayordaily]

good luck---give it some time for the product to work it's way through the leak. Let us know if you have positive results as well.