Coolant smell, sloshing sound, but Rad is full....any ideas?

[scostagl]

Hi all,

I've done quite a bit of searching in this forum for my issue, but I still can't figure it out. About 3 months ago, I started hearing a water sloshing sound coming from the passenger side of the instrument panel. Sure enough, my coolant was about 2 pints low. I filled it up, and the noise went away for about 2 weeks. Now, its back, and the collant expansion tank is still full (checked when cold, of course). Its been like this for over a month.

I'm also getting a coolant smell coming from outside the car (not coming from the interior heat). I can't see evidence of any coolant leaks, and my level is still full even after many miles / weeks of driving. My guess is that I have a small head gasket leak, and its causing this coolant burning smell? No water in oil or vice-versa, and the car still seems to have full power, no white smoke. No codes either.

The only other thing I heard was that this could be some type of coolant / heat exchanger o-ring failure? I read a post on here about someone having to replace a cheap o-ring to fix the sloshing sound....but it didn't have much detail.

Any help / ideas would be appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[scostagl]

Oh yeah, sorry....this is a 2004 Discovery SE. 55k miles.

 

[joey]

Could also be an air pocket in the coolant system... try running the engine with the front end at a steep angle and the heater on... let it run for 10 - 15 minutes, then let it cool down and refill the radiator.

 

[dcreekmore]

I had the same sound after I had my 60k service done. They had got air in the coolant system. I think some of the posters on here have some tricks to gettting it out.

 

[scostagl]

oK - Front up or front down? I'll give it a try, but I still don't think this would explain the coolant smell?

 

[joey]

Front up.... coolant smell could be anything from the heater core getting too hot from an air bubble to antifreeze splashing when you added it... or a minor leak...

 

[scostagl]

Ah, I didn't think of that....makes sense that the air pocket would be making the exposed metal hot - and that the sloshing effect could be "burning" off a little bit of coolant.

Thanks for the tips....I'm heading off to my favorite trail this weekend to find a steep grade to get that front end up!

 

[meyersd]

I would say x2 on the air bubble, but check your head gaskets for leaks too.