Coolant smell with some fluid loss....new 2380

[PNWBXer]

Have 14 hours on my machine and I’ve had to add some coolant already. Does anyone smell coolant when they turn up the RPMs when say mowing or something? I get a whiff of coolant and it seems to keep losing it some where. Not a huge amount....but I just hope their isn’t something deeper than just evaporation going on. I’ve tried looking under the hood while running it and I can’t see any leaks or anything...I’ve also looked into the crankcase via the oil cap and dip stick and can’t see any sign than coolant is mixing with oil.

Is this normal...coolant smell occasionally while operating at mid to higher RPMs and some coolant loss? Maybe I’m just paranoid....but if this baby is under warranty and insured....I want to make darn sure I don’t have a lemon before that stuff expires.

 

[dlsmith]

No it's not normal. You shouldn't be able to smell coolant while it is running. There has to be a leak somewhere since you are having to replenish the coolant.

Call the dealer, since it's under warranty, it's their problem.

Don't let them BS you about it either, be firm.

 

[PNWBXer]

No it's not normal. You shouldn't be able to smell coolant while it is running. There has to be a leak somewhere since you are having to replenish the coolant.

Call the dealer, since it's under warranty, it's their problem.

Don't let them BS you about it either, be firm.

Thanks.....I'll give them a call tomorrow.

 

[Fordtech86]

Not on a BX, but I had that happen last year. Was leaking at the upper radiator hose.

Hard to see in the picture, but look around the radiator hoses for a white trail. It didn’t leak bad enough to see it because it would burn off quickly. I did put a pressure tester on it just to verify thats where it was leaking and you could then see the coolant come out when the engine was cold. I tightened the hose clamp up a little while I waited for new radiator hoses to get here, and those hoses are still sitting on the bench in my shed.

Just a thought before hauling it back to the dealer.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[PNWBXer]

Not on a BX, but I had that happen last year. Was leaking at the upper radiator hose.

Just a thought before hauling it back to the dealer.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yeah I was poking around last night having a closer look at all the connections. I think I saw some residue around the radiator cap.....maybe not a leak...but I'll at least turn on the tractor with the hood open and see if I can spot a leak when I turn the RRMs up....which is when I smell the coolant.

The hose clamps to and from the overflow tank look really janky.....just a small wire clip. Thought maybe if the pressure of the system surged due to a pump spooling up to keep up with the engine it might be getting some coolant past a clamp while the hoses are cold. Just a guess tho...... This should be an easy fix....unless it's a small head gasket leak....then it's going back to the dealer for sure.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

There is no pressure on the overflow line, so you can skip that.

Look to the radiator hoses for leaks.

 

[GeoHorn]

Not the same model as this thread...which is what actually makes the comments appropo...

But I bought a lightly-used RTV-X900, only a few months old and less than 300 miles on it. It was, in essence, still new.

But shortly thereafter I smelled coolant and found a 1” metal line beneath the drivers seat which led from the engine to the radiator. (This engine is a “mid-mount” behind the driver with the radiator up front.). That metal line was dripping at an in-line rubber hose. The metal tubing was corroded on it’s outer circumference as-if it had an electrolysis type of surface corrosion (whitish powder). I was surprised at that seeing as how the unit was relatively new.

I cleaned it up with a wire brush, both outside the metal tube and inside the hose and reassembled it. It has not leaked since (I suspect the OEM screw-drive-clamp simply wash’t tight from the factory and the coolant reacted poorly with the cadmium plating on the outside surface of the metal tube.)

But I smelled coolant for the next month as I ran that thing and yet never detected a leak anywhere. The smell eventually dissipated. I suspect that spilled coolant will emit an odor whenever it’s heated up for awhile.

Just FYI.