1995 - 850 coolant leak

nys405train · Post by **nys405train** » 02 Mar 2005, 13:21

Hi -

I have a coolant leak in my 850. The mechanic has replaced, the water pump, the timing belt, the pully, the thermo and gasket, and flushed the system before refilling. 3 weeks later, I am smelling that burning again, and my coolant level is down?

I am trying to get a feeling as to where I am heading next with repairs. I really like the car, but the first round cost me almost $700.00, I am not interested in keeping this up.

Thank you in advance for your help.

DCintraining · Post by **DCintraining** » 04 Mar 2005, 15:53

Did the Mechanic check your heater core?

Guest · Post by **Guest** » 09 Mar 2005, 12:21

Thanks for responding, I don't believe so. I will check with him. As I am still having issues with coolant levels. Just last week I took the car back as the light came on again, and the level was less than at the full mark.

He said he presure tested it and had it up and saw no sign of leak, so he refilled the coolant. He said there could have just been a bubble in the system that the coolant has now filled (???). I am still concerned, and don't want to go too far from home.

Thanks again,

DCintraining · Post by **DCintraining** » 09 Mar 2005, 18:09

Your mechanic may be correct about the bubble. I flushed my coolant system last summer and had a small bubble in system which caused the levels to go down overnight. Unfortunately my 93 850 doesn't have a radiator cap which makes bleeding the system difficult. As for the light, mine comes on if the level is barely below minimum. Keep a quart of 50:50 mix in the trunk if the level goes down again just a little bit and the light comes on. If the level goes down alot in a short period of time you may want to call your mechanic again. I'd rather have an annoying light come on than run out of coolant and lose the engine.

As for the "smell" you mention. Does it smell like maple syrup or kind of sweet? Do you get a haze on the inside windows? These would be possible indications of a heater core problem.

Good Luck!

Eoin

nys405train · Post by **nys405train** » 17 Mar 2005, 15:09

No, there is no sweet smell. It just the smell of something burning - like the first time the coolant leaked and got on the hot parts under the hood, then began to smoke. There is no fogging inside the car either - the mechanic and I talked about that.

But, I took the car out for a long ride this weekend and everything was fine, no smell and the coolant level was not down to any noticable extend, and the engine temp gage was good. So hopefully it was just an odd moment after all that work was done.

Thank you for your help.