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[cristina]

Can anyone tell me why there is a smell of hot water inside the car? The inside of the car is bone dry and I cannot see any leaks at all from the outside. I have had my hubby look at it from underneath too. The Auxillary belt, Cam cover joints, HBV and thermostat were changed for VX ones because I was told that the VX parts were the best, I will always use VX parts in future for any repairs. The heater core and the rest of the system was pressure flushed out both ways as well until the water ran clean and clear. It has been fully antifreezed. The water circulates as it should, no bubbling in the tank and there are no funny noises. The oil is clean and the filler neck has a tiny amount of very light white film inside it for about an inch. The top up tank is also clean inside. The automatic choke works as it should too, it disengages in a few minutes.
My hubby took the plenum off so he could see better and when I looked there was nothing to see. We did all this with the enginge hot and then cold to see if that made any difference. It didn't!
What can we try next?
cristina

[johnnycboy]

Are you losing any coolant first question.

[damage consultant]

The only time you would get a hot water smell is if the matrix was leaking. does your windows steam up :question

[Marks DTM Calib]

Again, as already said, are you loosing any engine coolant?

Is the scuttle drain blocked?

[cristina]

Thank you all for the suggestions but they have all been tried and there are no visible leaks at all as I said.
The scuttle is totally clean because it was taken off to do the HBV. Everything that could be cleaned was.
The car does not steam up inside at all, only when we get in with wet clothes and that soon clears. The carpets, as said, are totally dry right down to the metal floor itself. We use rubber well mats in wet weather and dry any water off them with tissue straight away. The carpets are totally dry under them. In summer (?) we use fabric, not rubber, over mats as a grit protection for the original carpets.
The only other thing I can think of doing is to replace the heater hose's matrix ends, the plastic self locking thingys, with jubilee clips to make certain that the joints are secure.
I have just had another looky underneath and cannot see any evidence of leaks even though I put down some lengths of wallpaper so I could see it better when I had been out for a paper this morning and got the engine hot. The engine temp rarely goes over 85-90.
Haha, come on lads, go on say it, its just being like a 'she' - temperamental.
Joking aside, its issing me off and I am constantly biting my mans bum about it. Have some pity on him.
cristina

[cristina]

Thank you all for the suggestions but they have all been tried and there are no visible leaks at all as I said.
The scuttle is totally clean because it was taken off to do the HBV. Everything that could be cleaned was.
The car does not steam up inside at all, only when we get in with wet clothes and that soon clears. The carpets, as said, are totally dry right down to the metal floor itself. We use rubber well mats in wet weather and dry any water off them with tissue straight away. The carpets are totally dry under them. In summer (?) we use fabric, not rubber, over mats as a grit protection for the original carpets.
The only other thing I can think of doing is to replace the heater hose's matrix ends, the plastic self locking thingys, with jubilee clips to make certain that the joints are secure.
I have just had another looky underneath and cannot see any evidence of leaks even though I put down some lengths of wallpaper so I could see it better when I had been out for a paper this morning and got the engine hot. The engine temp rarely goes over 85-90.
Haha, come on lads, go on say it, its just being like a 'she' - temperamental.
Might it be worth bypassing the heater matrix completely with a simple joint and see if that stops the smell?
Joking aside, its issing me off and I am constantly biting my mans bum about it. Have some pity on him.
cristina

[Pitchfork]

Thank you all for the suggestions but they have all been tried and there are no visible leaks at all as I said.
The scuttle is totally clean because it was taken off to do the HBV. Everything that could be cleaned was.
The car does not steam up inside at all, only when we get in with wet clothes and that soon clears. The carpets, as said, are totally dry right down to the metal floor itself. We use rubber well mats in wet weather and dry any water off them with tissue straight away. The carpets are totally dry under them. In summer (?) we use fabric, not rubber, over mats as a grit protection for the original carpets.
The only other thing I can think of doing is to replace the heater hose's matrix ends, the plastic self locking thingys, with jubilee clips to make certain that the joints are secure.
I have just had another looky underneath and cannot see any evidence of leaks even though I put down some lengths of wallpaper so I could see it better when I had been out for a paper this morning and got the engine hot. The engine temp rarely goes over 85-90.
Haha, come on lads, go on say it, its just being like a 'she' - temperamental.
Joking aside, its issing me off and I am constantly biting my mans bum about it. Have some pity on him.
cristina

Fantasies, fantasies..............

[cristina]

Was ajoke, no way would I go near there without a gasmask on 

[ffcgary1]

If you are sure that there are no leaks then i would try to ignor it, but once it gets under your nose it can be annoying i know, please do not replace the heater matrix clips with jubilee clips as the vx ones are desigined to expand slighty with the increase of water temp as the plastic expands too. if you put jubilee on then the plastic will be put under stress and could make them fail early. Please confirm that you are not losing coolant, even the smallest amount, hope this is of some help.
Gary.

[cristina]

OK, the hose clip idea won't be used.  That was a last resort thought because all of the o rings where disturbed ( all transfer pipes) have been replaced with VX new ones.
I am going to put some more paper down tonight and see if there is any signs of a leak at all. I will also take off, or he will, the plenum and scuttle too so everything will be easier to see. Its bugging me cos if you lift the bonnet with the engine hot there is not a sign of any steam or water discolouration stains anywhere. He keeps the underbonnet clean all the time cos he says that the car should be as clean under there as the rest of it. Makes sense I suppose cos working on it is a lot kinder to your hands (do not go there, heard it all before).
I do know for an absolute certainty that the inside of the car is totally bone dry though.
Don't tell me to use Radweld though, lost a motor through that s**t before.
If all else fails I will just have to get a stronger in car smelly or two!
cristina

[cruisetopoland]

Can anyone tell me why there is a smell of hot water inside the car? The inside of the car is bone dry and I cannot see any leaks at all from the outside. I have had my hubby look at it from underneath too. The Auxillary belt, Cam cover joints, HBV and thermostat were changed for VX ones because I was told that the VX parts were the best, I will always use VX parts in future for any repairs. The heater core and the rest of the system was pressure flushed out both ways as well until the water ran clean and clear. It has been fully antifreezed. The water circulates as it should, no bubbling in the tank and there are no funny noises. The oil is clean and the filler neck has a tiny amount of very light white film inside it for about an inch. The top up tank is also clean inside. The automatic choke works as it should too, it disengages in a few minutes.
My hubby took the plenum off so he could see better and when I looked there was nothing to see. We did all this with the enginge hot and then cold to see if that made any difference. It didn't!
What can we try next?
cristina

My 2000 2.2 16v was exactly the same-drove myself mad looking for it and there was no noticeable coolant loss.

Finally found a tiny crack at the base of the filler neck of the header tank, only visible when trying to pull cap/neck upwards.

If your tank (under bonnet on LHS in front of driver's side suspension turrent top) looks yellowed and crazed, this could be the culprit.

If this is the probelm, it is a cheap, easy, half hour fix with the header tank including sensor being £28+vat without any discount, direct from Vauxhall.  You may get it cheaper through a member.

Godd luck 

[ffcgary1]

I dont think you will find anyone on here recommend radweld or Barrs leak, i agree that the engine bay should be clean as when you do get a leak it will be easier to find and you dont get covered in crap doing the routine maintenance.
Again please confirm that you are not having to add small amounts of antifreeze every now and again, if you are then we maybe more able to advise you. I have seen in the past radiator hoses with the tinyest pin hole in them and when checked show no signs of problems but under full operating conditions they weep slightly and the water is evaporated by the considerable under bonnet temps the v6 produces.
More thing to considr i know but dont rule out anything yet as these fine beasts do tend to suprise us now and again.

[cristina]

Thanx,
I will add that to my list of to-do's for tomorrow. At least the weather will let us get on with it now.

Just had a thought  , (don't go there, we ladies sometimes do have them) but I might try to get the system to get really hot, quite how I will have to figure out (maybe disconnect the electric rad fan temporarily) and then allow the pressure to build up while we look for any traces at all of 'pinhole' leaks. Surely that will show them then?
Pity there is not an electronic sniffer like CSI!
cristina

[cruisetopoland]

Thanx,
I will add that to my list of to-do's for tomorrow. At least the weather will let us get on with it now.

Just had a thought  , (don't go there, we ladies sometimes do have them) but I might try to get the system to get really hot, quite how I will have to figure out (maybe disconnect the electric rad fan temporarily) and then allow the pressure to build up while we look for any traces at all of 'pinhole' leaks. Surely that will show them then?
Pity there is not an electronic sniffer like CSI!
cristina

Found my header tank leak by smell 

Careful not to overheat it and cause more problems 

[cristina]

Funny thing is that it never, ever overheats! The temp gauge has never reached 95, its been on tickover now for 2 hours, no electric fan on at any time and even if left to run on tickover for many hours the electric fan does not cut in even then. The electric fan does work and the temperature switch for it is new and fully working. All that has already been looked at. The wiring circuit was tested and that is fine too.
I am going to leave it running on tickover now until it does show some signs of something.
Sods law, it must be.
cristina