[mpaulb1386]

Good day everyone,

Coolant smells have often been discussed on this forum and others but I am really struggling with this one and id like some direction.

2014 328i with 49,500 miles on it.
stock everything, except cosmetic mods.

Ive owned this car for about 2 weeks. I purchased it from a Ford dealership, unloaded my focus thank God, and I have a very basic 3 month warranty on power train, radiator, and water pump.

Second day owning the car I smelled some coolant after driving to work, about 30 minute drive, pretty much smooth sailing at 60mph. Later when I went to lunch I didnt smell anything.

Looked under the hood and everything looks pristine. The only thing is the coolant overflow tank was sitting about 1" above max line. After car is cool the coolant still sits 1" above the max line. It doesn't seem to have lost any coolant over the past 2 weeks of daily driving.

Still I get that coolant smell coming from the hood, most noticeable after the car has been sitting for a few hours and then driven.

Oil looks great, exhaust has no coolant smell, no signs of leaks in the engine bay.

Would the coolant being over max cause it to vent out at driving temps?

All of the euro shops are booked up until next week.

Thanks for any insight.

[Billfitz]

Too much coolant could cause it to vent out. The time to check the level is when the car has been sitting long enough to completely cool down, say in the morning.

[mpaulb1386]

Thank you for the quick response. In the morning it sits about 1.5 inches above the max fill line. Do you know a good way to bleed out the excess without causing too much of a mess? Could I just syphon from the overflow tank while the system is cool?

[Billfitz]

Use a turkey baster. If you've got a decent container save it.

[Honeybadger23]

Originally Posted by Billfitz

Use a turkey baster. If you've got a decent container save it.

I would replace the thermostat. $50
Takes about 30 minutes.

Drain and replace coolant.
Bleed the coolant system

[Billfitz]

That's a useful procedure for some issues, but I doubt it in this case.