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NB stinks like coolant!! Not heater core ;)

Posted: Mon Sep 01, 2014 11:23 am
by flamo
Hi all

Have been out of an MX5 for a number of years now. Decided it was time to get back into one so purchased a 99 NB on the weekend. Drives great and its exciting to be back in a MX5

I've noticed two issues which I cannot find any information on.

There is quite a lot of water dripping from what I assume is the air con drip pipe. This seems to be dripping even though the air conditioning is not on and continues to drip well after the car is shut off.

I can smell coolant in the engine bay after driving, there is no obvious signs of leakage, although it does look like some coolant was sprayed around at some point. The whole cooling system was updated last year with mx5 mania pipes and an aluminum radiator. I dont believe its the heater core, I had that problem in my old NA8 which was a bitch to fix..

Any idea what could be causing these issues? I though they may be related but the water that is dripping appears to be water only, no coolant. Cheers guys

Oh, and the pic with the water on the floor in two spots is me moving the car, not two different leaks..

Re: NB stinks like coolant!! Not heater core ;)

Posted: Mon Sep 01, 2014 11:37 am
by bruce
Your air con pipe might be blocked and water gets stuck in there.
There will be a coolant leak somewhere-u need to check all the connections.

Re: NB stinks like coolant!! Not heater core ;)

Posted: Mon Sep 01, 2014 2:53 pm
by deviant
Clean up the coolant residue as much as possible. I had a hose fail a while back while I was on track and it covered the engine bay in coolant, even after it had dried up it smelt like burning coolant for a long time. There might be a pool of it still sat on top of the gearbox, it can also make its way in to the bell housing.

Also have a look at how full the coolant overflow bottle is, if it is to full it will overflow when the car is up to temperature.

Re: NB stinks like coolant!! Not heater core ;)

Posted: Tue Sep 02, 2014 9:35 am
by speed
If it is coming from the back of the motor, could be the rubber nipple has perished. Happened to mine about a month ago.


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Re: NB stinks like coolant!! Not heater core ;)

Posted: Tue Sep 02, 2014 10:14 am
by flamo
Thanks guys, will clean up the engine bay and let it run for a while.