If you had a bad head gasket, would you have the coolant odor in the engine compartment? No smoke to speak of or odor in the exhaust. I cannot find any leaks but always smell the coolant odor (outside of the car) after I drive it.....

 

Your best bet is to check with the local parts stores to see if one of them has a pressure test kit you can rent, or buy one from Harbor Freight or online. The leak is often in a hard to spot location and is small enough that it evaporates before being visible. With the engine cold you can pressurize the system and have a better chance of finding the leak.

Chances are good it's the thermostat hosing or a hose , not the cylinder heads.

 

I had a similar issue which turned out to be I over filled coolant and it started to leak out the overfill reservoir located in front under the car in front of driver side wheel

 

System needs to be pressurized and watch for pressure drop. Pay particular attention to water-pump and octopus hose assy. The hose will drip slowly on trans and down. Hard to see sometimes. Reservoirs are also known to leak.

Just gonna have to pressurize and look everywhere. There are also heater hoses under intake plenum.

 

I had a coolant smell/leak that was fixed by replacing the thermostat tower. Look around the tower to see if you can detect any dried coolant -- mine looked like it was spraying out! At first, before it got that bad, I would notice a slight decline in the amount of coolant in the reservoir, I'd add a bit now and again, but it would keep going down. After replacing the tower and some hoses, no more coolant leak/smell.

Visually check near the thermostat tower, near the base. I could see coolant puddling up down there. Also feel around the reservoir to see if you can find any wetness.

Good luck.

 

Thanks to all. I have checked in daylight, at night with a flashlight (torch), after a long drive and sitting.....Nothing.


Going to pick up a kit so I can pressure test. Just about ready to change the t-stat housing and water pump to rule them out.


I get the slightest vapor/smoke out of the exhaust when I start her up, but not after she's run for a little while. Oil is always clean.


All the horror stories get me nervous, but she runs great with just the slightest miss.