L.J.F

iTrader: (31)

I shall start from the beginning,

I had the P1 out of the garage today for a clean and check fluids etc and noticed that the coolant level was up to the rim of the header tank suggesting possible air block so i went through the normal routine of letting the car idle with cap off and heaters blowing. Once the car was upto running temp the bottom hose was cold and top hot plus certain parts of the rad was cold too(righthand side). After roughly 20mins thge bottom hose and rad gained heat and i was happy enough that air lock was gone i gave the car a clean and then went for Sunday lunch in the car. On arriving at destination (3 miles away) i had what i first thought was steam pouring out from the engine bay, the car was running perfectly and temps all normal etc. I just assumed it was the coolant on the headers being burnt off but did notice that the fans were kicking in every 20secs or so which i did find strange

After a good 2hrs we was ready to leave and so i checked coolant levels and they were perfect and there was no signs of damage or anything wrong around the engine bay so set off back home. On arrival i get the same plume of steam/ smoke and so i pop the bonnet and have another nose about, at which point i realise that my eyes are stinging and my missus commented that there was a burning smell and her eyes were stinging. I it hard to pinpoint were it's coming from but it is in the vicinity of turbo/ TMIC area??

Surely coolant wont sting your eyes when being burnt off the headers/ turbo etc....

Any ideas or suggestions please people

wrx9181

iTrader: (2)

Pin ***** leak?
Very hard to see , but fumes or stem will stink your eyes of coarse it will mate

L.J.F

iTrader: (31)

I dont remember it stinging and smelling like that on previous cars, maybe paranoia on my behalf I will let it sit over night and dry out then see if it happens again during the week.

ditchmyster

iTrader: (7)

Ah the joys of owning a classic, such fond memories, always something.

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

Helpful, as always.

OK, get it warmed up and start looking for the coolant leak.
Steam= coolant.
Blue/white smoke = oil being burnt off* = possible rocker cover gasket leak.

* smells like hot oil, nothing close.

Possible leak points for coolant:
Rad sides,
Rad core, near base, inner edge,
Top hose pinhole.

Others are available on request. LOL.

L.J.F

iTrader: (31)

There was no sign of coolant leak and the rocker gaskets are fine, I am pretty certain the smell wasn't burnt oil either......

@ Ditchmyster

I prefer my standard spec nimble classic over my old 370+ lardy newage sti