montero65

I had my timing belt service performed last week, and almost every time I get out of the car now, I can smell coolant. At first I thought maybe it was some coolant spilled on the subframe and as I drove was working its way out, but I'd expect that to stop after a day or two. There's no drips on the driveway that I can see, and I don't smell anything when the car is cold. I never remember to check coolant level when cold, so I'm not sure if it's low or not. Engine is not running hot though, based on the gauge. Thinking I need to take the car back in to have this looked at, as it was never a problem before the service was done. Anyone else have this sort of experience after timing belt service? Thanks.

losiglow

iTrader: (1)

I've never had that problem. I'd keep an eye on the coolant reservoir to see if the level is decreasing over time. If so, then it's certainly a problem. It doesn't need to be leaking to smell. If coolant is getting past the water pump gasket for example, it would probably evaporate prior to dripping.

Either way, if the engine isn't overheating, I'd keep an eye on the reservoir to confirm that the coolant is leaking somewhere. If the level stays the same, then I'd suspect residual coolant still evaporating. It's a pretty big mess when the water pump is removed, even if the radiator is drained first.

t-rd

I have seen techs spill a bunch of coolant all over, causing the smell once the car is warmed up. That's why I don't let people work on my car anymore haha. The least you do is to pop the hood to see if anything looks out of place.

montero65

I've checked the reservoir, it's about halfway between upper and lower fill lines when cold. Still not seeing any overheating. Will continue to check the reservoir though. Also popped the radiator cap, and it had coolant right up to the top.

I would have thought at a dealership, if you dump that much coolant when doing the timing belt service, they might have tried to lightly hose down the engine bay once everything was all back together to rinse that mess off. But just because paying dealership prices doesn't always mean getting the best or most caring techs. I'm tempted to lightly hose down the engine bay on the passenger side myself while it's cold to see if that helps get rid of the smell. Still debating taking it back to have it looked at though.

thoiboi

This.


Or if they did it right, they also would have drained the engine block which could have caused some excess coolant to splash around the catalytic converter.



I think you're reading wayyyy too much into this and it's not that big of a deal but if you have the free time, take it back to the dealer

08KBP_VA

Why not what can it hurt? Mine had same issue for a bit but they told me they spilled some cuz I had them change thermostat too, I know thats not your situation. Just ask them, satisfy your curiosity. If they care about the customer theyll respect your request

montero65

Thanks for the suggestions. Normally hate having people work on my car as well, but just didn't have the time to tackle something as major as the timing belt service right now.

nfnsquared

If your coolant level isn't down and there isn't any accumulation on the floor, then the smell has to be from spillage.

I've done 2 TB changes on my TL and drain the radiator but not the block. A lot a fluid still comes out when the pump is pulled, but I've never had the coolant smell last more than a day (I never spray it down after the TB change). Those bozos must have really spilled a ton of fluid. It makes me wonder if they even bothered to drain the radiator?

t-rd

When the water pump is removed, literally a waterfall of coolant comes out of the engine. If the tech did not hose that down with hot water, then coolant would remain and dry up on the side of block. Once the job is done and the engine heats up again, that's when you smell that dried up old coolant.

Pair of TLs

Dollars to donuts the cause of the odor is antifreeze spillage and failure to clean it up.
I'd take it back and make 'em clean up their mess.

montero65

So what I've learned about this dealership is the quality of service is not that great, and I'm not sure I even trust them to clean up this mess.

First indication was the coolant smell (which finally went away after a week and a half) which I agree was just a lot of spillage. This weekend, I swapped to my snow tires (separate rims) and noticed my right front wheel had grease coating the entire inside. Prior to taking the car in for timing belt service, I'd had it in to change the intermediate shaft about 3 weeks earlier (after I couldn't separate the suspension myself I gave up and took it in). While there, they found a torn right front outer CV boot, which they replaced (which is weird because when I was under the car the day before, trying to separate the suspension, the boot was fine and there wasn't grease everywhere). Well apparently they couldn't be bothered to clean the grease off the wheel, or any of the suspension components, because the tie rod end and back side of the knuckle have grease all over them. Also, when it was in for the timing belt, I asked them to look at what was causing my vibrations in the driveline, because the intermediate shaft helped reduce some of it, but it was still there. They said I need to replace the axles. How did they not realize the one axle was bad when they had it out of the car for the intermediate shaft and to replace the outer boot just 3 weeks earlier?

I'm normally not one to go to a dealership if I can help it as I hate paying their higher prices, but paying their higher prices AND get crappy service on top of it? No thanks. I guess it's time to find an independent shop that I can trust when it comes to these bigger jobs. I hate letting other people work on my car.

losiglow

iTrader: (1)

They want to replace both axles? The chance of two CV joints going out at the same time is pretty slim. How many miles do you have on it? I've only had one axle go bad, passenger side, @ 165K.

A bad axle can definitely cause vibration though. Mine caused vibration but only on acceleration. Went away once I replaced it. CV axles are a very easy job for even a novice mechanic. Honda's and Acura axles are cake to replace.

And yeah, just because their a dealership doesn't mean they do any better of a job than an indy mechanic. The indy mechanics can just as easily get a hold of the service manual to give them step by step directions as well as all the factor specs. Heck, the service manual is posted here on Azine. I've referred to it probably a dozen times in the last year for a bunch of suspension work.

I can't imagine what you paid for that intermediate shaft. Just the part alone on the online OEM sites is about $300.

Pair of TLs

I guess I'm pretty lucky in that I have 1 Acura, 1 Honda and 1 indy shops that I trust--there are plenty I don't. Usually, I do my own work but once in a while one of the cars needs something that I can't/don't want to do and they all do it right. Always good to have a go-to shop in your back pocket.

montero65

I have a Honda dealer I like, but haven't done a ton with them yet. I know Acura and Honda are the same, but wasn't sure how the dealers were with that stuff. I think there's only 3 Acura dealers in southeast Michigan, and the other 2 are not close. Only reason I took it in for the intermediate shaft was I couldn't separate the lower ball joint, and the bolt through the damper bushing was completely seized, and I ended up needing to replace the bushing. Only asked them to look at the vibration issue because they had the car already for the timing belt and the intermediate shaft didn't totally fix it. I was going to have them do the shafts, too, just to knock it out quickly, but have decided against that now.

I've heard of a really good indy shop in Ann Arbor that specializes in Japanese cars that I've been tempted to check out (even though the TL was built in Ohio), but having done my timing belt already, I think I'll try to stick to doing things myself again. Maybe I'll take the car there for the drive shafts, if I can't find the time and since it's already snowing here.