It was 68 degrees out today and it was bumper to bumper traffic heading North to DC on 95. I noticed that the temperature went a bit left of the center point I am used to seeing. The fan came on and knocked it back down.

While this was happening, I could smell coolant but there is no trace of coolant on the ground or on any hoses. Any ideas? Coolant level is normal.

Thanks.

 

Do you know if your low speed radiator fan still works? The resistor tends to fail, leaving you with only the high speed fan. There are videos on YouTube showing how you can test so see if the resistor is toast.

The burnt coolant smell could also indicate that there is a leak (a small one) while the engine is running and that the leaked coolant gets burned off / evaporated when it hits the engine block or another hot engine / exhaust surface.

 

+1 what Minibeagle said.

And,
I'm surprised that the temp needle budged at all:
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...e-says-ok.html

 

If my temp gauge is higher than normal and I smell coolant, I'm going to trust that my car is about to overheat. The gauge doesn't need to be precise, just needs to indicate there is a problem. You can test if your low speed fan works by turning your AC on. Get your nose/eyes under the hood, look/smell see if anything is obvious. The plastic recovery tank leaks at the seam, check under it at the heat shield for splatters. If the fan checks out, That's where I would start.

 

+1 on this. I could smell the coolant but there were no wet spots any where. There was residue on the coolant tank seam, once the car cooled down I could faintly see a wet shimmer on the seam.

 

I am going to assume that there are some variances in gauge form factor with these vehicles and possibly that some of the gauges are more accurate than others. In my experience, most car manufacturers set the analog gauge to the middle so you can easily view any change that is outside of the normal.

 

I can hear the fan turn when the A/C is on, but I thought that I read something about the low speed function being silent. If the A/C fan is on, could it also be coming on high as well?

Good test, just want to make sure I know what is what.

 

I never see anything on the heat shield but there is staining at the seam. I did overfill it recently and the coolant came pouring out of the cap so I am still inclined to think that the stain came from that incident. Perhaps I'd better clean up and start over.

No problem changing out the overflow if I have to, but if I want to do it I'd like to get an aluminum one and not sure I want to sink money into it if I might be getting rid of it.

What really irks me is that I can't use my Mighty VAC MV4560 radiator pressure tester on the expansion tank. None of the adapters fit. I am a huge fan of pressure testing the system to catch pain in the neck situations like this in a controlled, quiet, and cool environment when possible.

 

Make sure the fan is not rusted and sticking, mine froze up from rust and salt in the motor, it was working on and off. If you smell coolant there has to be a leak, non on the outside maybe at the heater core connection or itself on the inside. Or as those seals.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...acement-2.html

 

If the car is cold and you turn on the AC, only the low speed fan should come on. When the high speed fan kicks in, you're hear the difference.
Yes, it's very important not to have the system filled all the way. Make sure you have thoroughly bled the system and fill just to the mark on the tank. Hopefully, that's all it is. When Scarlet had over heating problems, my overflow tank had fluid at the seams, I just replaced with an Aluminum tank, that was the end of it.

 

Thanks for all of the suggestions. I guess there are two parts to this maybe.

So I'd like to start off with the fan.

I turnes the A/C on and the fan turns on loudly. It stays on for exactly 5 seconds and then shuts off for 17 seconds then turns on for 5 seconds.

I am not sure that the using the A/C to test the low fan speed is reliable since it is loud (seemingly high speed) and cuts off every few seconds even with the compressor clutch spinning.

 

So I decided to monitor the temp where the fan kicks on and it's 234 degrees (high speed). Guess I will troubleshoot from here.

 

My low speed hasn't worked for years, but temp gauge has always remained where it should be, so I never thought much of it (although if I'm honest, I always thought it was strange that it never budged at all). Guess I know what I'll be getting on top of a new resistor.

 

GEN1 coolant tank notorious for leaks .... and it drip on the heat shield over the exhaust so it cooks off immediately. Look for residue. Not very expensive and a 10 minute job. Especially feel around the back side, where you can't see . . .

 

X2 on this issue!
The plastic coolant tank splits and you can not tell it. They all fail after a while. Many of us shift to an aluminum tank, to end this issue! (use one that takes the Mini pressure cap)

 

When you guys are talking low speed fan and high speed fan there’s only one fan with two speeds correct?

 

Yes, there is only one fan for cooling, the speed control is in the pic:

The replacement speed control. non factory, as two burned out on me. I decided to try another make. There is also another way, you need to look it up in the gen 1 stock problems area.