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Ram 1500 coolant smell

Almost 5 years down the road and I still have the smell. I think its a vent hose connected to the overflow bottle that is outgasing the smell but which is obviously not causing any detectable amount of coolant loss.
 
My issue turned out to be the cracked headers! They replaced both under warranty and the smell is completely gone. Woo woo!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I have noticed a smell of coolant for awhile and checked and checked for leaks etc nothing was a mystery. Haven’t had issues with over heating or anything.

Food for thought I left work today and decided to check my coolant level since the truck was parked all day. I want to see what the res had in it. It was a tad low but nothing to think twice about. The truck was running while I used my sniffer to try and pin point where it was the strongest when I caught the flash of a drop inside the engine bay.

Small drop like a slow very slow water faucet drip……………. The drip……….. drip hidden on the under side of the pully area of the water pump. Took it over to a mechanic friends and he needed a mirror to see where it was dripping from…..

Hope that helps anyone and where to take a look. He replaced the water pump and no more smells…..or slow slow drip.

116,000 miles that’s it I’m shocked
 
jv56 said:
Hey guys.

I had a 4th gen ram for years with basically no issues. I got a 2021 1500 limited about a month ago and it constantly smelled of coolant from the front end. No smell inside so I’m sure it’s not the heater core leaking. I figured it’s a pinhole in the radiator because my coolant stayed level. No leaks. Nothing. Then I figured a pinhole would still probably leak when it’s cold. I went to the dealer purchased a new rad cap. No smell for 2 days. 3 rd day smells came back. I looked for the a new cap but nothing was comparable. I didn’t believe this.

Fix.
I went to auto zone. They looked up the truck and said no sorry we have no cap for the truck. I asked for a universal duralast with the red release on it. They only one they had was 18lb. I took it. Next morning I put it on it while the engine was cold. The engine temps are cooler now. Guess what!! The truck doesn’t smell anymore. I guess those cheap rad caps the dealer has are mostly failing. I went ahead and got a 16lb one but haven’t switched it yet. I’m back in love with the truck. No more smell when opening my window. No more smell when walking by. No more smell when sniffing my grill lol.

duralast 7718 is the 18lb. Cap
Duralast 7816 is the 16lb cap.
I’m still on the 18lb cap. One week in and still haven’t smelled a thing.
Hope this helps people out.

oh. I also used 2 zip ties marine grade that are curved to squeeze better. I zip tied the tube under the rap cap that goes to overflow. I did both at the same time. I’m not touching anything. Experiment over.
Click to expand...
Is it still fixed, I ask cause the dealer has had my dash out twice putting heater cores in.
 
jv56 said:
Hey guys.

I had a 4th gen ram for years with basically no issues. I got a 2021 1500 limited about a month ago and it constantly smelled of coolant from the front end. No smell inside so I’m sure it’s not the heater core leaking. I figured it’s a pinhole in the radiator because my coolant stayed level. No leaks. Nothing. Then I figured a pinhole would still probably leak when it’s cold. I went to the dealer purchased a new rad cap. No smell for 2 days. 3 rd day smells came back. I looked for the a new cap but nothing was comparable. I didn’t believe this.

Fix.
I went to auto zone. They looked up the truck and said no sorry we have no cap for the truck. I asked for a universal duralast with the red release on it. They only one they had was 18lb. I took it. Next morning I put it on it while the engine was cold. The engine temps are cooler now. Guess what!! The truck doesn’t smell anymore. I guess those cheap rad caps the dealer has are mostly failing. I went ahead and got a 16lb one but haven’t switched it yet. I’m back in love with the truck. No more smell when opening my window. No more smell when walking by. No more smell when sniffing my grill lol.

duralast 7718 is the 18lb. Cap
Duralast 7816 is the 16lb cap.
I’m still on the 18lb cap. One week in and still haven’t smelled a thing.
Hope this helps people out.

oh. I also used 2 zip ties marine grade that are curved to squeeze better. I zip tied the tube under the rap cap that goes to overflow. I did both at the same time. I’m not touching anything. Experiment over.
Click to expand...
Hey man thank you for this thread I'm kind of new to The forum but I have 19 ram 1st year 5th gen and i absolutely love her! I own a mobile tech biz here in new orleans and ive been a mechanic for 25 years, and my ram just started doing the same thing so I'm going to go get that cap and give it a whirl! I kinda had a fealing the cap might be an issue just from experience
 
jv56 said:
Hey guys.

I had a 4th gen ram for years with basically no issues. I got a 2021 1500 limited about a month ago and it constantly smelled of coolant from the front end. No smell inside so I’m sure it’s not the heater core leaking. I figured it’s a pinhole in the radiator because my coolant stayed level. No leaks. Nothing. Then I figured a pinhole would still probably leak when it’s cold. I went to the dealer purchased a new rad cap. No smell for 2 days. 3 rd day smells came back. I looked for the a new cap but nothing was comparable. I didn’t believe this.

Fix.
I went to auto zone. They looked up the truck and said no sorry we have no cap for the truck. I asked for a universal duralast with the red release on it. They only one they had was 18lb. I took it. Next morning I put it on it while the engine was cold. The engine temps are cooler now. Guess what!! The truck doesn’t smell anymore. I guess those cheap rad caps the dealer has are mostly failing. I went ahead and got a 16lb one but haven’t switched it yet. I’m back in love with the truck. No more smell when opening my window. No more smell when walking by. No more smell when sniffing my grill lol.

duralast 7718 is the 18lb. Cap
Duralast 7816 is the 16lb cap.
I’m still on the 18lb cap. One week in and still haven’t smelled a thing.
Hope this helps people out.

oh. I also used 2 zip ties marine grade that are curved to squeeze better. I zip tied the tube under the rap cap that goes to overflow. I did both at the same time. I’m not touching anything. Experiment over.
Click to expand...
That over flow tank can spill some out of that plastic yellow cappy fit.
 
CRAIG4FSU said:
The smell is definitely worse for me when using the heater.
Click to expand...

I would check for leaks on the interior floor, specifically the front edge of both the front seats.

The heater core is something to keep an eye out for in the RAM. Should mine eventually leak out of warranty, I'm just going to disconnect the system, similar to the A/C mod but making it permanent.
 
Rick3478 said:
So I have to take issue. Not with you, but with the terminology and misunderstandings it might lead to. This is *NOT* an overflow reservoir, it is an *EXPANSION* reservoir or bottle. The difference is significant why? Because if you think it's just to catch "overflow", you might think it should be empty under normal circumstances. That is not the case. It's there for engine coolant to expand into when it gets hot, and so that same coolant can be sucked back into the engine as it cools. It's normal operating level is somewhere in the neighborhood of 1/3 to 2/3 full, depending on engine temperature.

What does this have to do with the thread? Well, maybe if the OVERFLOW reservoir is empty, the hot coolant (above 212F) expanding out of the warming-up engine will come into contact with very little to cool it off, and may just evaporate and smell. :( But if the EXPANSION reservoir already contains a good amount of fluid near ambient temperature, then hot coolant expanding into it will immediately come into contact with cooler fluid and probably be prevented from evaporating, and the smell will be minimized. :)

Not saying this is everyone's answer, but do you see how the differences in concept might lead some users to cause their own problems by filling to the wrong level? The fact that nearly everyone keeps using the term "overflow" makes me wonder, and led me to post this. :unsure:

My $.02. Hope it helps.
Click to expand...
Yep..i found that to be true on wifes jeep wrangler...awful smelly til i increased the level in the expansion tank..much less smelly now.
 
SD Rebel said:
I would check for leaks on the interior floor, specifically the front edge of both the front seats.

The heater core is something to keep an eye out for in the RAM. Should mine eventually leak out of warranty, I'm just going to disconnect the system, similar to the A/C mod but making it permanent.
Click to expand...
Only out front of the truck. The cab is fine.
 
fishslayer said:
Yep..i found that to be true on wifes jeep wrangler...awful smelly til i increased the level in the expansion tank..much less smelly now.
Click to expand...
I just bought some Mopar pre-mix and topped mine off. It’s always been near the lower limit so interested to see if this makes any difference. Mine has smelled for quite some time. Never really thought about that being the cause but sounds reasonable.
 
i'm going to jump in, NEVER use bars leak. 80k mi and last week i also noticed the "smell" in the area of the cap and i sorta freaked out. my coolant was a gallon low and the overflow was empty with grit sludge on the overflow tank dip stick.
i admit i have not checked the coolant level in the past 15k mi. so i flushed it and did what i am calling a rad service.
i drove to Atlanta and back over 600mi and still the same slight smell but no loss of coolant. i never noticed the smell before but i think it's normal.
the process.....
blue devil Part#00204
prestone max Part # AF6900 burped out the air and added coolant leak detector dye. if it's leaking the dye will show under UV light
the tanks have a o-ring for lack of a better word that is between the plastic tank and the aluminum core where it crimps together that is a weak point for leaks it's possible it leaks enough to smell and evap off but not drip. if you have a 4th gen ya can get a nice welded aluminum tank rad but not for a 5th gen.
 
Last edited:
1791 said:
i'm going to jump in, NEVER use bars leak. 80k mi and last week i also noticed the "smell" in the area of the cap and i sorta freaked out. my coolant was a gallon low and the overflow was empty with grit sludge on the overflow tank dip stick.
i admit i have not checked the coolant level in the past 15k mi. so i flushed it and did what i am calling a rad service.
i drove to Atlanta and back over 600mi and still the same slight smell but no loss of coolant. i never noticed the smell before but i think it's normal.
the process.....
blue devil Part#00204
prestone max Part # AF6900 burped out the air and added coolant leak detector dye. if it's leaking the dye will show under UV light
the tanks have a o-ring for lack of a better word that is between the plastic tank and the aluminum core where it crimps together that is a weak point for leaks it's possible it leaks enough to smell and evap off but not drip. if you have a 4th gen ya can get a nice welded aluminum tank rad but not for a 5th gen.
Click to expand...
My truck has had coolant smell on a hot engine since the day I brought it home from dealer. I have had to top off my reservoir once. No weird sludge or build up on dip stick. Pull it out and looks just like the day I bought the truck. But still get the smell. Haven't had to add any coolant for over a year .
 
Dewey said:
I just bought some Mopar pre-mix and topped mine off. It’s always been near the lower limit so interested to see if this makes any difference. Mine has smelled for quite some time. Never really thought about that being the cause but sounds reasonable.
Click to expand...
You topped off the overflow? Did the color match? I’ve read so many different things about the color of existing and new.

My ‘21 has orangish coolant.
 
Last edited:
CRAIG4FSU said:
You topped off the overflow? Did the color match? I’ve read so many different things about the color of existing and new.

My ‘21 has orangish coolant.
Click to expand...
Looked close enough for me. Said RAM right on the jug.

IMG_2436.jpeg
 
HSKR R/T said:
It's actually pink. Starts to look orange after use.
Click to expand...
i mis the old day's of everything green. when i did the "flush" i flushed it 3 times with distilled water to get every drop out, it was crystal clear then the coolant i used was purple, prestone claim's 10 year 350k on it.....for 2000 and up mopar
look's like this stuff in the overflow
 
Dewey said:
Looked close enough for me. Said RAM right on the jug.

View attachment 208570
Click to expand...

The color is confusing because it visually looks like one color when viewing on the dipstick and radiator, then when you put it on a paper towel it's clearly another. I think it looks orange but actually purple, or vice versa. Either way, that's the right coolant, it's pretty much all they carry at the dealership.
 
Dewey said:
I just bought some Mopar pre-mix and topped mine off. It’s always been near the lower limit so interested to see if this makes any difference. Mine has smelled for quite some time. Never really thought about that being the cause but sounds reasonable.
Click to expand...
How high up on the dipstick is it now? Did it fix the smell?
 
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