smell???

[jx2mad]

Drove down the south coast from Sydney last Friday and returned Sunday late afternoon. The 300tdi ran well however with the outside air temp. around 42 degrees the motor ran a lot hotter than normal. The temp gauge went up to within about 1/4 inch below the red line and stopped there. I nursed the motor carefully and the temp dropped to just above normal (1/2 way up scale). My question is I now have a slight overheated water smell. Not bad but just noticeable. The coolant level is normal, the oil level is normal, the motor runs fine showing normal temp but the smell is just noticeable. There is no evidence of coolant overflow in engine bay. I certainly have not cooked the motor as it is running fine. Any suggestions as to source of smell or should I run the pressure washer over the motor to fully clean it? Jim

[flagg]

I'm not sure what you mean by 'overheated water smell'.. like steam? Do you mean the sweet smell of coolant?

Are there any green splash marks in the engine bay?

[Bearman]

Quite possible a hose connection (heater radiator,overflow etc) has leaked when it got hot and lost a little water. You may get a slight coolant additive smell when this happens. I would check all hose connection. I would also look along the block where the head joins to make sure there are no coolant leaks there. This could indicate gasket failure or head warpage from when it got hot - hopefully not......Brian