Pressure testing radiator

liberty2701 · Feb 19, 2015

It is still at 10psi after 24 hrs.

skyhook · Feb 19, 2015

Sounds ok to me.

liberty2701 · Feb 19, 2015

That's what I think. I see no leak. I guess I will wait on the cap and see what happens.

liberty2701 · Mar 11, 2015

I had to order the cap from the dealer yesterday and while I was there I spoke to the service manager. I told him the story about the smell and he said that he hears this a lot. I explained that I will try a new cap on my dime and what do I do if I still smell it. He stated that he is going to pressure test like I did, find nothing and give me a bill for the time. Even though it is under warranty I asked? He said yes. If we cannot find find anything you get a bill. Pretty bad considering he said that he hears this a lot about the smell of antifreeze. I wonder if Kioti is aware of the smell?

murphy1244 · Mar 11, 2015

Eric had a leak in between the layers of the hose itself on his NX 6010 may want to check out his thread. Post this thread in the Kioti section, he might find it.

SIMassey · Mar 11, 2015

liberty2701 said:
That's what I think. I see no leak. I guess I will wait on the cap and see what happens.

Just thinking, you have an overflow tank that contains fluid from the cooling system.

When the engine is hot, the coolant expands. The radiator cap allows pressure to build to its designed pressure level, it then opens reducing the pressure in the cooling system to below the caps pressure level. This prevents the radiator from exploding from excessive pressure. Thus allowing fluid to pass to the overflow tank.

There is air in the overflow tank, that air is displaced from the tank by the hot coolant that has vented from the radiator. The overflow tank is vented to air. It is not sealed to allow the expanded coolant to flow into it and when the engine cools, the coolant contracts pulling coolant from the overflow tank back into the radiator.

So, the odor you are smelling is probably the air being displaced from the overflow tank. As long as there is no leaks and the fluid level in the overflow tank remains the same level when the engine is cold, I don't see a problem.