BURNING coolant smell

[KevinDarcy11]

Hello all!

My wife and I have converted a 2002 IC T444E Allison 2000 tran that we drove from VT to MT with no issues... We took her for a weekend roadtrip and all of the sudden got a burning coolant smell coming from the exterior & interior. I have NOT sprayed the radiator down and there are obviously a good amount of bugs from the trip. Looking for any advice... I've heard temp gauges are a big thing with IC but also thinking airflow restriction with the bugs? No white smoke on start so gaskets don't seem to be the issue. We are headed down to AZ in 2 weeks so any advice is greatly appreciated!

Best,

Kevin

[DawgBüs]

Check all the connections and hoses, inside and out. That's a nearly 20 year old bus. Good chance you have a small leak somewhere. Look for corrosion or dried coolant/calcium drip residue around the connections. Sometimes leaks will occur while cold but seal themselves when hot, or vice-versa

[Danjo]

+1 on what Dawg said.

Just be sure not to drive it overheated and if you do get it hot don’t put any liquid in it until it’s cold again.

Figure you probably know this, but the outcome is serious enough not to assume

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by KevinDarcy11

Hello all!

My wife and I have converted a 2002 IC T444E Allison 2000 tran that we drove from VT to MT with no issues... We took her for a weekend roadtrip and all of the sudden got a burning coolant smell coming from the exterior & interior. I have NOT sprayed the radiator down and there are obviously a good amount of bugs from the trip. Looking for any advice... I've heard temp gauges are a big thing with IC but also thinking airflow restriction with the bugs? No white smoke on start so gaskets don't seem to be the issue. We are headed down to AZ in 2 weeks so any advice is greatly appreciated!

Best,

Kevin

Are you getting steam coming out of the blowby tube?

[KevinDarcy11]

Originally Posted by EastCoastCB

Are you getting steam coming out of the blowby tube?

Greatttt.... are those hoses pricey to replace?

East coast, if you're talking about the tube under the bus by the oil pan, yes, it throws steam while the bus is running.

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by KevinDarcy11

Greatttt.... are those hoses pricey to replace?

East coast, if you're talking about the tube under the bus by the oil pan, yes, it throws steam while the bus is running.

That's not good. Its normal for a wee bit of blowby vapor/smoke to come out but if steam comes out that means coolant is getting into the crankcase somehow. Could be a head gasket or something. May need to pressure test it.

[joeblack5]

good call ECB..


Is your oil level higher then normal. are you loosing coolant?


Good luck,J

[cadillackid]

slow down a bit guys...



is it STEAM or SMOKE from the blow by tube?


highly unusual for a 444E to blow a head gasket unless its been grossly overheated..
unexplained coolant loss with no visible leaks CAN be injector cups..



some light smoke is normal from that tube...



if it is in fact coolant in there enough to be making real steam (and not normal blowby smoke)... then you will have a definite smell of burning coolant in that smoke stream..


you also would likely notice if you take your oil fill cap off that it looks milk-shakey on the underside.. indicating presence of moisture in the oil



now onto the coolant.. if the coolant is over-filled.. on these engines it has nowhere to go but to push out the cap when its hot and dribble on the ground or get picked up by the fan.. easily noticed by streams running down the fill bottle//


these busses have many heater connections. and any or all of them are somewhat prone to leaking... when im troubleshooting a leak I maje sure that the heater valves under the hood are turned completely off.. which eliminates the heater cores and hoses from the system as possible leakage points..



if you cant figure out where coolant is going.. obtain a coolant pressure test kit and when the bus is cold, pump up the pressure tester.. when everything is cold, there is a more likeliehood of finding an external leak as the coolant wont burn off.. it will remain liquid and can be seen as a trail or a drip..



-Christopher