jasone36

Hello,

I have a 2002 SC430 with 130K+ miles. I have recently noticed that after some spirited driving the front of my car smells strange. I can even smell it outside of the car in the front where the radiator is. The smell is coming from the engine and through the front grill.

If I set my climate control to pull air in from the outside then the smell will get pulled into the cabin.

I checked to see if the exhaust evap hose got disconnected but it has not (can also cause smell around the car). The check engine light is not on and the temperature gauge appears normal. I've noticed my windows seems to fog up easily too now (I run the heater all the time since it's winter here), perhaps some antifreeze is getting into the climate control system? I'm hoping it's not my heater core starting to go, since that's an expensive repair.

Perhaps this could be a sign that the radiator is leaking? I got the car used and believe I have the original radiator in there.

Any thoughts are appreciated.

mrblister

Sounds exactly like a radiator leak. The bottom tank and top tank of the radiator is made of plastic. I have a 2005 I bought new that i really dont abuse drive at all and mine cracked. Dealer said it must of been a pot hole. It started to leak in 2006. Fixed under warranty.

jasone36

mrblister, thanks for the reply. Can you please describe what symptoms you experienced? Did you experience the smell inside the car and outside too? Did you find that your windows would fog up easily when the heat was on?

I found your post on this topic from 2008 https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sc-...ti-freeze.html

Any additional info you could share would be much appreciated.

mrblister

I smelled the antifreeze under the hood. I also smelled it in the car. Dont remember if fog on windshield. I took car right in to dealer and you could see antifreeze stains on the underbelly pan. If yours is fogging and smelling it could be a heater core. Dealer will have no problem diagnosing . You should pray that its not the heater core.

jasone36

thanks mrblister, I will have my local mechanic take a look at this very shortly.

For a point of comparison, the Lexus dealer wants $647 for the parts and $403 for the labor to replace the radiator. Of course, Sewell has the part for much less if factoring in the Club Lexus discount/

jasone36

Update: I took it to my independent mechanic and he found a slight oil leak, he indicated that the top valve cover gasket would need to be replaced first and then see if any other gaskets need to be replaced.

I'm just happy it's not the heater core! Has anyone dealt with a leaking valve cover gasket?

mrblister

Sometimes just tighting up the valve cover can stop a leak. However based on the age of the car and the milage you may need to replace the valve gaskets

jasone36

Thanks for the input, mrblister. My independent mechanic did the work for $250 parts and labor. Now I'll have to see if the leak comes back.

Figured with my high mileage might as well replace the part.