I recently purchased a new to me 04 Targa with approx 80k miles on it. During the pre purchase inspection the mechanic noted that he believed there was a small AC coolant leak near the right rear side of the vehicle. After I purchased the vehicle I took it to a different indy and he stated that he couldnt find any AC coolant leak. The AC blows hard and cold and I havent noticed anything on my garage floor.

Now I'm starting to notice an odd smell coming from my engine once its parked in my garage after a romp around the city. It sort of smells sweet like coolant but not really. I cant quite put my finger on it and like I said i havent seen any leaks or droplets on my floor. I recently removed my front bumper and cleaned the areas in and around the radiators and the AC condensers. The temperature of the vehicle is always steady even during driving in 90+ degree afternoons. Has anybody had an experience like this? I know its kind of hard to describe a smell over the internet........

 

it's the rubber bits melting on the mufflers


aka ' porsche perfume '

 

It is the Cosmoline! Look it up.. glorious porsche perfume!!

 

Still burning off after 14yrs and 80k miles?

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by 85eurocarrera

Still burning off after 14yrs and 80k miles?

When Indy was changing transmission fluid he said factory cosmoline was still present, apparently indicating that part of the car hadn't been touched since leaving Stuttgart.

From Wikipedia: Chemically, cosmoline is a homogeneous mixture of oily and waxy long-chain, non-polar hydrocarbons. It is always brown in color, but can differ in viscosity and shear strength. Cosmoline melts at 113–125 °F (45–52 °C) and has a flash point of 365 °F (185 °C). The most common use of Cosmoline is in the storage and preservation of some firearms, hand tools, machine tools and their tooling, and marine equipment. Entire vehicles can be preserved with cosmoline.

Our 17-yr-old 911 smells fantastic inside and out, maybe because full leather interior and cosmoline on engine?

 

When hot my car has a unique smell as well. However, keep an eye on your coolant level over time. How does your coolant tank look color wise. White or yellowed. These have a habit of slow leaks in the back that are hard to see and that doesn't always make it to the ground due to location above hot exhaust pieces. If tank is yellowed I would be suspicious of that. Maybe post a pic?

Oh and how posting a "scratch and sniff" here so we can take a more educated sniff?

 

I forgot to mention that I also recently removed the rear bumper to add a small hitch receiver for a bike rack. I'm sure during the re-installation I moved some of the heat shrouds around.

 

My 997 has a unique smell combination of cosmoline and debris that come of tires onto mufflers ,,,it normal Porsche perfume

 

Yep!

 

Thanks guys. Of course my first thought was the worst possible scenario, “Oh **** do I have an intermix issue”?

 

Intermix would not necessarily present as a funny smell, but as something much more nefarious!

 

Sounds like it _might_ be a coolant leak? I can't understand how this could be refrigerant - AC is still blowing cold, and refrigerant doesn't smell like coolant.

 

Yeah I think it’s the “Porsche Perfume” as numerous people stated. When I first noticed the smell I asked my pops and he didn’t think it smelled like coolant. He believed it was maybe some plastic or rubber melting maybe from my bumper reinstall. Thank goodness!

 

Fast.
Car.
Smell.

 

Even if it was coolant, it's not necessarily a big deal. The 996 can be adept at leaking coolant.

Kudos for actually driving your 911 hard enough to make it stink.