rotten egg smell coming from my van!!

[R0B]

Rotten eggs in the fridge

[chriscburgess]

I had a rotten egg smell for ages and thought it was the battery. Turned out to be the waste water tank for the sink needed a good flush. Whilst it was empty the smell was coming up through the plug hole.

I took a hose to the drain plug on the tank and gave it a good flush and threw some bleach down the plug hole. Do this once a year now and no more rotten eggs.........

[crookedmouth123]

your txt gibber is my usual typing or so im told , may have only been half a halfwit but.............tdi now ? well maybe ,could you take a picky of the engine bay and post it up or a link to it if not
mm

http://s3.postimg.org/d0s7h6g8z/20140715_154701.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://s27.postimg.org/9lgzndcab/20140715_154725.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Pic of my engine... also does that look a little bit too full up?

[R0B]

No.That's how it should be.Full to the brim.

[crookedmouth123]

oh ok that's a relief! ... Still not sure what this eggy stench is!!!! :/

[CovKid]

Has anyone spotted the obvious here?? What kind of coolant is that? Plain water will stink too after a while.

[crookedmouth123]

Not obvious to me! Haven't had the van long when I got it I topped up the tank behind license plate with water. Should I put coolant in there? What shall I do now? Drain it? Help a noob out I feel like a right donut!!
Do you think that's where the smell is coming from?


Thanks for allbyour input so far guys

[R0B]

I would do a coolant change if I were you.This is worth reading...http://www.brick-yard.co.uk/forum/bleed ... 29710.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[clift_d]

Are you sure that there isn't an old leisure battery tucked away somewhere, for example under either of the front seats? It's just that your issue sounds exactly like what we had earlier this year when our leisure battery died.

[Plasticman]

Ta for picks you have a td fitted not a tdi,
Makes a world of difference to getting help,lol
mm

[CovKid]

If the water still looks that colour after its been for a run, you urgently need to get some coolant in your system as you're not protected against corrosion. See WIKI for info but you want long-life stuff (5-year) and a 50/50 mix - 8 litres coolant, 8 litres water (VW specify distilled).

I would think the reason you came up with cat convertor as the cause is because many online diagnosis charts point to that but you don't have one, plus all vehicles have coolant added which should stabilise the water and help prevent corrosion to head studs (a weakness on these - hence the strong mix). A diagnosis chart would not even flag up old water in cooling system as the cause as normally that doesn't happen.

What you've got there (by look of it) is stagnant water. It could be that previous owner did some work on cooling system and never got around to replacing coolant, it leaks and he always topped up with water, or he just couldn't be bothered - no idea. You need to get on top of it though. Mine is a strong pink colour, some use the blue stuff, but green.....

[AdrianC]

If the water still looks that colour after its been for a run, you urgently need to get some coolant in your system as you're not protected against corrosion.

If it's neat water over winter, there's also a high risk of it freezing and punching a hole somewhere expensive.

[crookedmouth123]

Thanks so much for the information. I will get started with that this weekend.
One issue I have though when bleeding the coolant is I deny seem to have a temperature gauge on the dash. It's there but there is no arm pointing at Anything. How important is it when following the instructions posted here?

[crookedmouth123]

I would do a coolant change if I were you.This is worth reading...http://www.brick-yard.co.uk/forum/bleed ... 29710.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I'm referring to these instructions.

They are pretty comprehensive but has anyone got any with pics by any chance?

[crookedmouth123]

http://s29.postimg.org/aopzr6a9j/20140716_083648.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;