rotten egg smell coming from my van!!

[ermie571]

Ha! The needle is possibly tucked away to the left behind the plastic. It should appear when the engine is running....if it doesn't you need to find out why....


Em
x

(ps - I have the same dash and you can't see my needle when the van is cold)

[CovKid]

Yep, in fact you might try bleeding the system using plain water initially to check that there are no air locks in the system, and crucially no leaks. Oncve you've got the temp guage sussed, you can drain the lot, flush through with a hose (if you have access to one) to remove that smelly stuff and then replensish with coolant and water. Coolant generally best price from Euro Car Parts if you buy the 5 litre cans. Get the pink stuff. Normally with the engine revving and vehicle not guing anywhere, temperature should climb fairly quickly.

Also try the search function and look for 'temperature guage not working' and see if you can nail the cause that way. Lots of useful posts if you hunt around. Very important to have your cooling system in really good order and certainly with the right mix as soon as possible.

One way to ensure you have the right strength mix (particularly if you're not sure you've fully drained it all) is to just add the 8 litres of coolant, then keep topping up with water and bleeding until the system is full and free of airlocks - that way it has to be 50/50. It'll all mix anyway eventually. Perhaps not the ideal way to do it, but it does work

If you get really stuck you could always shout for help and see if theres an 80 90 member close by.

[crookedmouth123]

Yep, in fact you might try bleeding the system using plain water initially to check that there are no air locks in the system, and crucially no leaks. Oncve you've got the temp guage sussed, you can drain the lot, flush through with a hose (if you have access to one) to remove that smelly stuff and then replensish with coolant and water. Coolant generally best price from Euro Car Parts if you buy the 5 litre cans. Get the pink stuff. Normally with the engine revving and vehicle not guing anywhere, temperature should climb fairly quickly.

Also try the search function and look for 'temperature guage not working' and see if you can nail the cause that way. Lots of useful posts if you hunt around. Very important to have your cooling system in really good order and certainly with the right mix as soon as possible.

One way to ensure you have the right strength mix (particularly if you're not sure you've fully drained it all) is to just add the 8 litres of coolant, then keep topping up with water and bleeding until the system is full and free of airlocks - that way it has to be 50/50. It'll all mix anyway eventually. Perhaps not the ideal way to do it, but it does work

If you get really stuck you could always shout for help and see if theres an 80 90 member close by.

Okay so this morning I drove my van to work, and strangely enough no egg smell... just the usual dog/canal water smell from the inside.
how strange!...

would I need to get the temp gauge sorted before I start with bleeding?

I feel a little out of my depth here, this rotten egg smell seems to have opened a can of worms...
I have a lot to do to the van, so apologies and big thank yous to everyone thats helped me so far, you'll probably be seeing alot of my posts in the next coming days and weeks.

I am looking for very clear instructions on the bleeding process but cant seem to find any, the ones posted before were not so clear to me.. either that or im just stupid.

[CovKid]

Start as you mean to go on, and update your profile so we at least have some idea of your geographical location and engine type. We all do this to avoid having to fish for answers everytime and so we can source local assistance if required. Beyond that, we can talk you through the rest.

[crookedmouth123]

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

This weekend a friend of mine who has a background in mechanics and engineerring isbhrlping me with the van.
He disagrees that the tank should be full to the brim.

Can someone clarify????

Ta

[R0B]

Mate your mechanic friend does not know what he is talking about. It should be full to the brim.

[crookedmouth123]

Gah... who to believe?! Any reason why it should be full to the brim?

[Oldiebut goodie]

Because it will not work correctly if not! That is the way that VW designed it to work.
I would believe what you have been told here rather than someone who obviously doesn't know these vans.

[crookedmouth123]

No I agree.. to the brim it is then. Are there other vehicles (not vw) where it's not full to the brim??

[R0B]

Take your mates advice fella.Its your van.

[crookedmouth123]

He's helping me for free... don't want insult his Intelligence if you know what I mean

[Oldiebut goodie]

No I agree.. to the brim it is then. Are there other vehicles (not vw) where it's not full to the brim??

I shouldn't think so but then what other vehicles use a two tank system?

[what2do]

Rather than get into a debate about who's right or not (the forum is specifically for t25's - with some people having worked on them more than many regular garage mechanics - who do you think is the more trustworthy? Remember, people on here aren't charging a fee but they do value their reputation).

Firstly, don't be thinking that you've got problems with your van because it needs a coolant change (problems will arise the longer you own the van ), this is called maintenance my friend and we've all got to do it! Read the Baxter instructions over and over, they may seem daunting but once you've begun tackling the job, you'll see that it's quite straight forward really. Persevere, you'll seen have an additional feather in your cap which will give you the confidence to tackle the next situation that arises.

Mitch.

[DavidPallister]

Just to clarify a few things about the cooling system for the original poster

There are 2 coolant tanks on these vans, the pressurized header tank (the roundish one) and the non-pressurized top up tank (behind the number plate flap).

Due to the fact that the coolant system runs down under the floor of the van and up to the radiator up front with no bleeder pipe back to the header tank (as you would normally have with the rad right in front of the engine on a FWD car), this creates a natural high point at the top of the rad, where any air will naturally collect, preventing the cooling system from working properly.

Therefore, the cooling system MUST be totally water tight, and totally full of water, no air whatsoever! I.E. the round header tank should be full as you have it.

The header tank will vent any excess coolant into the top up tank as the pressure rises past a certain point as it gets hot, and then draws it back in again as the pressure drops as it cools.

Hope this helps to persuade your mechanic friend that the header tank MUST be full

Dave

[crookedmouth123]

[quote="DavidPallister"]Just to clarify a few things about the cooling system for the original poster

There are 2 coolant tanks on these vans, the pressurized header tank (the roundish one) and the non-pressurized top up tank (behind the number plate flap).

Due to the fact that the coolant system runs down under the floor of the van and up to the radiator up front with no bleeder pipe back to the header tank (as you would normally have with the rad right in front of the engine on a FWD car), this creates a natural high point at the top of the rad, where any air will naturally collect, preventing the cooling system from working properly.

Therefore, the cooling system MUST be totally water tight, and totally full of water, no air whatsoever! I.E. the round header tank should be full as you have it.

The header tank will vent any excess coolant into the top up tank as the pressure rises past a certain point as it gets hot, and then draws it back in again as the pressure drops as it cools.

Hope this helps to persuade your mechanic friend that the header tank MUST be full

Dave[/quote

Thanks a lot mate that is really helpful.

Sorry if anyone got the wrong endow the stick of course I trust the info I get on here.
Thanks everyone for all the help so far!