Mystery antifreeze smell solved!

[Joizee camper]

Since buying my 2014 RAM 2500 a couple of years ago I've always had the smell of antifreeze at the front of the truck. I have crawled all over that 6.4L looking for the leak. It never leaves a puddle on the ground or in the engine compartment anywhere. There's no white residue indicative of a coolant leak. I gave up after I noticed my coolant wasn't really going anywhere, the level stayed constant. Now I have finally noticed a bit of a loss in coolant so back under the hood. I found it!! It's difficult to see but the shaft of the water pump has a super small leak that only presents itself while the pump shaft is turning. I found white residue building up just under the snout of the water pump on the passenger side. It's hard to spot because the aluminum brackets oxidize as a white power and when coolant dries, it dries as a white powder. There just happens to be a bit more white powder down there than there should be. No more warranty so I'll have a shop replace the pump once it's convenient to do so. Once it's done I'll report back to make sure that was it. (pretty sure though). I have about 48,000 on the truck.

 

[thomas5853]

Since buying my 2014 RAM 2500 a couple of years ago I've always had the smell of antifreeze at the front of the truck. I have crawled all over that 6.4L looking for the leak. It never leaves a puddle on the ground or in the engine compartment anywhere. There's no white residue indicative of a coolant leak. I gave up after I noticed my coolant wasn't really going anywhere, the level stayed constant. Now I have finally noticed a bit of a loss in coolant so back under the hood. I found it!! It's difficult to see but the shaft of the water pump has a super small leak that only presents itself while the pump shaft is turning. I found white residue building up just under the snout of the water pump on the passenger side. It's hard to spot because the aluminum brackets oxidize as a white power and when coolant dries, it dries as a white powder. There just happens to be a bit more white powder down there than there should be. No more warranty so I'll have a shop replace the pump once it's convenient to do so. Once it's done I'll report back to make sure that was it. (pretty sure though). I have about 48,000 on the truck.

Oh wow, i get the antifreeze smell not all the time. Hopefully replacing it solves the problem. I have a 2018, but with 64000 miles. Did a coolant flush at 60000.

Sent from my SM-N975U using Tapatalk

 

[El Huapo]

Just an FYI for what it's worth---I too had an antifreeze smell in my old 2001 Dodge. I searched for puddles, leaks, etc. several times over a long period and never found anything. I finally got the smell strong under the dash, passenger side. When I pulled the heater core (nasty job), I found just the smallest amount of coolant coating one side of the core. No smells after replacing. Glad it didn't cut loose while a long way from home.

 

[kad]

I had the water pump on my '14 5.7 go about a month ago, it was spraying coolant from around the pump shaft. Like you, I had also noticed a slight coolant smell for some time, but I didn't find it until it got serious!

-K

 

[mtofell]

I've had a faint occasional smell on my 6.4 Hemi since new 6+ years ago. It's gone around this board many times and a lot of others get it as well. All with no noticeable fluid loss. That's great you found a leak but don't be too alarmed if you still get a whiff now and then even after the fix.

 

[GsRAM]

I've had a faint occasional smell on my 6.4 Hemi since new 6+ years ago. It's gone around this board many times and a lot of others get it as well. All with no noticeable fluid loss. That's great you found a leak but don't be too alarmed if you still get a whiff now and then even after the fix.

Yep, this. I just had my 2017 at the dealer this month and I asked about my coolant smell.

I do not see any coolant loss or anything on the ground. I noticed the smell was the most noticeable on hot days at the upper right corner of the grille

The dealer pressure tested the cooling system and found no leaks. What I was told was the coolant overflow tank is vented and the hose for the tank runs by the grille up front and that's why I smell the coolant there.

I know I'm not burning it, and no leaks anywhere I can find. I've got 13,800 miles on it. So I'm not going to worry about it any longer unless i start seeing the level in the tank drop.

 

[Joizee camper]

That's great you found a leak but don't be too alarmed if you still get a whiff now and then even after the fix.

GRRR... If I still smell antifreeze after this water pump I'm going to be very disappointed. They have a lot of balls charging as much money as they do for these trucks and let them go through QA with this kind of crap. You're right, this complaint has been all over the forums for awhile. I've heard they had a bad manufacturing process for these water pumps, some say they still produce that crappy water pump.. Between this and the 6 speed auto, I don't know. Might be time to look elsewhere for a HD truck. It's really a shame because I like the truck but if I can't trust it in the long run. I'm making a $37,000 bet that wont pay off in longevity, which is the biggest reason I bought this truck to begin with. I wanted a truck that would mimic the longevity and performance of the 2008 RAM2500 I had for work. That baby went 230,000+ before the company got rid of it. What a truck that was. It went through two fuel pumps, two sets of plugs, two batteries and one transfer case because the company refused to service it. top notch truck. ok, done *******. I'll have to see how I make out with the pump. Cheers.

 

[BLUEDERANGO]

I am not sure about the 6.4 but the earlier 5.7s (14&15) had a an issue with the water pumps and they were failing quite early. The service writer at my dealership said that they we manufactured without the standard "weep" hole in the snout and this was causing overheating of the seal and internal pressure build up. They replaced mine under warranty, no problem since.

 

[pcschwenke]

I spoke to our dealer about the antifreeze smell right after purchasing. They pressure tested the system just to make sure. Our Jeep we had with the 3.6l had the exact same issue. We were told that FCA uses hoses which are somewhat porous, which is why you get a whiff of antifreeze once in a while. My coolant goes down slightly, but not much. My truck is now 4 years old and still has this smell. I don’t worry about it any more.

 

[pjcodner]

My 2015 has had this smell since day one off the lot. I got 14k on it now and it still does it. I now walk behind the truck instead of in front of the truck and the smell is gone....

 

[Ribtipram]

My 2015 has had this smell since day one off the lot. I got 14k on it now and it still does it. I now walk behind the truck instead of in front of the truck and the smell is gone....

Im gonna try that. Same here i have 73k on my 2016 2500 same smell always been there. Never low and was pressure tested also. I'll get worried when i dont smell it and i will check the level

 

[Bob Macknight]

I to had the coolant smell and concluded it was the hose coming from the radiator that goes to the overflo tank.If you look at that hose about eight inches from the radiator there is a valve that looks like it is assembled in halves i dont know what its purpose is but i did find coolant was ever so slightly oozing out on that seam.So i wrapped it with electric tape to seal it only cause you cant buy just that part you have to buy the whole hose assembly,it seems that that did the trick as i dont get that smell any more

 

[reek]

I to had the coolant smell and concluded it was the hose coming from the radiator that goes to the overflo tank.If you look at that hose about eight inches from the radiator there is a valve that looks like it is assembled in halves i dont know what its purpose is but i did find coolant was ever so slightly oozing out on that seam.So i wrapped it with electric tape to seal it only cause you cant buy just that part you have to buy the whole hose assembly,it seems that that did the trick as i dont get that smell any more

I was changing pads and bleeding my brakes this weekend. when I had the passenger front tire off, out of the corner of my eye I saw a drop of fluid drip on to the side of the frame rail. I thought my one way bleeder valve was faulty. I smelled the fluid it was coolant. the drip was just below the hose to the overflow tank. I'm guessing this hose you pointed out is the source of my coolant odor as well.