New to me 535i, bit of a coolant smell in the cabin...

[paanta]

This is my first post here, though I've lurked for a while.

I just picked up a clean '91 535iM w/ 220K on the clock, from joshuagore on here. The car seems SOLID and almost everything is functioning great.

There is a coolant smell in the car, especially for a few seconds after it's turned on. However, it doesn't have any of the other warning signs...carpets are dry, heat is fine and the windshield isn't fogging up. The driver's side window fogs up a bit, but that may just be because it's damn cold here in Michigan and the interior has a bit of slushy snow in it right now.

Josh said he popped the cap on the reservoir recently and had coolant spray out and that's when the smell started. I have no reason whatsoever to doubt what he says....

...but lets just say in a worst case where I do need to replace the core, do I need to pull the _entire_ dash, or just the center console and glove box? I've seen conflicting howto guides and would like to know how much pain I could be in for.

P.S. My Bentley is already in the mail...

[Kibokojoe]

Could be heater core, doesn't take much coolant to make a smell. If you core drains are working you will not have a wet carpet. If you have coolant in and around the fire wall you will smell it for a while. To pull the core you will need to pull the glovebox, center console and the panel under the steering wheel.

[bmwrp8]

Could be heater core, doesn't take much coolant to make a smell. If you core drains are working you will not have a wet carpet. If you have coolant in and around the fire wall you will smell it for a while. To pull the core you will need to pull the glovebox, center console and the panel under the steering wheel.

aside from the heater core could it be a leaky reservoir ? since its near the firewall?'

[paanta]

Since I just got the car, I'll keep an eye on it for a while and see. As long as people have had a coolant smell caused by a spill or leak from the reservoir stick around for a while, I won't worry too much about it. I didn't know if it was a "if you smell coolant, it's most likely the core" sort of situation.

Thanks!

[Ross]

Since I just got the car, I'll keep an eye on it for a while and see. As long as people have had a coolant smell caused by a spill or leak from the reservoir stick around for a while, I won't worry too much about it. I didn't know if it was a "if you smell coolant, it's most likely the core" sort of situation.

Thanks!

It could be the mentioned spill. Rinse off the area around the resevoir then.
A lot of E34s/E34s have that faint coolant aroma that dissipates after a while, or we get used to it. The o-rings on a connection to the core sometimes weep a little which I suspect is usually the cause. I've had 'em for years like that and it never got any worse if that is any encouragement.
The heater core is no fun to change so for my labor it'll have to be a full fledged leaker to change one.