Hi,
Did this just happen after you had the cooling system flushed or was that to fix this problem? The coolant level must be maintained at full in the radiator not just the recovery tank. The smells and poor running are probably because it's running hot but not making it run hot.
Thermostats can be the problem but more often not. In that this doesn't happen all the time it should be replaced and probably should have been when it was flushed. Even if all this is new it needs to be fully checked out.
You said you weren't too savy about this and that's fine but know this is potentially very damaging to the engine and should be taken care of right away. If you must add coolant yourself be sure to follow instructions on the anti-freeze you buy and best to keep the mixture at 50% water and 50% anti-freeze which make the mixture protected to -34 degrees Fahrenheit. Some come pre mixed which takes the guess work out of that and is a little more expensive that way but you don't want too much anti-freeze concentration nor too little.
I'm not very brand loyal about products but Prestone is selling anti-freeze that is clear and claims to be compatible will all coolants which are mostly ethylene/glycol based but there are different colors.
Note: There are less toxic products that are fine but stick with one or the other. Ethylene/glycol has been a standard for over 60 years and works well.
Don't wait on this,
T
Tom Greenleaf - MetroWest Boston - USA
http://www.acsource.com/ _________________________________________
http://www.autoacsystems.com/tomgreenleaf/
MAIN
SEARCH
WHO'S 
LOG 
