poacherinthezoo

Just got done typing a long descriptive post on this and then I got logged out when I submitted so I apologize if this pops up twice (and if I don't add enough details).

At 50k miles I decided to change the coolant in my 2009 R3. Ended up draining only the radiator (made a mistake and realized it too late), and refilling with FL-22 coolant (1.5 gallons total - not full system just the radiator). Dripped some coolant down the overflow tube of the coolant reservoir due to how the funnel was positioned during re-filling. Cleaned up what I could, but there was still some of the AC/radiator.

After starting the car up white smoke came out from the bottom drive's side of the engine at 150 degrees F (coolant temp). Shut it down, got a 2nd set of eyes/nose to help. He confirmed it "didn't smell like normal smoke" - and I couldn't be sure if it smelled sweet or not. Started it up again, this time no smoke till 180 degree F - then white smoke out of the same spot of the engine bay. All of this was with the car idling in the garage - not moving.

The only thing I can possibly think of to cause the smoke would be the coolant that was dripped is being blown by the fans and burning off on the hot engine. Thoughts on this? Things to check?


EDIT: Forgot to add while I was waiting for the coolant to cool down originally, I took that time to give the car a quick wash (and straightened out the oil cooler fins). Also, if I put the AC on to get the fans moving the air inside the cabin smells odd - kinda sweet but hard to tell since this is the first time I've turned the AC on since last summer.

Also, when putting the radiator cap back on I noticed it was disconcertingly wiggly. On closer inspection I noticed that plastic "stops" on the tank had large "dents" from where the edges of the cap had been sitting previously. From what I can tell there is no pressure leaking (as it appears to seal, and my brother's brand new mazda 3's radiator cap has a bit of wiggle to it as well, all be it less than mine While I WILL be replacing the coolant reservoir tank, an thoughts on if its safe to drive the car home/to work in the mean time?




ISSUE RESOLVED

After taking all of the plastic under tray bits off I was able to get a much clearer picture of the spread of the coolant - far more than I could see before taking the panels off. The car is parked till the new coolant reservoir tank arrives.