Still smelling coolant!
Usually on cold mornings, start it up and when I open the door 5 seconds later, the smell seems to come from under the car.
No more smell after a few more seconds.
Heater hoses bypassed, new water pump & radiator..
I'm starting to think it's an external headgasket leak..?
Smell goes away quickly so I'm wondering if I'll even see any traces..
Pressure tester sounds like the best bet since I can check it cold.. (as was recommended many posts ago!)
Any other suggestions? Best way to look under the manifolds/back of head?
Drove about 200 miles yesterday, no coolant loss. Definitely smells of coolant most mornings though.
How long to do a headgasket?.. how about an AFM delete?
It's obviously a tiny leak. There's a chance that it only leaks when cold and quickly self-seals after expansion from operating heat. Your best chance to finding it is to look it over very carefully from all angles with a bright light when cold. Yes, the pressure tester could help. You should be glad that it shows when cold cuz it's so much more comfortable and safer poking around a cold engine bay.
A head gasket can be done in a day. The dry intake manifold and O-ring style seals of the LS engine make it a much cleaner and quicker job than the previous generations with standard gaskets, RTVs, etc. With the heads off, you're decently close to a full AFM delete. I'd say maybe halfway, labor-wise. It's such a teetering point to not doing the delete, doing the delete with the engine in the bay or pulling it to make the delete easier as well as a full re-seal.
If it were me, I'd go all the way for a one-and-done event. If now's not that time for you due to time and/or equipment, just stick to the head gasket. You'll just have to replace it again during the delete, but that one $30 gasket shouldn't dictate doing or not doing the delete. That's some dumb shit you leave to gluttonous morons such as yours truly.
