well the car is going into skoda for some major work to fix what the cowboys did on the cambelt! (they replaced 1 instead of 2 and threw it out of timing!) also geting fan switch repaced but i can smell fumes in the coolant can anyone help me diagnose this? (i doo need a new exhause soon as cat is cracked but with £1000 worth of repairs i cant afford it right now!

piston ring failure?

Exhaust fumes getting into the coolant is normally a sign of a cracked head/head gasket problem I'd have thought. Get the cylinders and coolant pressure tested. If simply a head gasket then might not be too bad, just hope it isn't piston rings or a cracked head.