Still unexplained Coolant loss

Bulletsnbrains did pass the time by typing:

Cracked overflow hose or leak at the overflow hose connection on the radiator. Another possiblity is a slow leak by the water pump shaft. Those can produce just a few drips at speed and are difficult to find.

I'd hang my hat on the overflow system.

Hey Doug,

Dealer checked the bottle and hose and found nothing. I have had water pumps bad before on other vehicles, usually some noise from bad bearings or a wetness on the engine. None of these symptoms.

Brian

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I had the same thing happen to me on my Ram, replaced the thermostat and radiator cap. The thermostat was sticking and when it let go it forced the water by the cap and when I stopped the vacuum sucked the water out of the reservoir leaving it dry. No problems now.

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Another thing you might have them try is to run the engine and pressure check it hot. They should also let the engine run and check for leaks after an extended perios of time. I had a coolant loss problem on a Chevy truck drive me nuts for moenths. I took it to my friend's radiator shop several times and he could not find a leak. Finally he left the engine run for probably 45 minutes or so and all of a sudden a leak sprung by one of the clamps on the heater hose. It would not leak unless there was pressure and heat. One other note, there is also a dye they can put in the coolant and look in the engine compartment with a special light. The smallest of leaks will show up as a glaring yellow spot.

Chris

Bulletsnbrains proclaimed:

You might want to check the water pump as indicated. With a mirror you can sometimes see staining at the bottom if it is silently leaking with no other symptoms whatever. Would expect any jeep dealer's service mgr to have already suggested this though...

I replaced my cap the other day because I was going low on coolant about every 4 weeks or so.( I know procrastination ) I found the problem after a trip downtown and then lifting the hood right away to check something, I had my head down by the rad cap and I could hear the hiss of the vapor escaping from the cap. Remember the system is under pressure and runs at 90 to 100 deg C but when it escapes to atmospheric pressure (esp. in small amounts) it will be a vapor, during the winter it would be noticeable but during the summer most likely not. So everytime you drive you will drop in level ever so slightly and evetually start to notice you are running hot at idle.

Keith

It sounds like you have found a typical 'stealership' all right. There should be a law about justifiable knee capping....

They want it to go out of warranty on you or they would do a proper check.

They can check the rad fluid for exhaust gasses to rule out a head gasket leak.

They can put the UV dye in it so any leak lights up under 'black light'.

I would be going back and insisting on a proper check or a letter saying just 'why' they refuse to check it while still under warranty.

Bring along a local news reporter too. You would be amazed how fast things get fixed if they are up for a scam report in the local newspaper.

Mike

86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00 88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's

Bulletsnbra>

The Smog Test sniffer that they put in the tailpipe should be able to detect coolant.

You can have a crack in the head, or a problem with the head gasket that can cause coolant to leak into the combustion chamber. the Smog Sniffer should be able to sniff this out.

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FYI results on XJ...

I dropped off the XJ at the dealer on Monday morning. They called today(thur) and told me it's ready to pick up. They sent the head out and it was found to be cracked. So a new one was installed. Hope this solves the problem.

Brian

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Hey Bill,

The new short block was 3months/3000 miles ago. But in that time I went thru

2.5 gal of 50/50 H20/antifreeze.

What are my chances of the bearings being OK? Should I ask for an inspection? Would a dealer do it? Factory warranty runs out on 7/31/04 or

6000 miles whichever comes first.

Brian