2000 Grand Cherokee

You could be lucky and the water pump is politely failing instead of just puking all the coolant out at once.....

You need to do a close visual inspection to find out where the leak is before it damages the engine from overheating.

When the waterpumps fail, you can put your hand under the nose of the pump to feel for liquid after you shut it off. There is a bearing weep hole there that will be the first place to show a leak usually if the pump is failing nicely.

You could also have a loose clamp on a hose or a leak in the rad or any of the hoses.

The vehicle isn't safe to drive as is with an unknown leak. leaks can turn into gushers really quickly sometimes.

Mike

86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00 88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's Canadian Off Road Trips Photos: Non members can still view! Jan/06 (More Off Road album links at bottom of the view page)

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Wherever the leak is the fan will have blown it all around the front of the engine (or the whole engine compartment) so you will need to rinse the coolant away and then drive a few miles to pinpoint the leak source.

Please note I said 'rinse' not 'steam clean'.

Water pumps often (but not always) get noisier as they start to fail. Noise indicates a problem but lack of noise does NOT mean that the pump is okay.

If you do need to replace the pump make sure to check the new pump's impeller, newer 4 liters use a reversed impeller and it will be clearly marked with an 'R", 'REV'. or "REVERSE' stamped into the impeller.

Also if you need to replace the pump you may want to chemically flush the cooling system. You may as well do that before you replace the pump as there is no sense exposing the new one to the cleaner if you don't have to.

Use a flush-n-fill tee...... they are so vastly superior to the old drain and refill method it isn't comparable and costs less than $5

DC recommends that vehicles that came from the factory with 'American Green' be upgraded to the new G-05 spec although there is no contraindication to continuing to use the old formula..... it just doesn't offer the same level of protection.

Finally make sure you refill with the correct coolant. NOTHING (repeat) NOTHING made by Prestone or Peak meets either the new 'G-05' spec or the old 'American Green' spec.

The ONLY distributor of the new G-05 spec to the aftermarket is Valvoline's Zerex G-05 formula in the gold jug. (Valvoline makes the factory fill for DC, Ford, & Mercedes)

The only supplier *that I am sure of* that still makes the old American Green is Valvoline's "Original Formula" in the white jug.

Got one. It's the best way to burp the air out of the system when filling it. Just open the top a crack and the air rushes out!

I used Texaco Green when I replaced it a few weeks ago. I used a bit more then

4.5 quarts so I'm slightly about 50%. The old stuff was weak, slighty cloudy and had that stale musty smell of being cooped up in a radiator for a few years.

-Scott '97 TJ SE/almost 75,000 miles.