Minimum Coolant in Reservoir... Again

[Htfan]

It was hard to find without the UV light.

Where was your leak? Mine ended up being on the lower driver side of the radiator on the seam. Had to find and fix it myself.

Actually had the leak for years and reported it several times consistently when under warranty to the dealer during other TSB work. They said there was nothing wrong and couldn't find a leak. This is why I don't trust dealership service centers.

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[eastern]

UV is cool but pain to fully flush out, took me 3 attempts to get all greenery out of the system. Just be mindful, they say it's compatible but who knows.

Wish you luck, but don't be surprised if it is a head gasket, the issue seems way too common.

What you can try is to remove spark plugs and peek inside the cylinders, leaky one should be the cleanest. About a 5 hour job, but there is no guarantee of seeing the symptoms.

 

[wcjeep]

Had a Stellantis product lose coolant. The reservoir glue let go at higher temps. Would easily hold pressure in the morning.

 

[Jebiruph]

Where was your leak? Mine ended up being on the lower driver side of the radiator on the seam. Had to find and fix it myself.

Actually had the leak for years and reported it several times consistently when under warranty to the dealer during other TSB work. They said there was nothing wrong and couldn't find a leak. This is why I don't trust dealership service centers.

Upper driver's side, the plastic end cap was leaking. The radiator was replaced under the extended warranty.

 

[Jebiruph]

UV is cool but pain to fully flush out, took me 3 attempts to get all greenery out of the system. Just be mindful, they say it's compatible but who knows.

Wish you luck, but don't be surprised if it is a head gasket, the issue seems way too common.

What you can try is to remove spark plugs and peek inside the cylinders, leaky one should be the cleanest. About a 5 hour job, but there is no guarantee of seeing the symptoms.

The factory coolant does not need dye added to be visible with a UV light.

 

[Donack31]

Okay, so, Friday evening (almost 3 days ago) I changed my oil and noticed the coolant was at the min line within the reservoir. So, I filled it up to the max line and went on with my life. I barely drove it all weekend except to run a few close to home errands. This morning I was checking something and noticed the reservoir was back down to the minimum line.

There hasn't been any leaks on the ground and when I changed my oil it wasn't frothy. Could this just be from an air pocket or should I be more concerned?

Just be careful you didn't crack the oil filter housing. The oil and coolant will sit in a valley down below engine. When it happened to me I didn't notice anything leaking until it rained and washed everything on to the pavement. Check your oil and make sure it's still full. When the shop re filled my coolant I had to top it off 2x myself before it stayed full. Guessing from air pockets.

 

[ppjcs]

Okay, so, Friday evening (almost 3 days ago) I changed my oil and noticed the coolant was at the min line within the reservoir. So, I filled it up to the max line and went on with my life. I barely drove it all weekend except to run a few close to home errands. This morning I was checking something and noticed the reservoir was back down to the minimum line.

There hasn't been any leaks on the ground and when I changed my oil it wasn't frothy. Could this just be from an air pocket or should I be more concerned?

Don't fill the tank to the max line! That does not leave any room for expantion. Fill it only about half way between the min and max lines. There are other explanations here as well. With over filling the tank you may have broken something.

 

[Hostile17]

Just be careful you didn't crack the oil filter housing. The oil and coolant will sit in a valley down below engine. When it happened to me I didn't notice anything leaking until it rained and washed everything on to the pavement. Check your oil and make sure it's still full. When the shop re filled my coolant I had to top it off 2x myself before it stayed full. Guessing from air pockets.

Thanks- I checked the engine valley and I'm not seeing anything down there that's indicating a leak. There was a little bit of dried oil but I think that's just from drips off the oil filter when I pull it out.

 

[Hostile17]

Don't fill the tank to the max line! That does not leave any room for expantion. Fill it only about half way between the min and max lines. There are other explanations here as well. With over filling the tank you may have broken something.

Hmm never heard of that.

 

[Valpo Jeep]

Coolant lost and the level raising in the res under pressure could point to a bad head gasket.

For about $35 you can get a kit that basically sniffs the coolant for exhaust gases.


https://www.harborfreight.com/combu...qGBLX8cFwHaa781Q7Z1nuBBUR2ZxUVTxoCrmsQAvD_BwE

 

[tshep]

My 2018 3.6 started consuming small amounts coolant around 40K miles.
Around 70K generic and specific cylinder CIL misfire codes. Coolant consumption had increased to about 8 oz a week.
Passed all pressure testing, no sign of leaks anywhere. Upon starting it would stumble and the initial exhaust had a coolant smell.
Worn Pass side cam and both head gaskets were leaking. Cyl 1, 3 and 6 had slight washing visible.

 

[Hostile17]

My 2018 3.6 started consuming small amounts coolant around 40K miles.
Around 70K generic and specific cylinder CIL misfire codes. Coolant consumption had increased to about 8 oz a week.
Passed all pressure testing, no sign of leaks anywhere. Upon starting it would stumble and the initial exhaust had a coolant smell.
Worn Pass side cam and both head gaskets were leaking. Cyl 1, 3 and 6 had slight washing visible.

Yikes. So essentially it doesn't have to throw any codes or other signs for head gasket to be leaking. That's good to know but scary LOL

 

[tshep]

Yikes. So essentially it doesn't have to throw any codes or other signs for head gasket to be leaking. That's good to know but scary LOL

Absolutely, I replaced the intake cam, oil cooler and water pump myself at home thinking that was going to correct the misfire and coolant leak issues. nope. Still kept throwing generic mis fire code.
Took the jeep to a trusted mechanic, pressure tested coolant system, oil leak down tests, compression tests, all good. I basically had to convince him to take the heads off and check the head gaskets and look for signs of cyl washing. In my case the key factor was the stumble at start up and coolant smell in the start up exhaust.

 

[Hostile17]

Absolutely, I replaced the intake cam, oil cooler and water pump myself at home thinking that was going to correct the misfire and coolant leak issues. nope. Still kept throwing generic mis fire code.
Took the jeep to a trusted mechanic, pressure tested coolant system, oil leak down tests, compression tests, all good. I basically had to convince him to take the heads off and check the head gaskets and look for signs of cyl washing. In my case the key factor was the stumble at start up and coolant smell in the start up exhaust.

Wow. Well, I don't have any coolant smell, no misfire codes or issues at startup. But I guess anything's a possibility. I'm still holding out hope though lol I'll be checking the level again this afternoon. If I see a drop I will start with a pressure test and go from there.

 

[iklo]

Don't fill the tank to the max line! That does not leave any room for expantion. Fill it only about half way between the min and max lines. There are other explanations here as well. With over filling the tank you may have broken something.

Over at the BMW La-La land it is the Gospel not to fill coolant above the MIN mark.

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