Mysterious Coolant Leak

Post by **jonesy** » Sun Dec 21, 2008 12:55 am

the difference in fluid will be what was left in the block that didnt drain out ... dotn worry about it.

as far as the coolant temperature sensor .. i have no idea ... let it dry, apply dielectric grease .. and run it.

97JEEPTJ · Post by **97JEEPTJ** » Sun Dec 21, 2008 2:21 pm

Alright, I took the Jeep out for a test drive. It's been running a bit crappy, but that's probably mostly because it's cold and I have either not been driving for a while, or been driving other vehicles.

It was running OK, I had it up to temp (210). Then it kept going past 210, very slowly. This is after having the Jeep run for no more than 5 minutes. About 10 minutes in, on the way back to my house, I stopped at an intersection, and gave it gas to go, but there was no response, and the power steering went out. It started back up with a shudder, and I was able to limp back. For some reason, I was not able to give it much gas, as I entered the street to my house, it nearly gave out again. The Jeep was smoking also. Once I got into my driveway, the Jeep stopped and the steering went out again. It spewed fluid all over under the hood. Not a huge amount but it was enough. I stopped it and started it back up, after the third try it started back up. I was able to get it into my garage.

It appears the lower radiator hose at the water pump end blew completely off. So, fluid would have spewed everywhere.

I figure that could explain the high temperatures. Could it explain the loss of throttle response and power steering?

Also, would radiator fluid that dripped on the exhaust produce white smoke?

Post by **Stinson** » Sun Dec 21, 2008 7:51 pm

how hot did you let it get? White exhaust is not good. Sounds like you need to do some reading on cooling systems. I applaud you for trying to fix this stuff yourself, but you need to be careful you don't more damage than good.

97JEEPTJ · Post by **97JEEPTJ** » Sun Dec 21, 2008 9:24 pm

It got up to maybe 240*, was never in the red/never had the dash warning.

I know what you mean. I made sure to do plenty of research before I undertook the project, but yeah it did turn out to be a bigger deal than I had prepared for.

Tonight, I took off the power steering pump and bracket so that I could get the clamp seated properly on the lower hose at the water pump. I got everything put back together and then filled the radiator up with fluid.

I started it, let it warm up, checked for leaks. I took it for a test drive along the same route as I did earlier today when the hose blew. At a few spots I could see where coolant was dumped.

The temp stayed below 210 at speeds to about 50 mph. All appeared well. I've got some cardboard under the Jeep tonight so I can check tomorrow for any leaks.

Post by **Stinson** » Sun Dec 21, 2008 10:55 pm

I dont know how accurate the jeep gauges are, but usually if you get a dummy light its to late. Sounds like you might have gotten it this time. 210 sounds normal, 240 sounds high, but again I don't know what these things normally run at.

Post by **jonesy** » Mon Dec 22, 2008 7:14 pm

Stinson wrote:I dont know how accurate the jeep gauges are, but usually if you get a dummy light its to late. Sounds like you might have gotten it this time. 210 sounds normal, 240 sounds high, but again I don't know what these things normally run at.

240 ... assuming his gauge is accurate (im betting its pretty close), is not dangerous for those engines ... if it stays out of the red, and only stays at higher temperatures for a relatively short amount of time(15-20 minutes or less) , there is no reason to think it has damaged anything.

97JEEPTJ · Post by **97JEEPTJ** » Mon Dec 22, 2008 7:26 pm

jonesy wrote:
Stinson wrote:I dont know how accurate the jeep gauges are, but usually if you get a dummy light its to late. Sounds like you might have gotten it this time. 210 sounds normal, 240 sounds high, but again I don't know what these things normally run at.
240 ... assuming his gauge is accurate (im betting its pretty close), is not dangerous for those engines ... if it stays out of the red, and only stays at higher temperatures for a relatively short amount of time(15-20 minutes or less) , there is no reason to think it has damaged anything.

Good to know. Wasn't long at all, 5 minutes max.

Thanks for the help guys.

It's been running well today.