gleaming badger
I was in a parking lot and turned into a spot when i heard a pop and had smoke (assuming steam from coolant hitting the engine) come from the driver side of the car. Immediately turned it off and found a leak coming from the radiator area. I cant tell from where. I had it towed to my house for the time being till i can get a closer look.
Does anyone have any preliminary ideas?
sinful breach
Good news is that you can see it dripping, so following that drip should be easy. Rubber and plastic components are the usual suspects, especially after 18 years.
gleaming badger
Best way to find it, load it up with water, let it run for a little and try to find it? I tried that and it was difficult because I saw like 10 spots where it was dripping lol. Of course looking at the temp gauge the whole time. Hoping this is an easy fix
Ps always great to see when you reply
sinful breach
Yep, you’re on the right track! So the challenge is to work upwards - what may be happening is it’s dripping into a railing or something and then from that railing it runs along the bottom and drips from several spots.
Maybe look for wet spots when the engine is cool (and it’s also safer to look around the engine bay) and then when you have some suspicious spots, turn on the car and see the dripping.
gleaming badger
Yea i was trying to find it right when it happened but it shot water kind of everywhere. Lost power steering for a second when it happened (assuming thats water that got under the belt?). There was coolant on the side of the battery, engine, just about everything so it was hard to tell where it started. Heading back to the car now, going to see if I will have any luck.
Going to start in that purple circle area, kind of seems where its coming from, other side of the radiator is dry so itd have to be this. Hoping I dont need a new radiator lol
sinful breach
This is also just really wet not sure what it is
I think you’ve got a leak in the radiator - it’s coming out somewhere near the top and you’re seeing it come through the fan shroud but when we look up I see a couple wet spots above
fervent vapor
I think you’ve got a leak in the radiator - it’s coming out somewhere near the t...
Cracked radiator for sure
gleaming badger
The dripping slowed down so i put water in the radiator and it picked up a lot
Guessing the only way to fix a cracked radiator is putting in a new one
Also going to go out on a limb and say it has had a gradual leak because theres rust right where this leak drops down to but no where else in the area
sinful breach
Good news there’s already some intel out there https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaT3wi6xarM
Probably means you’re far from the first one to have a radiator failure!
fervent vapor
Replacing a radiator is good experience OP. You will be able to look at everything once the radiator is out.
gleaming badger
Started taking everything apart and cant get bottom bolts out because im stumped. If you go to 7:00 in the video he is taking out bottom bolts and he has the same thing I have but he got his out. I cant get a ratchet there because of the hooks in the way. And i cant find a 10mm wrench :D
Not evennsure if a wrench would work its probably stuck in there
sinful breach
A universal joint and extension for your socket may be the key to getting those out
gleaming badger
Universal joint was too big too. Got it with a wrench and wd40 but still having issues with one, gonna have to wiggle it somehow
Jk got it
dense cargoBOT
GG @gleaming badger, you just advanced to level 7! Chat more to level up and earn top roles!
sinful breach
Nice work mate! This is what wrenching is all about
gleaming badger
Taking a break from it for now. Just have the radiator to get out. Will figure out from there if a radiator epoxy/weld is better than buying a new one. If not ill get another. Theres just a plastic clip thats getting stuck on the hoses near it. The sun started beating on me in this 95 degree weather so im stopping for an hour or so. I have a cold so i feel like death but i do want experience working on cars so i want to do it lol.
Progress tho
sinful breach
Looks like $285 for a carquest radiator, mail order definitely cheaper if you can wait for it to get delivered
gleaming badger
Alright so I found the leak when I got it off. Doesnt look fixable to me so ordering one online for delivery sunday or monday 🤷♂️
But i appreciate your help again today sir. You are a G in this place.
The crack, starts about there and goes all the way down the plastic part on the side. Took the radiator off and poured water in it, saw it come out there
gleaming badger
Is it worth trying to find the recommended coolant? Not sure if I will really be able to without ordering online. Manual recommends you use the recommended one to stay with the 5-year, 100,000 mile maintenance schedule. Well this car is a 2006 with 220k miles…. If this thing survives another year id be surprised nevermind five, and nevermind hitting 320K miles… lol would any coolant be fine?
sinful breach
Assuming this was the red coolant, you can use the generic red stuff at your local parts store
gleaming badger
It was moreso an orange if anything but red and orange are similar colors 👍🏻
acoustic gate
If you really want to be certain, use one that says it meets the Jeep/Chrysler spec MS-7170 or MS-9769.
Or you could just make sure it's the same color and doesn't say "IAT" on the bottle. IAT would be bad
And if you need to mix it with water, be sure to use distilled water to prevent corrosion
fervent vapor
OP keep us posted and post pictures!
gleaming badger
I will, thank you everyone
gleaming badger
gleaming badger
If you really want to be certain, use one that says it meets the Jeep/Chrysler s...
Think ill roll with this one unless someone says im dunb
acoustic gate
Think ill roll with this one unless someone says im dunb
Looks good to me. Don't forget the distilled water
And I forget why but I think you're supposed to mix with water before putting in the car so do that too
50/50 ratio
gleaming badger
It comes prediluted, last one they had in concentrate and prediluted, unsure how much ill need though
acoustic gate
It comes prediluted, last one they had in concentrate and prediluted, unsure how...
oh you're right, mb
gleaming badger
Would a gallon prediluted be enough or should i look for more?
Cant find it in the service manual or vehicle manual
sinful breach
Start with that gallon and get more if you need it
Eh, you probably want to start with two. It may not take both but it’ll probably need more than one.
gleaming badger
Out with the old and in with the new. I got it all back in with only losing one bolt (not a big deal can still drive it). I put my gallon of coolant in and its still overheating. Im assuming I need to purge all the air out of the system and the gallon just isnt cutting it. However it is still not pulling from the reservoir it looks like
Going to follow these steps when i get more coolant and see if that fixes the overheating
Comes out to about 3.5 gallons so one gallon cant be enough lol
sinful breach
Nice work so far! Yes a proper burp is needed to make sure air is out of the system. Since you didnt drain the block it probably won’t need the full 14 quarts but it sounds like you need more for sure.
gleaming badger
Yea just going to get two more gallons and hope that 0.5 is in the engine lmao
fervent vapor
Yea just going to get two more gallons and hope that 0.5 is in the engine lmao
Haha sounds like a plan
gleaming badger
Radiator is fixed and car is maintaining temp. Took a bit over another gallon to make it satisfied. Was watching temp with an OBD scanner and would hit 215-220 and the fan would kick on, drop back down to 200 or so. I appreciate everyones help 🙏 going to add that to my very short resume of mechanic work, thank you again 🙏
acoustic gate
Radiator is fixed and car is maintaining temp. Took a bit over another gallon to...
Let's go 🔥 🔥 🔥
fervent vapor
Radiator is fixed and car is maintaining temp. Took a bit over another gallon to...
Yeah man radiator is a great accomplishment. I’m sure you have learned a lot about your car.
Does your car have an external transmission cooler or is it internal to the radiator?
gleaming badger
“The automatic transmission/power steering cooler assembly is located in the front of the A/C condensor and behind the front fascia.”
gleaming badger
So i assume that
fervent vapor
Exactly that. Usually in suvs and pick ups,they are external; their own cooler.
gleaming badger
Just drove the car 45minutes 30ish miles no problems (besides my wheel bearings but thats not a problem for today) thank you 🫶🏻
