120k coolant leak dry under card Liberty

daytona701 · **Joined:** Sat Oct 20, 2012 11:32 pm **Posts:** 99

Hi everyone. I bought my 2005 crd Liberty 2 1/2 years ago with 90k. The Jeep was in excellent condition. I followed Sams Noob guide and made some minor adjustments and the Liberty ran very good and still does. I do all my own maintenance and at about 120k now the Liberty is beginning to lose coolant. I can't find any leaks under the vehicle. How do I test for head gasket failure? Thanks for your help.

greiswig · **Posted:** Tue Sep 09, 2014 11:32 pm

Sorry to hear that, but I sympathize. Best bet is to get a coolant system pressure tester. See if the system holds pressure at all. If it doesn't, start isolating things like the radiator, the heater core, and the EGR cooler to see if taking any of those out of the circuit stops the pressure loss. If it does, you know where the problem is...or at least one of them.

I had two leaks: radiator and cylinder head. So only by taking all of those accessories out of the test did I confirm a head leak or head gasket leak.

flman · **Posted:** Wed Sep 10, 2014 7:31 am

daytona701 wrote:

Hi everyone. I bought my 2005 crd Liberty 2 1/2 years ago with 90k. The Jeep was in excellent condition. I followed Sams Noob guide and made some minor adjustments and the Liberty ran very good and still does. I do all my own maintenance and at about 120k now the Liberty is beginning to lose coolant. I can't find any leaks under the vehicle. How do I test for head gasket failure? Thanks for your help.

Any coolant in the overflow of the bottle? Do you have pressure when you pull the rad cap on an engine that has cooled over night?

dgeist · **Posted:** Sun Sep 28, 2014 5:29 pm

Assuming it's not an internal leak, there's always the fluorescent dye you can pick up at auto parts stores which allows you to shine a UV light all over your hoses and junction points to pinpoint any leaks.

I have a similar leak and I've already determined the head is fine. I'm pretty sure the issue is the EGR cooler area, as I can smell the coolant if I drive slowly with the driver's window down with the engine warm. That spot's just a pain to get to without taking off 10 other things. You almost have to guess what's leaking ahead of time and hope you got the right parts when you finally tear into it.

Dan

daytona701 · **Joined:** Sat Oct 20, 2012 11:32 pm **Posts:** 99

Thank You very much for the feedback. I was able to get the Liberty on a lift today and with the engine running there is a small leak where the coolant hose goes into the engine on the drivers side just above what looks like the intake manifold. What are the hoses for at that location? Its toward the rear drivers side of the engine. I've been filling the overflow tank every couple of days with distilled water and G-5 coolant. Thanks.

daytona701 · **Joined:** Sat Oct 20, 2012 11:32 pm **Posts:** 99

Is the area at the rear of the intake the egr system and what would the remedy be?

dgeist · **Posted:** Wed Oct 01, 2014 8:20 pm

Take a look at the 11th post in this thread (CATCRD):
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=75401

That shows the coolant plumbing out of the block (right near the intake elbow) and then around the EGR cooler and back up over the engine. If you're loosing coolant right at the nipple, that's probably a pretty easy fix (as long as things aren't corroded).

By the way, how were you able to get in there to spot it? I have a similar leak and am trying to isolate it without taking apart the whole side of the engine to see it.

Dan

daytona701 · **Joined:** Sat Oct 20, 2012 11:32 pm **Posts:** 99

I put the Jeep on a lift with the engine running and there was a small leaking dripping off the trans bellhousing. I just followed it up as far as I could see. Then I lowered the Jeep back to the ground and was able to see the two coolant hoses going into the egr. I use a Rayovac lcd head lamp from Home Depot and powerful reading spectacles. I would love to get rid of the egr as its already disabled and see if I can do away with the coolant lines. I will probably install the egr/fcv delete and change the glow plugs at the same time. I'm thinking the GDE eco tune also. Bruce.

120k coolant leak dry under card Liberty

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