Radiator Leak

JohnnyCash · **Posted:** Wed Mar 12, 2008 4:59 pm

I have fluid dribbling out of my radiator. Can't tell exactly where it's coming from. It's wet around the bottom of the pressure cap, but there are other places wet also where it looks like it could be originating from and maybe squirting up towards the cap.

Anyway took it to the dealer last night and all they did was replace the cap. Now it's either leaking worse or the same. Obviously they didn't test anything or put much effort into it.

I have to miss more work now and go back. Since they didn't do too good the first time do you have any suggestions on what it could be? I thought I read of a common problem with the liberty radiators, but I used the "search" function and couldn't find any threads about it.

snowsport · **Joined:** Tue Oct 18, 2005 11:52 pm **Posts:** 1211

Go back to the dealer and give them a spanking. Seriously, if you let them get away with it, they will. Let them know they will be fixing it, and dang quick. I know some of the older KJs have had this problem, but no way an 07 should be doing that.
It might need a new rad, or just hoses or even just hose clamps. But it's their problem, not yours.

Now, I don't literally mean spank the buggers, just be firm with them! :shock:

JohnnyCash · **Posted:** Wed Mar 12, 2008 9:21 pm

I took it back and the mechanic ran a pressure test, snipped the overflow hose and reattached to the radiator, and then ran it for about 15 minutes and he saw no leaks.

I opened the hood and didn't see any wet spots, so I thought maybe the hose he adjusted did the trick because it did look like it had a little crimp in it where it was attached.

After I left the dealer I wiped off all of the fluid stains with a paper towel and water and drove around for a while. I got out and checked, and there is fluid leaking from underneath the new radiator pressure cap. You can see wet stream marks coming down from opposite sides underneath the cap. There was enough that a drip formed on the bottom of the pipe underneath the cap also. (so at least I know where it's coming from now)

I am going to check again the next couple days, and I guess I'll have to drop it off on a Saturday. Can't miss any more work. Anyone know what would cause this?

tjkj2002 · **Posted:** Wed Mar 12, 2008 10:08 pm

A bad new cap or the coolant tank is warped.

Jeepjeepster · **Posted:** Wed Mar 12, 2008 10:57 pm

tjkj2002 wrote:

A bad new cap or the coolant tank is warped.

Radiator cap is on the radiator on the 07's.

JohnnyCash · **Posted:** Wed Mar 12, 2008 11:08 pm

Jeepjeepster wrote:

tjkj2002 wrote:

A bad new cap or the coolant tank is warped.

Radiator cap is on the radiator on the 07's.

Is the part where the pressure cap screws on plastic? I can't remember, but I think the whole radiator is plastic. If it is I'm going to guess it's warped. The odds of having 2 bad caps in a row has to be pretty low.

That means now I can take it to the dealer to get it replaced and they can break something else while doing it. I hope not, but it always seems to end up that way. I hate leaving my jeep there out of my sight.

JohnnyCash · **Posted:** Thu Mar 13, 2008 11:50 am

Anybody got any ideas on why my pressure cap is letting fluid dribble out?

The cap is good. The tank does not appear to be warped. Pressure test was good. But coolant continues to just slowly dribble out from under the edges of the cap.

snowsport · **Joined:** Tue Oct 18, 2005 11:52 pm **Posts:** 1211

I don't know if rad caps are the same for all year KJs, maybe they gave you the cap for a wrong year or something? Or it could be just a defective batch of caps? Maybe there's a malformed edge on the top of your rad that prevents a good seal, although if they pressure tested it that would have showed (you'd think). I don't know what else to suggest except let the dealer deal with it.

JohnnyCash · **Posted:** Thu Mar 13, 2008 10:53 pm

Man I hate going to the dealership. Just went because my radiator is definitely still leaking. I had the svc manager come out and look. so the mechanic wouldn't think I was crazy. What bugs me is that the service people never talk to the mechanics. I never talk to the mechanic. I could tell him that I saw it start leaking from under the cap last night, and I could have also shown him the leak tonight in case it dries out by morning. I told the svc manager, but he just typed a generic msg in computer, "customer complaint radiator leak".

So now I'm really stressed. 2 times and they can't figure it out. Now they're really going to be tearing my jeep apart. I hope they don't damage anything else.

The only thing I could find on the internet that would cause this is a leaking head gasket. What are the chances of that happening on an '07?

Guest · **Posted:** Fri Mar 14, 2008 11:55 am

a head gasket won't cause the radiator to leak.

JohnnyCash · **Posted:** Fri Mar 14, 2008 1:20 pm

ThunderbirdJunkie wrote:

a head gasket won't cause the radiator to leak.

I read that if a pressure test is done and everything checks out ok that something must be creating too much internal pressure which causes the cap to fail.

Supposedly a failed head gasket releases pressure into the system beyond the psi rating on the cap.

Anyway my jeep is back at the dealer. They gave me an '08 Liberty to drive to work today. Hopefully they can figure it out without tearing too many things apart.

JohnnyCash · **Posted:** Fri Mar 14, 2008 10:55 pm

Just got back from the dealership.
Had to get a brand new radiator at only 17,000 miles.
Hope the new one lasts longer than that.

Of course I have no idea what exactly was wrong with the radiator since they hide the mechanics and you can only talk to customer service. I asked the service advisor what was wrong with it, but he had no details.

I drove around for a while and there are no more leaks. I was actually planning on seeing the same seepage as before, so it was a pleasant surprise to see no fluid leaking out. Hope there are no more repairs for a while. Like never

tjkj2002 · **Posted:** Fri Mar 14, 2008 11:05 pm

JohnnyCash wrote:

Just got back from the dealership.
Had to get a brand new radiator at only 17,000 miles.
Hope the new one lasts longer than that.

Of course I have no idea what exactly was wrong with the radiator since they hide the mechanics and you can only talk to customer service. I asked the service advisor what was wrong with it, but he had no details.

I drove around for a while and there are no more leaks. I was actually planning on seeing the same seepage as before, so it was a pleasant surprise to see no fluid leaking out. Hope there are no more repairs for a while. Like never

S$%T happens,welcome to the world of mass production.Parts will fail when ever they seem fit,seen it one to many times.Lucky you still where under warranty.

Want a "this sucks" situation,when I worked at the GM dealership bodyshop they had a transport truck come in with a new Duramax truck(2 months after they first came out),pulled it off the transporter and it just died,the injection pump went out,2 miles on the odometer.Now that sucked for the owner,had to wait 6 months for the new pump.

Grape · **Posted:** Fri Mar 14, 2008 11:37 pm

I just had my radiator cap replace at just over 6,000 miles. This was monday. I was near the front of the jeep earlier and smelled anti-freeze, gonna check tomorrow.

JohnnyCash · **Posted:** Sun Mar 16, 2008 7:37 pm

So much for the new radiator !!!
It's starting to dribble out again.

I saw a couple spit marks under the hood from fluid, and ran my finger under the hose coming from the cap and it was just wet enough with fluid to cover my fingertip.

This is how it started before, so I am guessing it will get worse in the next few days.

I have no idea what to do now. The dealership isn't going to be able to fix it. If I go back again it will be the 4th time. I'm over the lemon law mileage for my state which is 12,000 miles.

KJ04 · **Posted:** Sun Mar 16, 2008 7:59 pm

JohnnyCash wrote:

So much for the new radiator !!!
It's starting to dribble out again.

I saw a couple spit marks under the hood from fluid, and ran my finger under the hose coming from the cap and it was just wet enough with fluid to cover my fingertip.

This is how it started before, so I am guessing it will get worse in the next few days.

I have no idea what to do now. The dealership isn't going to be able to fix it. If I go back again it will be the 4th time. I'm over the lemon law mileage for my state which is 12,000 miles.

So, they'll just keep replacing it like they do the lower balljoints. :lol:

JohnnyCash · **Posted:** Sun Mar 16, 2008 8:59 pm

So, they'll just keep replacing it like they do the lower balljoints. :lol:

It must not be the radiator though. It seems like something must be creating too much internal pressure for some reason and the pressure cap can't handle. it.

Rush345 · **Posted:** Sun Mar 16, 2008 10:13 pm

As long as it's their Dime let them pay. When I bought my used '02 with in the first week i found a radiator leak they replaced it under warranty. Since it was their dime I didn't say a thing but in times to come if I need to replace it on my dime I'll search for a metal radiator instead of the factory plastic one.. The only worse senario I have is years ago a good friend had his Trans Am stolen he replaced it with a DeTomaso Pantera, with a 351 Cleaveland and a German Transmission. But the big downside was this exotic Italian Muscle Car had a card board Radiator :shock:

I kid you not.
But back to our beloved KJ's, if it wasn't covered under warranty I would search out a metal radiator to replace my stock one.

myjeepwalks · **Posted:** Tue Mar 18, 2008 12:17 am

Rush345 wrote:

As long as it's their Dime let them pay. When I bought my used '02 with in the first week i found a radiator leak they replaced it under warranty. Since it was their dime I didn't say a thing but in times to come if I need to replace it on my dime I'll search for a metal radiator instead of the factory plastic one.. The only worse senario I have is years ago a good friend had his Trans Am stolen he replaced it with a DeTomaso Pantera, with a 351 Cleaveland and a German Transmission. But the big downside was this exotic Italian Muscle Car had a card board Radiator :shock:

I kid you not.
But back to our beloved KJ's, if it wasn't covered under warranty I would search out a metal radiator to replace my stock one.

Just went through this with mine. Luckily mine lasted like 102k. I had no luck finding a direct replacement metal one. Picked up a csf locally for like $165 out the door. They had it in stock, had no choice mine was leaking bad from the cheap plastic tank that cracked!!!! Was a sumanabitch to replace too.

LostEddie · **Posted:** Tue Mar 18, 2008 5:08 pm

I don’t know what is in the 07 – but a standard radiator cap has two seals -- One at the bottom to control pressure in the radiator and a second to seal the top. In between these seals is the overflow line (hose) to take the overflow fluid to your overflow tank. Pull this hose off the radiator and be sure you can blow freely into your overflow tank. If you can’t the line is stopped up or the vent in the overflow tank is blocked (maybe never opened at manufacture). There should be no pressure at the top seal to make it leak.

Radiator Leak

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