I'm headed off road tomorrow morning and was checking my oil tonight as I did it myself recently and wanted to make sure I didn't screw it up. The oil was fine. Having seen a thread recently about a brand new jku not being properly filled properly at the factory with coolant I thought i'd check mine. Found the tank on the front right of the engine and the thing was near totally empty maybe 1/2 an inch of coolant at the bottom if that! WTH is that normal? It was checked 2 minutes after turning off the engine. What color should I it be as well?
I'm thinking it can't be normal if that's the case where do I get this Mopar 150,000 mile coolant it mentions in the book that came with the JKU? As I've never put coolant in my jeep before what are the proportions I put it in at, do I add water, distilled or tap? I don't have time to take it to the dealer tomorrow but definitely don't want to take it offroad without proper coolant in the tank. Or maybe it's supposed to be nearly bone dry... I didn't see any level on the side of it. My JKU's temps seem on par with what others on this board say 200-235 when operating. My JKU only has about 4300 miles on it and was bought only a couple months ago.
How low I've been looking for a pic online but can't seem to find one showing the proper level for the overflow tank? If anyone can upload a pic of the correct level for the wobbly plastic overflow tank that would be greatly appreciated. Can't seem to find any line on it for correct fill.
Just get the no water needed kind. The manual should list Mopar brand or equivalent, and the bottles say which vehicles they can be used in. As long as you can see some fluid, I highly doubt damage would've occured. You're CEL likely would've popped or you'd have noticed high temps.
Thanks a lot, mine was definitely lower then that, but it was less then 5 minutes after I shut it off. I'll check it in the morning, hopefully it will look like yours.
when the engine is hot there should be more coolant in then reservoir then when it is cold--so if it is low hot then it will be lower when it is cold--you should add some if it is that low
If you said what year it was I missed it (but with those miles on it must be pretty new), but I went to the dealership parts dept. I gave them my vin, and they sold me the correct premixed fluid. I don't remember how much it was, but I think it was less than $20 for a gallon. I've heard that the coolant changed sometime in the very early 2013 models. Mine is pink. My 2013 and 2015 run the same coolant
Went to the dealer and picked up two bottles of coolant. It was about 2 inches or so too low. I believe it's that cheap cap on the tank. The thing barely stays in there. They really should have a screw cap instead of the press on. I'm sure while off-roading some slipped out around that cap.
2014 here. Mine was the same - way down low in the tank and cap off it looked like the tank was empy, but there's also a hand drawn line, and the level has stayed even with the line for 60,000 miles, obviously no leaking.
That huge reservoir that marcseatac posted makes me think there's plenty there, it's just an odd shaped bin.
With either a 3.8 or 3.6 if the coolant level is maintained approx. 2-3" above the Min. line cold it shouldn't push out either through the cap or reservoir vent.
I think that's why they made the bottle long and skinny, by having the level lower then it's not as likely to slosh around while off road. If you had to fill it to the top it would slosh out for sure. It's deliberate the way they have it. I don't notice a huge difference in the level between hot or cold. It's a small engine and a small radiator. Not a big capacity like on a say large block Chevy with a closed system.
My factory overflow resovoir popped off last time I went off-roading went into the radiator fan and sprung a leak. Been running without a reservoir since It's really not critical to have coolant in there unless there is something wrong with your cooling system and you are loosing coolant on the pressurized side of things due to a leak or heat. I checked my radiator, it's nice and full, check yours. If it's full you're good.
It's been about 1000 miles of long distance highway drives and a day of idling around the trail and not a drop has gone back into my ghetto rigged overflow container.
With that being said, I do want to replace my overflow container... 2012 Pentastars use HOAT correct? My fluid looks orange, so zerex g-05 should do right?
Man did they really secure these things on like shit. Of all things I expected to lose on the trails, overflow container was not one of them
I was having the same problem with my 2012. Someone on here awhile ago said that others were having problems with the original radiator cap. So I replaced mine and it has been fine since. I did notice that the LB rating was different than the original.
So I filled it about an inch above the line this morning. We went off-roading on Gold Mountain Trail today in big bear. No leak and the coolant temp a really went above 220 it got up to 228 once but never reached 235 or 240 where I'd seen it reach before. Obviously since I've had those temps since day one this was probably a factory mistake, after a full day off-roading today it's at exactly the same level. I suggest everyone double check their resavoir tank and make sure it's not way below the optimal setting. While I'm sure the overflow isn't really necessary it seemed to make a considerable difference in my coolant temps. Maybe more coolant equals greater heat spread.
So I filled it about an inch above the line this morning. We went off-roading on Gold Mountain Trail today in big bear. No leak and the coolant temp a really went above 220 it got up to 228 once but never reached 235 or 240 where I'd seen it reach before. Obviously since I've had those temps since day one this was probably a factory mistake, after a full day off-roading today it's at exactly the same level. I suggest everyone double check their resavoir tank and make sure it's not way below the optimal setting. While I'm sure the overflow isn't really necessary it seemed to make a considerable difference in my coolant temps. Maybe more coolant equals greater heat spread. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
I'm reviving this thread, I seem to have something going on with the cooling system. It's a 2017 with 38k (just out of warranty). For a while I've noticed some some slooshing noises behind the dash, I assume in the heater core. Everything been working fine though so I've kind of ignored it. Then, I noticed when I get into my neighborhood after driving home from work, that an auxiliary electric fan turns on I've never heard before. I check the coolant level today, and it is way low. Only like 1/2" in the tank. I open the radiator cap, and see weird plastic debris? I don't know why it would be so low, I haven't seen any leaks.
I buy the premix because I don't want to deal with mixing and special water... It should be purple with a pink/orange tint. It should be 10 year/150k for any 2013+ - all 2013 had 10 year even though the rumor says the early few didn't, they did, mine was an early one, it did too.
As for debris, could be part of the plastic molding process for the radiator or overflow. It's probably cycled through the system already and only is visible now because it got trapped there. A flush wouldn't hurt for sure.
After I picked up my new 2013 JKUR, a few weeks later noticed the level was way below the min level, took back for another service and asked about it, told was fine and normal. The way I see things is this is my investment not theirs and min is min.
Their is not excuse for a cavalier attitude by some service writers.
I purchased the proper anti freeze and when cold, filled to above the min. Always remember to "trust but verify".
I bought a 2017 JKUR in April. I have to add a small amount of coolant every few thousand miles or so to keep the level above the minimum line. The dealer did a pressure test and did not find any leaks, but occasionally I can smell coolant after driving it.
The coolant level seems to get lower after wheeling it, but not every time. I suspect there is a small leak in the radiator that gets worse due to flexing while offroading, but that's just a guess.
I have added about a half gallon of coolant over 16,000 miles. I check the oil and the coolant level every time I get gas and I keep the coolant temp showing on the dash so I can keep a close eye on that as well as the engine temp gauge. I have an extended warranty so I'm just waiting for the problem to get bad enough for the Dealer to find the problem.
There are other posts in this forum about the radiators cracking in the upper driver side area during off road flexing so that is my guess.
You should check your level every time you get gas and see if it changes. Check it with the engine running and at operating temperature because it will be lower if the engine is cold.
I bought a 2017 JKUR in April. I have to add a small amount of coolant every few thousand miles or so to keep the level above the minimum line. The dealer did a pressure test and did not find any leaks, but occasionally I can smell coolant after driving it.
The coolant level seems to get lower after wheeling it, but not every time. I suspect there is a small leak in the radiator that gets worse due to flexing while offroading, but that's just a guess.
I have added about a half gallon of coolant over 16,000 miles. I check the oil and the coolant level every time I get gas and I keep the coolant temp showing on the dash so I can keep a close eye on that as well as the engine temp gauge. I have an extended warranty so I'm just waiting for the problem to get bad enough for the Dealer to find the problem.
There are other posts in this forum about the radiators cracking in the upper driver side area during off road flexing so that is my guess.
You should check your level every time you get gas and see if it changes. Check it with the engine running and at operating temperature because it will be lower if the engine is cold.
Depending on your location, the loss of coolant in the overflow bottle is normal in a hot climate. The plastic bottle that we fill that has a tube going to it from the top of the radiator has a plastic cap that is NOT air tight and the coolant can evaporate. So if you are concerned about a system leak, don't be. The coolant system is under pressure and if there is a leak in it, you will know it.
Your local Jeep parts counter should be able to tell you what type of coolant is right for your model year. Do not mix with any other coolant and only use what is specified by Jeep. The one gallon coolant more than likely is already pre-mixed so you just need to fill the over flow bottle up to the mid point. This should be well above the minimum level and have adequate room for expansion when the engine is hot. And no, the overflow bottle is never suppose to be 'bone dry'! Just because it is running well now with an empty overflow coolant bottle doesn't mean you can leave it this way. Fill the coolant bottle before something happens and you will regret it.
Well, I checked again today about 1 week later, and the coolant tank was again empty! I crawled around underneath, and discovered a leaky radiator! I've not seen any puddles because it drips right onto the front skid plate. I guess I'll call the dealer to get a quote, but I'm quite hesitant. Are these designed to fail right after warranty?? I don't want to have to replace radiators every 3 years. I have about 39,000 miles, and almost 3 years to the day. I took delivery on 12/15/16, factory order. Let's see if I can get Chrysler to good will...
Unfortunately nor Valeo nor Behr are not making radiators for JK, those are known for good quality and usually last a decade or more.
IDK where Mopar is made but probably this is the best replacement on the market.
Update: Chrysler won't do it for free, but they did give me a good will price of $150 to replace it. That does seem to be discounted, as Quadratec sells the Mopar radiator for $255.
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