Antifreeze disappearing

[Outdoorsy]

Antifreeze is disappearing from my reservoir, mechanic says it's because of an air pocket. Is this possible? I brought it in for missing antifreeze and they said they had to change the radiator. Now same problem is still happening losing antifreeze and he says it's because of an air pocket?

 

[jja]

Air pockets do occur quite often after the system is bled. You could try getting rid of it by letting the car run for some time while parked uphill, nose higher than rear end. Then let it cool off and top up.

 

[J33Pfan]

Antifreeze is disappearing from my reservoir, mechanic says it's because of an air pocket. Is this possible? I brought it in for missing antifreeze and they said they had to change the radiator. Now same problem is still happening losing antifreeze and he says it's because of an air pocket?

there might be a few days of air pockets and adding more -but not more than that. hope they put the right antifreeze in.

Good Luck!

 

[tjkj2002]

If they bleed the system correctly(fill through bleed hole) then there would be no air pockets at all to begin with.

 

[Myke]

What coolant did they use?

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

 

[smittyfromPA]

Mine did the same thing and it turned out to be a hairline crack in the radiator.

 

[cummins93]

I've been having this problem lately. Just Sunday I hopped in the Liberty to head down the road turned the heat on and it was ice cold. Turned around and head back to the house and the reservoir was empty. Topped it off and heat was back which makes no sense. Come out this morning and the darn thing was empty again. Thinking my have a leak in the radiator. Have to investigate it more this week.

 

[uss2defiant]

get a coolant pressurizer tool from your local autopart store tool loaner program.
pressurize to 15psi.

 

[TwoBobsKJ]

I've been having this problem lately. Just Sunday I hopped in the Liberty to head down the road turned the heat on and it was ice cold. Turned around and head back to the house and the reservoir was empty. Topped it off and heat was back which makes no sense. Come out this morning and the darn thing was empty again. Thinking my have a leak in the radiator. Have to investigate it more this week.

The heat returned because there was enough coolant to flow through the heater core - so as the air blew over the core it was warmed.

The coolant is either being lost from a hole or crack in the radiator, a leak around the water pump, or a bad head gasket. My bet is on the radiator - it's a poor design that is prone to cracking and leaks.

Bob

 

[uss2defiant]

Im keeping an eye on a very slow coolant lost too.
I really hope it is not a HG.

 

[GunnerSchenck]

Antifreeze is disappearing from my reservoir, mechanic says it's because of an air pocket. Is this possible? I brought it in for missing antifreeze and they said they had to change the radiator. Now same problem is still happening losing antifreeze and he says it's because of an air pocket?

If it's still happening I doubt it's because of an air pocket.. like its been said already, just fill it in the proper way and there won't be air pockets, any remainingood air will make its way to the overflow reservoir.

I'd bet on the radiator as well.. if you can't find a leak when it's cold, I've found it easiest to check when it's hot so you can look for bubbles.
Do a search for leaking radiators, because where they tend to leak are in some decently hidden areas so might help to know where to look beforehand.

As for the head gasket possibility.. just keep an eye on your oil. Look for milkiness, but otherwise, it would likely be evident if you're losing enough coolant to notice. You'd see your oil level rise as your coolant level dropped.

Water pump, you'd likely be able to tell fairly easily.. you'd either see the leak or see a drip from the weep hole..

Best of luck!

 

[tommudd]

I thought my water pump was going bad, turned out it was starting to leak through the gasket ( original at 102,000 miles on the 03 )
It was strange, may drive 250 miles, no drip, drive 5 miles and it would leak, no rhyme or reason.
Plus the radiator, common issue leaked in the same place as the other 100,000 LOL But very small leak, couldn't hardly see it at first ( but knew where it was .

 

[cummins93]

The heat returned because there was enough coolant to flow through the heater core - so as the air blew over the core it was warmed.

The coolant is either being lost from a hole or crack in the radiator, a leak around the water pump, or a bad head gasket. My bet is on the radiator - it's a poor design that is prone to cracking and leaks.

Bob

Yeah I gathered that. I'm going to have to pressure test the system and see if I can find the leak this weekend

 

[J33Pfan]

Antifreeze is disappearing from my reservoir, mechanic says it's because of an air pocket. Is this possible? I brought it in for missing antifreeze and they said they had to change the radiator. Now same problem is still happening losing antifreeze and he says it's because of an air pocket?

you have a new radiator already, it could be the dreaded head gasket. check the spark plugs and use a flashlight to view the tops of the pistons. look for super clean piston tops as the water can leak directly into the combustion chamber without going into the oil.

 

[GunnerSchenck]

My bad, guess I missed the part about the radiator replacement lol, good catch..
If it was leaking into the combustion chambers wouldn't he have fouled plugs? And perhaps be having a less than optimal idle?

 

[J33Pfan]

My bad, guess I missed the part about the radiator replacement lol, good catch..
If it was leaking into the combustion chambers wouldn't he have fouled plugs? And perhaps be having a less than optimal idle?

only if it were gushing in. small steady leaks may not foul the plug at all.
a cracked head is another story!

 

[capecodbob]

Not for nuthin' but you said you took it in because of coolant loss and they said new radiator. Did they look at the car first ? Did they show you where it was leaking.

Usually you can SMELL antifreeze when there is a external leak. Also, like has been said , if the cooling systwm has not been filled properly , you will see the level drop. Keep adding to cold fill line ubtil it stopps burping itself. If the problem continues and you can't smell/find leak then do the pressure test as suggested. Common leaks are hoses also. If they are old then they should be replaced. Heater hosses too. Heater core leaks can also be a problem . However thay usually smell and also fog up the windshield.

A head gasket leak/failure into the chamber as said will be hard to detect but pressure test should indicate . Do a compression test on all cylinders and can locate which bank and cylinder.

I have 90000 on my 05 and things are sarting to go. I have the ability to get new but just don't care for all the new gadgets.

 

[tjkj2002]

KJ's(like most new vehicles) like to leak at only a certian temp,either warming up or cooling down and rarely operating temp or cold.

Had a KJ that had a leaking radiator that only would leak between 130-150 degrees,any other temp then that and no leaks,even held pressure with zero sign of a leak unless it was between 130-150 degrees.

You can see some pretty strange things in newer vehicles that have a mix of aluminum,cast steel,cast iron,and plastic all in the cooling system.

 

[HerronScott]

Ours recently was the head gasket. Apparently was slow for the longest time but got worse and was leaking into the combustion chamber and started causing a miss-fire and smoke in the exhaust.

Scott