Cheapest fix I've had yet

[ctliberty]

On Friday while driving home from an appointment my Libby started to overheat. The gauge went to two lines before the red lines. I brought it to a repair shop and they checked the thermostat only and said it was fine and that my issue was a head gasket. I then brought it to the Jeep dealer and they checked it. They found it to be low on coolant so they topped it off and pressure tested it and found no leaks. There was no coolant found in the oil and they pulled a couple plugs and checked the cylinders and found no coolant inside. After they drove it around the gauge never went above middle line;and after I got it back without being charged a dime I had no issues either! I'm figuring after the radiator got replaced not long ago and had the coolant flushed; I probably needed one last topping off of coolant. They couldn't find any head gasket issues tho.

 

[04Liberty]

I like how the first shop found no evidence of a blown head gasket but immediately jumped to that conclusion...

 

[ctliberty]

The first shop thought it was a head gasket. I brought it to the second shop for a second opinion and they found it low on coolant. Why didn't the first shop see that? I am also wondering why it was low on coolant besides it possibly needing a top off after radiator replacement. Any suggestions on where to check for coolant leak or coolant loss?

 

[CzarKJ]

The first shop thought it was a head gasket. I brought it to the second shop for a second opinion and they found it low on coolant. Why didn't the first shop see that? I am also wondering why it was low on coolant besides it possibly needing a top off after radiator replacement. Any suggestions on where to check for coolant leak or coolant loss?

Check your hoses!! One could be slipping off. Any white coolant spray inside the engine bay?

 

[profdlp]

The first shop thought it was a head gasket. I brought it to the second shop for a second opinion and they found it low on coolant. Why didn't the first shop see that?

Probably because a shop makes a whole lot more money replacing a head gasket than it does by topping off coolant.

I am also wondering why it was low on coolant besides it possibly needing a top off after radiator replacement. Any suggestions on where to check for coolant leak or coolant loss?

Make sure you use the hex head bleeder valve by the top hose to purge any trapped air. My guess would be that you might have had a bunch of air in there which gradually bubbled its way out, allowing the coolant level to drop. What did the reservoir level look like?

On a related note, did you and Shop #2 use HOAT coolant all the way through?

 

[LibertyTC]

If shop #2 was a Jeep Dealer, you sure hope they would use Hoat coolant!~

 

[profdlp]

If shop #2 was a Jeep Dealer, you sure hope they would use Hoat coolant!~

Missed that in the first post. The point still stands, though, if the shop that did the radiator replacement was not the Jeep dealer. I think mine had a little of everything in it when I bought it and it turned out to be not so good in the long run.

 

[ctliberty]

I do have some white coolant spray in engine compartment right now. When I checked in Friday when the overheating happened nothing was wet with coolant. That's when I saw the reservoir steaming and bubbling. It was a Jeep dealer that installed the radiator and HOAT was used. I was told to only top off with that or the Zerex G5. I will recheck the hoses but so far the level hasn't changed since they added some.

 

[rcjohnson]

I would stay away from that first shop. I know a head gasket job around here runs about $2000.

 

[ctliberty]

I agree on staying away