Coolant problems, no heat

[JBDive]

Some background first:

Engine kept overheating then it wouldn't. Seemed to have no pattern as I might be able to drive 60 miles on a very hot day with no issues then on another day I couldn't go two blocks without it overheating. In checking the radiator out I found a small crack that many others have reported on the top, drivers side near a joint. Thinking maybe I was having a pressure issue I roughened up the plastic and used a high temp epoxy yet I was still having the same problems.

Talked to a radiator shop who laughed at my attempt with the epoxy but said bring it in and we'd just replace out the radiator but they would test flow and pressure first. They called after testing and said that my repair job actually was working really well but we went ahead and went with the replacement assuming there must be some corrosion inside that was restricting flow. They called again and said as soon as they pulled the radiator it was full of what looked like that crappy radiator leak fixer junk, there were this fiber like clumps in the system. I have never used anything in the radiator.

So new radiator and all was well until winter. No damn heat. A quick Google search resulted in a huge number of people reporting heat issues and instructions for back flushing the heater core. Ok so I flush the heater and some more of those damn clumps came out. I called the radiator shop and asked if they had not fully flushed the system and they swear they did. Put everything back together, fill the system and I've got heat. This lasted for about a month and again, no heat. Again I flushed the heater core and again I have heat, for awhile.

Well here we are going into winter and I was cleaning up the Jeep, vacuum, lint brush the seats, etc and topped it off with a spray of Febreze. As it was humid as heck then adding in the Febreze I decided to run the Defrost and heat and damnit, no heat again.

So I need a solution here other than back flushing the heater core every few months. I have to assume there is more of these damn globs in the system still although the last flush I was unable to find anything in the fluid that came out (I caught it in a bucket to check). Was going to call around and see if any local shops can do a real flush and know how to do it to a Jeep Liberty and include the heater core. From some post I've read you really can't do this in the driveway.

02 Jeep Liberty Limited

 

[CzarKJ]

I'm curious what coolant are you using?

 

[uss2defiant]

1. what coolant are you using?
2. I dont think the shop actually did a flush.
3. what's ur mileage?
4. did you change the WP?
5. did you change the thermostat?

 

[JBDive]

HOAT, bought from dealership and mixed, not the pre-mix. Yes distilled water.

No reason to change out wither the thermostat of WP since cooling works fine. I have no doubt had I been able to actually do a real flush that the old radiator would have been fine, at least for some time with the repair I did. The problem was this gunk that has built up in the coolant. It's kind of like a jelly, fairly white, somewhat fibrous. No anti leak or other additives were ever used.

Now I am at 130k, at the radiator change I was at 100k+/-. I'm pulling the resivor and about to flush the heater coil right now and will put on a spare hose so I can catch the initial flush into a bucket to look for this crap again. Coolant was changed during radiator replacement which was within the 100k per the manual but over the 5 year time period it list. Even if the coolant breaks down over time I can't see it developing these clumps on it's own.

 

[JBDive]

So flushed it out, again, and yeap it was full of this junk. I'd say there was a good 2 tablespoons of this stuff. It came out in tubular form as if a mold of the inside of the heater tube, slightly smaller. My bet is the heater core tube itself is smaller than the tube on the firewall leading to it. One clump was well over 2 inches long and I didn't think to take a picture until later when more came out.

It has the consistency of petroleum jelly or typical grease you would use on ball joints and is greasy to the touch with a bit of grit to it.

The color of the bucket I caught it in is a dark yellow so the camera played a bit with the color matching.

After flushing my heater temps are:

Heat on Full Fan: 101
Heat on Low Fan: 132
Defrost on High: 97
Defrost on Low: 128

 

[ltd02]

How did the rad shop flush and did they use HOAT for the refill? Next question is have you had this since it was new? If not maybe the PO screwed it up (mixed coolants or added rad fix) and you're the lucky benefactor.

 

[HoosierJeeper]

Dealer does good coolant flushes.

 

[JBDive]

How did the rad shop flush and did they use HOAT for the refill? Next question is have you had this since it was new? If not maybe the PO screwed it up (mixed coolants or added rad fix) and you're the lucky benefactor.

I'm the original owner, vehicle has been taken care of. I went to a "radiator shop", a place that only does radiator and cooling system work expecting them to know how to do a proper job. Dealership work is just way overpriced for normal vehicle work. I brought it up with them prior to showing up that we needed HOAT and I could go get it but they said they got a better price from the dealer than I would. They had two jugs on the bench when I showed up, same jugs as I get from the dealer. Fluid looked perfect (color) when I picked it up.

Again cooling is working like a charm but my guess is whatever happened to create these globs was clogging the radiator or the thermostat which was what caused the initial overheating problems. I'm just wondering why I'm still finding this crap after flushing the heater some 4 times now? Do I need ot pack it in and get a real flush done and if so would you trust a third party or pay the dealer overpricing so hopefully they know how to truly flush out everything.

 

[ltd02]

You aren't losing any oil are you? Usually if you have a headgasket issue the exhaust goes into the coolant, coolant goes out the exhaust or coolant goes into the oil. I have heard of people getting oil in the coolant but seems unlikely. Also the greasy consistency is likely just be the coolant reacting with something but if you get oil in there in small amounts it may slowly cause the clotting you are seeing.

I'd pay the dealer for a flush and have on a number of vehicles. They aren't so overpriced to me in my area. Less than 200 bucks seems reasonable to me for how infrequent this service is usually required.

 

[TwoBobsKJ]

Dealer does good coolant flushes.

...Do I need ot pack it in and get a real flush done and if so would you trust a third party or pay the dealer overpricing so hopefully they know how to truly flush out everything.

HoosierJeeper is right. Radiator flushes and transmission flushes are two services at the dealership that are very reasonable. I've had them do the cooling system flush and they did a good job and the price was right.

The challenge with flushing the heater core is that it is a double bypass core - meaning the fluid can run through the core a couple of different ways. In other words, the core piping has a "shortcut" that fluid will flow through if the center of the core is plugged. Reverse flushing with warm water may help - put a hose on each pipe that comes through the firewall and run water through it at high pressure to see if you can get some more of that crap out of the core. A flush at the dealer will probably get more of it out of the engine.

P.S. Check the coolant reservoir to see if you have that gunk in there.


Bob

 

[M38 Bob]

Always amazes me the faith folks put in the dealer technicians. Nearly all the good ones I've ever known are either smart enough to find a better profession, or go in business for themselves.

Bob

 

[uss2defiant]

or DIY.

I would certainly use the gunk you got out as proof to get the shop to redo it but be there looking over when they're doin it.