2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee coolant leak

Hey everyone. Picked up a used Cherokee yesterday and discovered on my way to work that there’s a nice coolant leak. I’ve been looking for it for about an hour to no avail. If anyone has better eyes I’ll share a 6 pack lol. Maybe I need some UV dye :frowning:

If it’s a straight 6 check the under side of the water pump with your finger. It’ll weep from there and travel down the lower radiator hose.

V8 but I’ll definately check the water pump closely . thanks Raymond

If the space doesn’t have a coolant system pump - I can meet you with mine on Thursday after 7pm or possibly weds night.

with the pump you pressurize the cooling system and look for leaks

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We only have this and a cap tester :frowning: the help would be appreciated. I’m going to drain a bit of oil tonight to ensure there’s no coolant in it. I can meet you either or both nights tlar

Another V8 WJ!!! Are you getting the low coolant alarm on the overhead display? pull up the carpet in the passenger foot well. If it’s damp underneath, you’re heater core is leaking. It’s a very common problem with 99-04 WJs.

I was inspired by yours honestly.

Its so wet down there I could go swimming! Is a new heater core the fix ? I tried driving it home and didn’t make it a mile so it’ll be at DMS for the night :frowning:

A wet passenger foot well can also be due to a plugged drain from the A/C evaporator. When I had that problem, water ran back and dripped to the ground ahead of the right rear wheel well. Is that fluid water or coolant?

Are you seeing any coolant dripping on the pavement anywhere? Or just a low coolant warning on the overhead?

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Taste test can easily determine which of these it it is.

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Sorry was on a phone earlier, here’s the full writeup:

Drove home yesterday no issues and no unusual temperature. It did have a wet passenger floor which i attributed to a an A/C leak so I turned the air off. Drove 15 miles to work this morning and the temperature started climbing at the end. Didn’t redline yet but as I pulled into work the engine bay started steaming. It was white so i knew immediately it was coolant. Turned off the car and opened the engine bay to let it cool and investigate. Coolant was dripping out pretty regularly and when I came back in 5 minutes there was about 2 cups around the ground.

Fast forward to getting off of work. I take it to DMS to investigate (less than one mile) and I don’t find anything, however the floor is definitely wetter with the A/C still off. Can’t find shit so I end up trying to nurse it home, assuming I can stop 3-4 times. Get two miles out and the temp is pegged and “Check Gauges” light comes on, immediately pull over and realize its time to head back. I waited about an hour for it to cool down, made sure the coolant was topped up and drove it back to DMS (stopping half way due to overhead). My gut says the passenger floorboard is wet with water, as it has no smell and no tint. The coolant steaming out of the engine bay has a green tint and smell. The heater does not work and there’s some funky cable runs under the passenger dash.

Now it’s at DMS and the electric is fucked, the car won’t even acknowledge the key. If anyone notices the black jeep with half the windows down, that’s me :frowning:

My goal for tomorrow is to dry the shit out of the floor boards, get the windows up and park it correctly.

Side note, ODBII says nothing unusual (and mirrors the temp the gauge reports) and no gauges or overheads show any unusual data UNTIL the extreme temperature range, at that point I get a “Check Gauges” warning on the dash.

This is exactly what my RAV4 was doing. Slow leak, wet floor. Interior smelled of coolant. It was a heater leak (18 years old 220K at that time). A new heater core was only about $68 - but I’d have to take the entire dash out (including airbags) just to get at the darn thing. Or spend $800 and have it done - thank you no.

So I figured what the heck, I’ll try stop stop leak. After about 200 miles the leak did stop. for about 18 months. It was past winter so I just undid the hose couplings at the firewall, put a pipe between them with clamps and went on my merry way by-passing the heater. Of course no heater or great defroster. The defroster works somewhat because it cuts the A/C in to dry the air. A/C on RAV4 works fine. It got me through last winter. Is the the best way to do it? No. But I didn’t want to disassemble car or pay $700. Don’t put more than one of these in the vehicle or you’ll seal the radiator.

Now I have the former “Allenmobile”, henceforth the “Mancermobile.” The heater in it works great, A/C doesn’t condenser has leak (it was free and didn’t have to be towed home) - I’m set for next winter. Being a convertible hot days aren’t so bad.

Hope your heater core is easier to get to. It’s the proper fix.

In the winter, the Cabriolet and it’s heater. On hot muggy days that it won’t rain, the the RAV4 with A/C. Not an ideal solution, but it is working me at least.

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I want to rip this car apart anyway. So it sounds like a good plan for tomorrow is cleaning up the water and bypassing the heater core. That’ll at least tell me if it’s indeed the leak or not. Really hoping the electric works tomorrow. I unplugged the battery for tonight

Thanks for the advice and wisdom everyone!

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Sorry to read that. It appears that you have several problems. I hope they all have easy fixes.

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Use a shop vac to suck up the water on the floor. It’ll get a lot of it if you go slowly - will dry out faster and help prevent pan from rusting out.

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You need to buy a remanfactured PCM. The solder pins are known to crack with age or desolate with heat. You might be able to crack the box open and resolver the pins but the box isn’t meant to be opened and it’s easy to break the circuit board (ask me how I know this)

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It’s all good Bill I love this stuff, however I wasn’t expecting it so soon haha. Got a correctly angled heater hose today, gonna bypass when I come in for lunch.

Photomancer, I took the seat out and cleaned it up real good, no floor rust but the seat bolts were slightly rusty. Gonna soak em

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Oh another reason to shop vac - coolant does evaporate very well. Glad you got to it.

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Bypassed the heater core only to find another leak somewhere near the radiator. Shoot.

You probably have a radiator end tank leaking - you wouldn’t be able to “see” it unless the end tanks are visible (plastic end pieces on aluminum - “modern applications” or metal end tanks on an all metal radiator (rare these days).

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