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Replaced my radiator and thermostat yesterday. Leaking today...

A

amongmany

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Lo
Filled with nearly 2 gallons of coolant this morning, including the overflow container. Ran the Jeep for 10 mins to let it get up to temp. And... there’s coolant dripping.

Can’t quite pinpoint where it’s from, though it looks like it may have run from the radiator cap. There are some drips on the air box and below the filler neck. Would the radiator overflow as it heats up?

Pics: https://imgur.com/a/iasAqLG


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Coolant expands as it heats up and if the pressure exceeds the radiator's cap pressure setting, it will release coolant to the overflow bottle..
In your case, it looks like either the radiator cap has a bad seal or the radiator itself has a defect where the cap seats, try another cap and examine the mating surface for damage.
 
It’s definitely coming from the radiator cap.
ddb4f45ba53a77aca22a4f4105afbdfe.jpg



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lazyxj said:
Coolant expands as it heats up and if the pressure exceeds the radiator's cap pressure setting, it will release coolant to the overflow bottle..

In your case, it looks like either the radiator cap has a bad seal or the radiator itself has a defect where the cap seats, try another cap and examine the mating surface for damage.
Click to expand...



Looks like I’ll have to grab a replacement cap to test. Anything special I should look for?


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Also check the sealing surface inside the filler neck. That lower "shelf" is where the gasket seats. Also check the gasket and the cap.
 
Stick something through the overflow nipple. I got one new radiator where the nipple was plugged with paint or maybe an errant piece of plastic.
Probably the cap seal or the filler neck sealing surface, but check the nipple anyway just in case.
 
Replacing the radiator cap fixed the worst of it but it’s still dripping a little from the thermostat housing. Gonna try to tighten that up once things cool down. Any other advice there?


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You'll need to dig deeper because the water pump is right there also.
 
Most likely you are going to have to do the thermostat gasket again — it probably won’t stop

Don’t overtighten — you run the risk of stripping the threads

The thermostat is finicky on some — it can easily slip out of place while trying to get the housing in position
 
Heavyopp said:
Most likely you are going to have to do the thermostat gasket again — it probably won’t stop

Don’t overtighten — you run the risk of stripping the threads

The thermostat is finicky on some — it can easily slip out of place while trying to get the housing in position
Click to expand...



Yep. That’s the plan. Unfortunately.


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Realize that, IIRC all three bolts are wet bolts.
 
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