How to refill cooling system in JT Gladiator

A

adamjedgar

New member
Hi guys,
Dealer put new engine in my Gladiator.

Dealer stated they had significant trouble bleeding air out of system immediately after the new long block engine install...so they then also replaced thermostat and water pump.

I drove car home however whenever I drive it, I can smell hot coolant...but have not found any leaks

Less than 1,000km...temp suddenly went through roof yesterday a few hundred meters from leaving my house.

Returned home, shut down, next day can't find any evidence of leaks anywhere underneath engine.

However,

Plastic overflow reservoir is empty.

I'm deeply suspicious as to where the water has gone.

First thought is, although I've done over 500km

Perhaps it had air in the system? Why it wouldn't overheat sooner if there isn't enough coolant in the system, or there's an airpocket, mystifies me?


My plan is to drain the existing MOPAR "yellow/orange" coolant (record volume of fluid drained) and then fully refill cooling system with Penrite OEM purple coolant (OAT)

Do JTs require any special method of purging air out of system? Can I "burp it" with funnel in overflow reservoir?

Does anyone have a video purging cooling system specifically on JTs given the filler cap is not mounted directly on radiator?
 
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Because after your car has had the following in 50,000km

2 new transmissions
3 oil.coolers
2 water pumps
Pcv valve replaced
Front right hand side axle seal (which in Australia is $600 AUD just for the seal and $330 per.litre for diff oil)
Both heads off the engine due to caebon build up from oiling due to whst eventually turned out to be the PCV...THIS ALONE WAS 8 MONTHS OF STUFFING ME AROUND EVEN BLAMING ME FOR THE ISSUE BECAUSE OF BAD FUEL...WHICH I QUICKLY PROVED WRONG because i have all the fuel receipts for every tank of fuel that has ever been used in the car
dealer changing transmission the forgetting to connect breather hose and water got in ruining a brand new transmission

Almost 6 momths off the road in 3 different jeep wodkshops
Has been on til trays 3 times...this current issue would be the 4th time if i end up not being able to sort the sudden overheatng issue

Ive owned this car from new since Oct 22...6 months off the road...serivce department at the only dealership nearby have told me that cant look a the car for a week if roadside assist get a tilt tray and upwards of a month if i take it too them on a car trailer... im bloody sick of this

Jeep mechanics who have done shoddy work causing almost every single one of the above issues

Is that enough reason for you???

If you were me...wouldnt you have gotten a lawyer by now?

See my journey on the following forum...once you read it you will understand im sure.

This is my merry ...its christmas ongoing disaster


So with the above out of the way...any JT specific hints on bleeding the system please would be sincerely appreciated.

I am not looking for ammunition, i just want to get my car back on the road ...its hbristmas few mechanics are working. If i can purge the system and it doesnt do this again...ill be a very happy camper and a relieved Jeep owner who can just drive his car during the xmas holiday weekend. Ive been without this car for a big portion of 2024. It has litterally been off the road for the last 3 months of this year (2 months with engine swap and 1 month with front axle seal...which required pulling the diff center out amd also manufacturijg a diff spreader.....i did axle seal myself on weekends whilst also working 900km away from home during the week with my job... because it was 2 days after engine swap! and i had had enough
 
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Smelling coolant after work has been done to the cooling system is totally normal. The stuff goes everywhere and it's just burning off. That said and being that you're not seeing any leaks, just keep adding coolant to the reservoir bottle till you reach the max fill line and go. Needing to do this more than once is totally normal.
 
Welcome, I guess. Understand you’re frustrated with the shops you took it to, and likely the POS website you linked here, but don’t take it out on people wanting to help and are asking legitimate questions.
 
adamjedgar said:
Because after your car has had the following in 50,000km

2 new transmissions
3 oil.coolers
2 water pumps
Pcv valve replaced
Front right hand side axle seal (which in Australia is $600 AUD just for the seal and $330 per.litre for diff oil)
Both heads off the engine due to caebon build up from oiling due to whst eventually turned out to be the PCV...THIS ALONE WAS 8 MONTHS OF STUFFING ME AROUND EVEN BLAMING ME FOR THE ISSUE BECAUSE OF BAD FUEL...WHICH I QUICKLY PROVED WRONG because i have all the fuel receipts for every tank of fuel that has ever been used in the car
dealer changing transmission the forgetting to connect breather hose and water got in ruining a brand new transmission

Almost 6 momths off the road in 3 different jeep wodkshops
Has been on til trays 3 times...this current issue would be the 4th time if i end up not being able to sort the sudden overheatng issue

Ive owned this car from new since Oct 22...6 months off the road...serivce department at the only dealership nearby have told me that cant look a the car for a week if roadside assist get a tilt tray and upwards of a month if i take it too them on a car trailer... im bloody sick of this

Jeep mechanics who have done shoddy work causing almost every single one of the above issues

Is that enough reason for you???

If you were me...wouldnt you have gotten a lawyer by now?

See my journey on the following forum...once you read it you will understand im sure.

This is my merry ...its christmas ongoing disaster


So with the above out of the way...any JT specific hints on bleeding the system please would be sincerely appreciated.

I am not looking for ammunition, i just want to get my car back on the road ...its hbristmas few mechanics are working. If i can purge the system and it doesnt do this again...ill be a very happy camper and a relieved Jeep owner who can just drive his car during the xmas holiday weekend. Ive been without this car for a big portion of 2024. It has litterally been off the road for the last 3 months of this year (2 months with engine swap and 1 month with front axle seal...which required pulling the diff center out amd also manufacturijg a diff spreader.....i did axle seal myself on weekends whilst also working 900km away from home during the week with my job... because it was 2 days after engine swap! and i had had enough
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That forum is gayer than aids, not gonna read. The dealership was good enough to swap your motor and do all that other work but they aren’t good enough for you to bring it back to them when there is an issue with a new part they installed?
 
OverlanderJK said:
That forum is gayer than aids, not gonna read. The dealership was good enough to swap your motor and do all that other work but they aren’t good enough for you to bring it back to them when there is an issue with a new part they installed?
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The dealership who did the engine swap went broke and closed down 3 weeks after my engine swap (i knew they were closing down, the sevice manager told me that upfront)

Also, an updatr...
I purchased a proper funnel specificslly for filling and purging the system, topped up the fluid with 2.5 litres of demineralised water...
Everything seemed fine whilst idling with funnel.

Turned off, reinstalled cap, left to cool down for 2 hours...

Started up...didnt get out 50 meters from the driveway and it started overheated again.

Called a tow truck at this point.

Stupid thing is, its now 2 days later and i visited the workshop this morning. We started up the car, it idled perfectly maintaining temp and did not overheat...however, the heater inside cab is only blowing cold air.

So somethings not right.

youtube video of the purging after topup
1000016337.jpg
 

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You have a big air pocket in the system that just needs to work itself out. Run the jeep with the heat on full blast and with the nose up in the air. Rev the engine to help circulate the coolant and don’t just let it idle.
 
OverlanderJK said:
You just had the dealer install a new motor, why would you do anything other than take it directly to them?
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Because IMO - its very hit or miss with dealerships - i've had them overfill the oil in my '21 (before i sold it) on 2 separate occasions, 3rd time they didn't even do the oil change. Not just CDJR dealers - but i've had similar experiences with my F250 in the past. The guys doing coolant flush/refills, lube, brakes etc are the greenest of green and when unsupervised they can do a spectacularly (or not do at all) crappy job.
 
jwolfejt said:
Because IMO - its very hit or miss with dealerships - i've had them overfill the oil in my '21 (before i sold it) on 2 separate occasions, 3rd time they didn't even do the oil change. Not just CDJR dealers - but i've had similar experiences with my F250 in the past. The guys doing coolant flush/refills, lube, brakes etc are the greenest of green and when unsupervised they can do a spectacularly (or not do at all) crappy job.
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That's great, I like cookies too but you didn't just have a motor swapped by a dealership in your examples.
 
cozdude said:
You have a big air pocket in the system that just needs to work itself out. Run the jeep with the heat on full blast and with the nose up in the air. Rev the engine to help circulate the coolant and don’t just let it idle.
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This - also for what its worth - on all my older vehicles I'd run them at idle without the cap on - wait for them to get upto temp - and you could see air escaping the system through the reservoir. My understanding is that the systems in almost all CDJR products are self bleeding - but I wouldn't take huge air pockets into that account.
 
OverlanderJK said:
That's great, I like cookies too but you didn't just have a motor swapped by a dealership in your examples.
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Yeah, if its warranty work like this i'd take it to a dealer - if anything so I can have it documented that after the engine swap it was overheating (so if anything happens as a result - god forbid) you have something to go back to. Does not guarantee they will fix it. Look at all the "Death Wobble" complaints - many folks take their Jeeps in to get a diag/resolution - end up frustrated chasing a wobble for months... reputable indie shop has it sorted while they wait. The standard thing they do is just replace the steering dampener and ship it.

Dealer service centers suck - I've only seen a few that actually resolve issues. I complained about lifter noise on my '22 2500 (cummins) - they kept sending me back home - telling me it was a idler pulley ... normal injector rattle "it's within spec" ... Was even told that rattle was the EGR by one tech and that I should look into "putting it on a diet" - which I did - but @ 17k miles - lifters failed and ofcourse It was not covered under warranty - and i was left with a huge bill. I've had my fair share of dealing with service advisors. If you think finding a CDJR dealer with decent Jeep techs is hard - even more difficult to find a decent one that understands the Cummins engines. At one point that same truck sat at the dealership for 3 weeks - they did nothing and told me to come pick it back up - no rental no nothing.


The EcoDiesel's were a even bigger disaster.

Not sure what you're experience dealing with service departments is (and I hope you do have a decent service dept to deal with) - but my experience is if you find a good one - treat them well and count your blessings because most of them are dealing with tech shortages... cuts and ways to increase their margins (in my opinion - in fraudulent and nefarious ways) at the customers expense.
 
jwolfejt said:
Yeah, if its warranty work like this i'd take it to a dealer - if anything so I can have it documented that after the engine swap it was overheating (so if anything happens as a result - god forbid) you have something to go back to.
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This is literally what i said. What is the need for all the other gibberish? Has nothing to do with this and this thread hasn't had any action in a month.
 
OverlanderJK said:
This is literally what i said. What is the need for all the other gibberish? Has nothing to do with this and this thread hasn't had any action in a month.
Click to expand...
The point of what I was saying is that you shouldn't trust the dealer and telling someone to just goto the dealer is almost as good as telling him to just push his vehicle off a cliff. It's like trusting the IRS to do your taxes.
 
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