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Entire Cooling System -- 2004 4.7 GC

2K views 4 replies 3 participants last post by  hoffmanestates 
#1 ·
Hey guys,

I am running in circles here. Could use a bit of advice.

I have been trying to fix a slow leak in my cooling system that overtime causes my 2004 4.7 Jeep Grand Cherokee to overheat.

I first replaced the water pump and thermostat this summer. Everything was fine for a few month, but then I overheated again. With little time to diagnose the problem due to summer craziness, I continued to fill my system with HOAT coolant to get by until a few weeks ago I noticed a small crack in my radiator.

I have replaced my radiator and did the upper and lower hoses while I was there. I am noticing that after a week of "burping" the system, that I might still be losing fluid from somewhere.


SYMPTOMS?
What I am seeing is that when I start my Jeep in the mornings, a decent amount of liquid is dripping from the bottom of the engine block, directly under the serpentine belt. Liquid appears around the water pump (weep hole is my guess), but IT STOPS after about 2 minutes. As I use my car throughout the day, there is no leaking fluid, and while the car is off, there is no leaking fluid. Is this condensation or is my months old water pump already broken? It is hard to tell if the fluid is water or coolant due to the clear nature of HOAT. My nose isn't good enough to detect the smell. Is it worth putting a food coloring in the liquid?

If my water pump is fine (hopefully) then my determination is a blown head gasket if the overheating continues.

Let me know your thoughts. It is very strange that the leak only occurs on the first fire up of the day.

Best,

Greg
 
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#2 ·
I would expect a small leak at the pump shaft, which evaporates the liquid on a hot engine before it can form a drip. When standing still and cooling down, the liquid will not evaporate anymore and appears during start.
Its not normal to have any liquid coming from the waterpump area.
Which brand of pump did you install?
If you have a blown or leaking headgasket, you normally see white smoke coming from the exhaust and a sweet smell coming from it.
 
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