A Dirt Head's JK

So nearly 80k miles without a single big issue, but my JK has officially had its first. Noticed a burning smell and slightly excessive heat from the engine bay, temp gauge was fine but I still decided to crawl under and found this:

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It’s leaking coolant… everywhere. This happened so fast, just 3k miles ago during my last oil change it was at the max fill line and all was well - it’s now well below the min line in the reservoir.

Help. It seems like it’s coming out from every bolt. Causes? Fixes? Cost? Gonna top it off with coolant tonight and get an estimate at work tomorrow, but I’m pretty bummed and would appreciate any input with similar experiences on the JK 3.6.
 
Hard to tell but maybe it’s run in down from water pump? JKs known for radiator issues so could be blowing back from a crack somewhere in radiator. Coolant Likely not leaking from block like it’s may appear
 
benatc1 said:
Hard to tell but maybe it’s run in down from water pump? JKs known for radiator issues so could be blowing back from a crack somewhere in radiator. Coolant Likely not leaking from block like it’s may appear
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My immediate thoughts were water pump or head gasket, will check the radiator in the morning. Heard the JK commonly cracks on the upper driver side.

Edit: The most heat and strongest burning coolant smell is definitely coming from the upper drivers side corner of the radiator.
 
GP NOIR said:
Coolant leaks will spread coolant everywhere. Wash off all the residue. Top off the radiator, run the engine and watch for the leak and trace it back to it's source.
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It’s mainly leaking on the diff housing which is right below the reservoir. After looking at it longer it looks like it’s being thrown back from there and there only, can’t find any other areas it’s leaked onto other than the pink streaks on the bottom of the block.

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DirtHeadDavis said:
My immediate thoughts were water pump or head gasket, will check the radiator in the morning. Heard the JK commonly cracks on the upper driver side.

Edit: The most heat and strongest burning coolant smell is definitely coming from the upper drivers side corner of the radiator.
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probably not head gasket if it came on quickly like that, but you never know, obv hopefully not that
 
check the thermostat housing, I had a pinhole under the curve before the hose that was spraying fluid everywhere and took a while to find.

Turned the heater full on, let it idle to temp then stated looking while it was idling for steam and leaks.

Another method if you have a helper, with the engine cold, spray soapy/water mixture around the pump and suspected areas then have your helper start it up. The pressure will make the soap bubble (same as looking for tire air leaks).

My buddie's 2 door was leaking along the bottom of the radiator where the plastic meets the aluminum.
 
jeeeep said:
check the thermostat housing, I had a pinhole under the curve before the hose that was spraying fluid everywhere and took a while to find.

Turned the heater full on, let it idle to temp then stated looking while it was idling for steam and leaks.

Another method if you have a helper, with the engine cold, spray soapy/water mixture around the pump and suspected areas then have your helper start it up. The pressure will make the soap bubble (same as looking for tire air leaks).

My buddie's 2 door was leaking along the bottom of the radiator where the plastic meets the aluminum.
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Good tips thanks! Filled the nearly dry coolant tank up this morning and will do a series of tests this week. Sucks as I planned to head to Utah for the week next week, would like to sort this out before then.

After getting a decent inspection done in the sunlight this morning, I’m pretty confident it’s the water pump now lol.

Drove to work just fine (but still smelled of burning coolant pretty quickly) and will have the techs look it over for a second and third set of eyes as well.
 
DirtHeadDavis said:
Good tips thanks! Filled the nearly dry coolant tank up this morning and will do a series of tests this week. Sucks as I planned to head to Utah for the week next week, would like to sort this out before then.

After getting a decent inspection done in the sunlight this morning, I’m pretty confident it’s the water pump now lol.

Drove to work just fine (but still smelled of burning coolant pretty quickly) and will have the techs look it over for a second and third set of eyes as well.
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Hope you can get it fixed before your trip!
 
TrailHunter said:
Maybe with some persuasion your Dealer Tech could hook you up?

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For your information Kris they're hooking me up anyway. They think it's the water pump too and if so I only have to pay for the part (employee price too) and a case of brew for the boys. As enticing as her campaign is I'm still voting for Trump.

Lol in all seriousness I may have them do it since I'm short on time, we'll see.
 
DirtHeadDavis said:
For your information Kris they're hooking me up anyway. They think it's the water pump too and if so I only have to pay for the part (employee price too) and a case of brew for the boys. As enticing as her campaign is I'm still voting for Trump.

Lol in all seriousness I may have them do it since I'm short on time, we'll see.
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Good perk! I'd have them do it and that'll give you time to drive it and make sure no other issues (y)
 
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