Zack92MJ

So my jeep was parked out in my yard, and I went out and popped the hood and all of coolant was gone out of my overflow resivor..now my question is...how does this system work? Now yes I do know how a 'cooling system' works..I wanna know does the system 'suck' coolant back into the radiator if it over flows,,now I know it probably doesn't but its worth asking about..hahaha so back to my question, where could have it gone? Do I have a crack in it, or was it 'sucked' back in? Hahah


Oh btw, I changed out my water pump Sunday. I drove it all day Monday and this morning with out any problems..

djb383

Your system MUST always have some coolant in the bottle, even when cold and the rad cap MUST be functioning correctly as it is a 2-way valve that allows coolant to flow from the rad into the bottle as motor temp rises and flow back into the rad as the motor cools. Without sufficient coolant in the bottle, air gets sucked back into the rad.....not good.

stowe

I had someone steal the front drive shaft out of my K5 one time, but never my coolant. It is possible that you have a crack in your reservoir, you would be the only one that can determine that. You said that you replaced the water pump. Maybe when you did it left enough air in the system to cause it to draw all the fluid out of the revervoir to compensate. I'd say check your oil and make sure it isn't milky (cracked head/blown head gasket causing antifreeze to get into oil). look under the rig to make sure there isn't any on the ground. If that all checks out, fill the radiator and add coolant to the reservoir and keep an eye on it. You might be fine.

JeepingDan

It probably had an air pocket from changing the water pump and sucked the coolant from the bottle when it cooled down.
Just fill it back up and keep an eye on it.

tjwalker

I agree that this is a likely cause. After any work involving the cooling system, it can take a few heat up and cool down cycles (usually no more than 3) to purge the air pockets. That always results in the level on the coolant reservoir going down a bit.

Fill it to the proper level (when cold or hot, there are lines for each) and watch it.

djb383

Hopefully others will read this thread and realize maybe they don't know quite as much as they thought they did regarding "how a 'cooling system' works". Check the bottle by raising the hood at least once a week.

Zack92MJ

haha I know how a basic system works, I just have never had one with an over flowthingy like my jeep does. haha but yeah thats what I'm think because i put some coolant into the radiator because I didnt want it to start without any in it..i dont know im weird dont judge, but i did check my reservoir for a crack..I just think i didnt have enough coolant in it.
So filled up with coolant and took if for a test drive and so far no leak

As far as a head/ I've had one go out on my car so I know 'kinda' know what its like. and Ive had no over heating at all, it actually didnt overheat when my pump started to leak from the weep-hole nor when all of my coolant disappeared!

djb383

So, your previous vehicle(s) was/were Ford Model T's? Just kidding.....coolant recovery systems have been around for decades....nothing new to the Jeep.

Zack92MJ

Haha a Ford Taurus actually! What I mean by that was the coolant tank was part of the system not like jeeps. haha I've basically only had fords

djb383

I'm confused now.....Jeep coolant tanks/bottles aren't part of the system?

Zack92MJ

I hope this explains what im trying to unsuccessfully explain...

In my Taurus..The tank was part of system; if flowed through the tank/bottle/thing.

In my Xj... It flows from the tank/bottle/thing to the radiator; so in my mind i didnt link it to the system because i didnt relate the two,,well i did..i jsut didnt know it would flow back, I thought it was an overflow tank/bottle/thing


Green = coolant
Red = flow of coolant
Black = hoses, tank/bottle/thing

Dont judge I made it in like 30 seconds...please someone correct me if im wrong, as you can tell from my post im still a noobie, I got my Jeep 30 days ago (my temp tags expired today haha)

Wadesie

It burped,

djb383

Excellent drawings and both are "coolant recovery type systems" and both are part of the cooling systems........they both need to have some coolant in them at all times.

Zack92MJ

Yeah I filled her coolant tank back up and it has been full for the past few days good i guess...
SO..I found a lot of rust/crap in it, so i washed it out..so i assume if theres a bunch of crap in that, then theres probably some in my system as well..So my question is would be better off doing it myself (flushing it out with a garden hose) or taking it to a shop to get if actually flushed out?