My absolute nightmare Jeep Gladiator Experience over the last 20 months

[Loves Em Topless]

No problem here. I have enough customers with total faith in me, don't need his acceptance or agreement.

I've got the knowledge and reputation.
He can't take that away with angry words.

Done trying to help since he's got it all figured out and no one is going to change that.

This has been your MO before. You typically are very arrogant towards others with your superior attitude. It's been interesting in my 54 years as a dealership owner, to see how you techs think and act like prima donnas because you can fix shit. Big deal! I never wanted to be beholding to you pain in the asses, so I made sure I went to school as well. Want to see a tech get pissed off and humbled? Watch how the story changes when the owner comes out in the shop after the techs have been scratching their heads and asses for a whole day on a problem they can't figure out, and he tells them, have you tried this, and the suggestion from the boss fixes the problem in about two minutes. Really gets you techs butt hurt good when that happens. So how about getting a little humility Papa. you really aren't superman dude.

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[Loves Em Topless]

Dude, chill out. Shadowspapa, and others here, are trying to suggest things to look at based on experience. I don’t care how many degrees you have, you’re not an expert on everything. My eldest daughter has the same attitude. She has a degree in experimental psychology, and thinks she is the smartest person who ever lived, and won’t listen to anyone else whenever she has a problem with something. I totally understand your frustration, and that the “mechanics” screwed your vehicle up. I’d be pissed too. There’s no excuse for that. That’s why I do all of my own repairs, unless it’s a warranty issue. Even then, I have little faith in the dealers mechanics. I bought a new Bronco back in ‘84. 3 months later it was in for a leaky rear main seal. When I picked it up a couple of weeks later, I noticed a thumping from underneath. I pulled over to check, and they hadn’t tightened the drive shaft. I’ve never trusted another mechanic since. Not saying it’s anything like what you have been through with this, your situation is definitely screwed up. I truly hope you get this corrected soon. I retired from a BMW plant, doing repair work for over 22 years. I have started to make a few suggestions myself. However, after seeing some of your replies, I have refrained from offering any ideas.

The trouble is Shadow dudes attitude, he is rude and condescending, I've see it before from him.

Adam has had a lot of issues, and frankly, I love my Gladiator, and I'm a Jeep guy thru and thru, having owned at least ten, CJ5's, a CJ6, a few CJ7's and 3 CJ8's, but I've literally owned at least 100 vehicles, and these new Jeeps, for the money, are not that great. If the top and doors didn't come off, I probably wouldn't have kept it past 5000 miles, and bought the much more reliable new Toyota Tacoma Trail Hunter . Want to drive a nice vehicle, take a new Raptor for a ride, I put 50K on my 2018, and it literally was flawless, I'd buy another in a heartbeat. To top it off, I sold it for only a 10K loss. What can you drive for 50,000 miles that cost you only 10K to own it? When I'm done with this Gladiator at 50 K, I guarantee it will cost me at least twice that. I feel sorry for Adam, and if I sold it to him, I would have taken it back, and given him a new one. Yeah, for you doubters, I've done that for my customers.

 

[adamjedgar]

The trouble is Shadow dudes attitude, he is rude and condescending, I've see it before from him.

Adam has had a lot of issues, and frankly, I love my Gladiator, and I'm a Jeep guy thru and thru, having owned at least ten, CJ5's, a CJ6, a few CJ7's and 3 CJ8's, but I've literally owned at least 100 vehicles, and these new Jeeps, for the money, are not that great. If the top and doors didn't come off, I probably wouldn't have kept it past 5000 miles, and bought the much more reliable new Toyota Tacoma Trail Hunter . Want to drive a nice vehicle, take a new Raptor for a ride, I put 50K on my 2018, and it literally was flawless, I'd buy another in a heartbeat. To top it off, I sold it for only a 10K loss. What can you drive for 50,000 miles that cost you only 10K to own it? When I'm done with this Gladiator at 50 K, I guarantee it will cost me at least twice that. I feel sorry for Adam, and if I sold it to him, I would have taken it back, and given him a new one. Yeah, for you doubters, I've done that for my customers.

So agree with you on this.

For me, its important that the forum members here remember, if someone asked me

"would you buy another Wrangler/Gladiator?"

My answer would be...

"Id buy one in a heartbeat"

I love this car because offroad, it truly is a hell of a 4wd and i absolutely love the Tonka Truck look. There is no other road registered daily driver vehicle that i would rather drive offroad to be honest...it turns heads wherever it goes and i find myself part of an elite club of converts that cant help themselves but own one inspite of these problems.

Probably the only thing i would change is the engine...why the V8 was dumped is beyond me...thrn again, i think electric cars are for pussy's.

Oh also, shadowspapa and i have found some common ground...he has been very helpful on my other thread related to the rhs front axle inner seal issue and i sincerely appreciate his input there.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Want to see a tech get pissed off and humbled? Watch how the story changes when the owner comes out in the shop after the techs have been scratching their heads and asses for a whole day on a problem they can't figure out, and he tells them, have you tried this, and the suggestion from the boss fixes the problem in about two minutes.

LOL - I'm the one that came in and resolved the issues after others spent weeks trying to figure things out. Vibration on a SBC after a long block was installed........ they'd been on it for days while I was on vacation. Hey, did you double-check that you actually got a 350 and not a 400? Uh, no, we ordered a 350.
Oops, you got a 400 - need to pull the flex plate back out. One is internally balanced, the other externally.
(but then, I also taught automotive courses. The boss always assigned me to his best customers, although the service manager was getting pissed when customers came in requesting that I work on their vehicles. So good luck trying the smack-down.)

Dunno why you have to jump in weeks later to get your licks in.
Adam and I are doing just fine. He'll get through this. I think he's learning a heck of a lot in recent weeks, he's digging into more things himself. Looks like maybe he's learned to "trust but verify" and triple check work anyone else does (there's reasons I trust extremely few people to ever work on anything I own).
Maybe some of it was self-inflicted? Maybe not - hard to sit here and know all of the details. Only HE knows that. But all of that is in the past - long since hashed out, discussed and whatever. Leave it there - in the past.
Once he gets past all of this crazy stuff- some of it because of techs he's got to put up with (they really sound like they do shoddy work), part of it due to his inexperience with these (we ALL start from 0 and work from there) - he'll get there.
Once things are sorted out, he'll likely have something he'll like (hopefully, but that's HIS call)

 

[adamjedgar]

OMG

THIS IS A BRAND NEW LONG BLOCK ENGINE...WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON HERE?

Im not sure if I've done 1,000km with this engine?

• I picked it up from Melbourne city Jeep and drove to Sunbury Victoria Australia.
• Sunbury to wombat state forest west of Gisborne return for a light day of 4wding with the wife and one of my kids
• came home, front axle seal blown...frustrating but fair enough, stuff like this happens. Car has been off the road for a month or so whilst i fixed it (another thread about that on these forums)
• I got it back on the road a couple of weeks ago, however, i have been away so the car has only driven from Sunbury to Bells Beach Victoria yesterday then back home.
• Today, 8km dropping one of my girls to gymn. I then get in it a few minutes ago to drive her to work..2 km down the road and this!

Its boxing day...how am i supposed to get this sorted given i don't imagine Jeep workshops are even going to be operating for a week or 2?

I'm about ready to get a lawyer...i recall city Jeep informed me when they put this engine in the car that they were having trouble bleeding the cooling system and couldn't figure out why.

What really pisses me off about this...i wanted them to replace the complete engine because its was the addon stuff that was mostly caused problems on the original one in the first place. They ignored me and now look what i have to deal with!

2 transmissions

2 engines

Im now thinking about a lawyer...my wife is really pissed at me now demanding i get another car...and not a jeep.

Melton Toyota in Victoria Australia) have brand new hybrid Tundra for sale...I'm seriously considering that option now.



Also, its for a Wrangler but apparently doesnt fit a Gladiator? How can that be?

 

[Coldjensens]

Part of the problem may be a gas you are using. These engines are 87 octane engines. To get octane to 95 most places here use a lot of Ethanol. Ethanol has a lot less energy in it and does not burn as clean, especially a lower compression levels. If Australia uses ethanol to achieve high levels of octane, this may be part of your problem.

The pentastar engine has been installed in hundreds of thousands of vehicles and is still a popular engine. It has terrible low end torque, but otherwise it has proven to be a decent engine and after the first few years pretty reliable. To have your engine and transmission go bad so soon along with other problems is basically unheard of. I would look into the dealer that you bought the car from. Maybe you got a flood car. (Yes there are flood cars out there with very few miles on them - dealerships got flooded out too).

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Part of the problem may be a gas you are using. These engines are 87 octane engines. To get octane to 95 most places here use a lot of Ethanol. Ethanol has a lot less energy in it and does not burn as clean, especially a lower compression levels. If Australia uses ethanol to achieve high levels of octane, this may be part of your problem.

The pentastar engine has been installed in hundreds of thousands of vehicles and is still a popular engine. It has terrible low end torque, but otherwise it has proven to be a decent engine and after the first few years pretty reliable. To have your engine and transmission go bad so soon along with other problems is basically unheard of. I would look into the dealer that you bought the car from. Maybe you got a flood car. (Yes there are flood cars out there with very few miles on them - dealerships got flooded out too).

Talking about throwing mud at the problem to see what sticks - almost nothing you posted is helpful or even applies to his case. He's in Australia, and no, his is not a flood vehicle.

??? Ethanol burns cleaner. I've witnessed it in a clear cylinder engine. And there's proof in the engines that run ethanol as a fuel. These are hardly low compression engines. Granted, the 11:1 or whatever bit is theoretical, and the real dynamic compression is often lower due to valve timing and lift manipulation, it's still up there where fuel burns pretty cleanly.
I don't know why people keep repeating the bit about ethanol burning less clean. It's also not "a lot less energy". Some, yes, but not a lot. It's also a fact that the Aussies regulate such things even tighter than the US does. If something says 10%, it's going to be a max of 10%. To say otherwise is yet another one of those near-qanon conspiracy bits. I run 15% here almost all the time now and my truck loves it. Even my wife's 2.0 turbo likes the fuel just fine.

OMG

THIS IS A BRAND NEW LONG BLOCK ENGINE...WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON HERE?

Im not sure if I've done 1,000km with this engine?

• I picked it up from Melbourne city Jeep and drove to Sunbury Victoria Australia.
• Sunbury to wombat state forest west of Gisborne return for a light day of 4wding with the wife and one of my kids
• came home, front axle seal blown...frustrating but fair enough, stuff like this happens. Car has been off the road for a month or so whilst i fixed it (another thread about that on these forums)
• I got it back on the road a couple of weeks ago, however, i have been away so the car has only driven from Sunbury to Bells Beach Victoria yesterday then back home.
• Today, 8km dropping one of my girls to gymn. I then get in it a few minutes ago to drive her to work..2 km down the road and this!

Its boxing day...how am i supposed to get this sorted given i don't imagine Jeep workshops are even going to be operating for a week or 2?

I'm about ready to get a lawyer...i recall city Jeep informed me when they put this engine in the car that they were having trouble bleeding the cooling system and couldn't figure out why.

What really pisses me off about this...i wanted them to replace the complete engine because its was the addon stuff that was mostly caused problems on the original one in the first place. They ignored me and now look what i have to deal with!

2 transmissions

2 engines

Im now thinking about a lawyer...my wife is really pissed at me now demanding i get another car...and not a jeep.

Melton Toyota in Victoria Australia) have brand new hybrid Tundra for sale...I'm seriously considering that option now.



Also, its for a Wrangler but apparently doesnt fit a Gladiator? How can that be?

Adam - I don't know what the laws are there, but I'd at least chat with the Australian equivalent of a lemon law attorney.
You got more bad luck than anyone else other than a certain Canadian here. Jeeps aren't really as bad as you've seen. I call it a "stack-up" of issues - Jeep factory issues + your piss-poor service in your area. It's really too bad it's such a jaunt to get to a better dealer........

First thing I'd do is verify that it's over-heating. You can get decent fairly accurate infrared thermometers at some of the "big box" stores or Amazon, etc.
I checked my 73 Javelin after having had heating issues - and found the fool who built the engine left the thermostat clear out, besides having a radiator he claimed was cleaned, but was partially plugged. After swapping to a known good radiator and putting a correct thermostat in it, I used my remote thermometer and found it was running pretty close to the actual stat rating and the gauge was really pretty close to accurate.
You could have other issues aside from true over-heating unless I missed something in skimming your post (with decent details in it)

One thing Australia does (and this is only from reading and remote observation, etc.) is support consumers - I'd at least seek advice of an attorney. You can also dig online and see what FCA has in your area for consumer complaints. In the states, you can start the whole process online. Might be worth a phone call, or some of your time digging into next steps.
This is going beyond stupid with that thing.
It's truly sad because so many hundreds of thousands of us have had such great luck with Jeep vehicles, I hate to see this sort of thing.

My next vehicle will be a Jeep.
My wife's next vehicle will be a Jeep - although she has said that now that she has a PURPLE Jeep, this is her forever vehicle. I can believe it, how it gets pampered, and the very best of care beyond preventative maintenance.

Your issue isn't about fuel - I don't know where that other post/idea comes from.
Ethanol burns more completely, cleaner, and actually COOLER than gasoline at about 40 degrees (C) than gasoline! That means less heat to transfer out of the cylinder walls and piston.

 

[Maximus Gladius]

You got more bad luck than anyone else other than a certain Canadian here.

I still hold that title! Don’t take that from me.

OP, sounds like you have to stop relying on these dealership tech wanna-a-bees and just man handle your issues yourself. Be that critical thinker and proactive owner and dive into your issues yourself. Pre order star connector, Z array fuse and have them in your glove box. Forget about the warranty. I’d be taking that rad out, flush it, change the thermostat.

I’m on engine #2 with a bottom end knock at start up and confirmed by the dealership with a year left on this engine warranty. #3 engine is a very real possibility in the Spring. I’m on transmission #4 and I’m being very vigilant on its maintenance and it’s operating very well and stays cool on the long summer trips. (Average 76-80c)

I’m on my #4th power steering pump and installed an inline filter. Pump is happy.

I’m changing out my oxygen sensors this week, maybe even today, not because I’ve blown codes but because these engines burn PCV valve oil and my speculative thinking tells me that captured (now) blowby oil in my catch can has only contaminated plugs and oxygen sensors and I can’t rely on the dealership to be proactive so I have to be. Fuses wiggle out and need to be pushed back in, electrical connections need to be pulled apart and protectant spray (DeoxIt)applied to keep pins lubed and corrosion out, ground points checked etc etc.

I very much enjoy this vehicle and wrenching on it gives me great satisfaction to fix stuff but I’ve never had to be so proactive and on top of things as with all my other vehicles since driving back in the early 80’s.

Sounds like you need others in the Jeep community where you live that can get together and brainstorm. IDK, just my thoughts.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I still hold that title! Don’t take that from me.

 

[Maximus Gladius]

I can relate to your wife being so mad too. My last vehicle was the 17 TRD Sport. I bought it new and I stuck with the same dealership that sold it to me. I’ve always just stuck with one brand or dealership instead of jumping around because I get to know the brand or people better if I stay which just develops a relationship or understanding. However, sticking with this one Toyota dealership was incredibly testing our patience as they would constantly do shoty work and even break things on my truck which would not only piss me off but it crossed the line when my wife felt she had to get involved and vocal about it. The universe heard our desperate despair and sent an ELK out onto the highway one dark morning which wrote off the truck and then put me into this Jeep.

I found that most of my grief with that vehicle was because I would just take it in, in hopes the techs had a change of heart and would stop breaking my truck…I had more hope than they had experience or professional know how and it was my wife that was effected the most.

So I traded one very bad relationship for what looked like another, until now after a few years, finally finding this one dealership I deal with now that got me through major Chrysler corporate problems and have proven to be on their game.

I take it you don’t have the luxury of choosing between a half dozen dealerships all within 40 mins of home like I do. Options are very limited but from what I have read, you’re constantly being victimized by techs and management that shouldn’t be there in the first place.

 

[adamjedgar]

I still hold that title! Don’t take that from me.

OP, sounds like you have to stop relying on these dealership tech wanna-a-bees and just man handle your issues yourself. Be that critical thinker and proactive owner and dive into your issues yourself. Pre order star connector, Z array fuse and have them in your glove box. Forget about the warranty. I’d be taking that rad out, flush it, change the thermostat.

I’m on engine #2 with a bottom end knock at start up and confirmed by the dealership with a year left on this engine warranty. #3 engine is a very real possibility in the Spring. I’m on transmission #4 and I’m being very vigilant on its maintenance and it’s operating very well and stays cool on the long summer trips. (Average 76-80c)

I’m on my #4th power steering pump and installed an inline filter. Pump is happy.

I’m changing out my oxygen sensors this week, maybe even today, not because I’ve blown codes but because these engines burn PCV valve oil and my speculative thinking tells me that captured (now) blowby oil in my catch can has only contaminated plugs and oxygen sensors and I can’t rely on the dealership to be proactive so I have to be. Fuses wiggle out and need to be pushed back in, electrical connections need to be pulled apart and protectant spray (DeoxIt)applied to keep pins lubed and corrosion out, ground points checked etc etc.

I very much enjoy this vehicle and wrenching on it gives me great satisfaction to fix stuff but I’ve never had to be so proactive and on top of things as with all my other vehicles since driving back in the early 80’s.

Sounds like you need others in the Jeep community where you live that can get together and brainstorm. IDK, just my thoughts.

Oh wow...and i thought i was having problems!

What you have described above, i recognise many of those same symptoms in my car...its uncanny.

What really saddens me about all of this, i really love my car...i just want to be able to drive it, to wash it, do all the stuff those who care about their cars do to the inside to make em shine. Only 2 days ago i smiled contentedly as I sprayed tyre shine on the side rails, mirrors, wipers, plastic tub liner edges, bumpers...wiped out all the inside and cleaned it with armourall (the "new car" scented one)

Like for instance, when i purchased this car, i got into thd habit of carrying babywipes with me and every time i get it in, i grab a baby wipe and clewn something in the car...even whilst driving down the road...sitting at traffic lights, ill find something to give a quick wipe...despite the images i have of deep 4wd mud holes, the inside of my car is cleaner than our own home. Sure the underside of my jeep is a little bit dirty...i dont have a hoist so i cant get under it and manually clean...otherwise id regularly do that as well, so i just gernie it the best i can up oj ramps and use a local commercial cash wash that has those plain water spray jets you drive over...

I have gotten to the point where im now starting to feel like what is hapoening is so unusual its statistically unbelievable. That others think i must be doing something to sabotage my own car...its really gotten that way now...i dont even believe my own problems are genuine.

The trouble is, they really are genuine...i dont hammer this vehicle, this new engine has been nursed like its a brand new child (im a father of 5 kids btw).

I dont believe ive purchased a lemon, the issues ive had dojt appear to support the notion that this particular car is a lemon or cursed...id suggest its a bigger issue than that...design and fittness for purpose.

For example:

1. You know why right hand drive Gladiators dont exist? There isnt enough room on right hand side footwell to fit a clutch without your boot also pushing the brake pedal whilst depressing clutch...it genuinely wont fit in the available space! Why would jeep stubbornly not correct that issue? Money or stupidity (ill go with the latter)
2. Australian right hand drive Gladiators...no diesel option. The claim would be, its not able to meet existing or future environmental regulations (despite Australias top selling 4wd utes all being diesels..toyota hilux, ford ranger, isuzu dmax, nissan navara, mitsubishi triton)
3. Jeep apparently cant put right hand drive into a diesel option engine bay (money or stupid...again, ill go with thd latter).
4. The FAD in this front axle, honestly the way that entire front rhs axle setup is so poorly designed also with a $600 seal that it so rare only MOPAR sell them...honestly, ill just say this is "stupid"!
5. The front steering dampener...mounted exposed and on the lower portion of the front axle where its the first thing that hits anything...ive bent mine and yet Jeeps have the best front approach angle i think of any modern 4wd on the market...why design the front steering dampener to be mounted like that? If i change it, i void my warranty on the front axle. A guy in Australia recently broke a a diff housing...they wouldnt cover it because he had modified that front steering dampener mounting point by moving it up higher. Again, are Jeep designers saving money or are they just plain stupid (ill go with the latter)
6. The handbrake cable adjustment...ya gotta remove the flaming center console to adjust the bloody thing...money or stupid? (Ill go with the latter)
7. Whilst on the topic of handbrakes...every single time i drive in mud, the handbrake drum gums up with mud and the handbrake doesnt work. Its a 2 hour job pulling both rear tyres and hub offs to fix. Why not change to a disk brake tailshaft handbrake system? Money or stupid? (im leaning towards the latter here)

The location of alternwtor and battery - tick for these two...perfect location in my books...high on the engine, away from water and mud.

8. Requires a diff spreader to pull the front diff...rather than pay a stupid amount of money to buy one, i fabricated my own for about $50. Thing is, why design an offroad diff that requires that in the first place? Who is going to carry a diff spreader with them out on tough trails? But who is going to need to be easily able to pull diffs when stranded in the middle of nowhere or where its inaccessible for tow trucks...Fucking jeep owners because they are built for tough trails where ya break diffs!!!! (I havent broken one btw...i am pretty careful and only have 33inch tyres on it at the moment...35's next set though) i havent even torn the side out of a tyre yet...worst ive done is run them off the rims a few times in mudholes because i have a wide offset and mud gets forced between rim and tyre because im always scrubbing the outside edges of mudholes..so if the tyre pressure is below about 35psi...off they come (ive got 20inch rims..ill call myself out as stupid for this one, so theres that)

Having had the Jeep on the beach twice...its brilliant on the beach. Ive had toyota hilux and 105 series landcruisers on the beach, they do not compare with the Gladiator...its balance on the sand i think is spot on. It does not drive heavy on the beach...im really impressed with that. I would suggest that long wheel base and the front axle being further forward, the car has better weight distribution for sand work. Maybe im dreaming there, but i recently whinched holden twin cab 4wd ute out of a bad spot on the beach. True the guy did something stupid, and i didnt venture down into the rabbit warren where as far as he did, however, where he was bogged about 3/4 of the way up znd the steepness was much less, i could drive in reverse, stop, turn...it was as it i was floating on the stuff. True i had big tyres and his were standard, but where i was winching him from idont think too many 4wders would even venture. He was stuck on the lee/downwind back side of a sanddune...always a really bad place to venture without an easy and flat escape route.

The point is, in terms of 4wd capability, excluding the mechanical problems ive had, its a fabulous offroader, just not reliable...things go wrong when not being overly stressed and that has me questioning the fitness for purpose of some of the design aspects of the car. Im now being forced to seriously consider an inferior 4wd because the inferior 4wd is more robust and reliable. Ive found a 2017 toyota hilux for sale at the dealership where we purchased my wifes 200 series Landcruiser. They also rang me trying to get me to buy a new hybrid Tundra because i had test driven one about 3 months ago...pure coincidence that that phone call from them was only last week. Last night i started running the numbers through my head trying to reconcile if i have the money to get one without wiping out my current business investment loan oj a car...which would then leave no money for my next project until i got my money back on the Jeep (it cost me $115k AUD OCT/NOV 2022)...even if i got all that back.

I might be able to get a new for old judgement given the car has been towed 3 times, been in 3 separate dearlership workshops in 2 states (current issue will be the 4th although given melbourne city jeep has gone broke, my only option now appears to be the dealership that fucked the first transmission install as its the closest one to where i livd for jeep road side assist towing), and has also spent almost 6 months off the road in the time ive owned it?

Im really tempted to just try to fix my own car. Trouble is, once i touch it...im on my own with a "designed lemon" and that is a worrying proposition.

A great christmas present ive recived this year, a 100k broken down jeep over the festive season holiday...i now cant take it on any 4wd adventures as planned.

My wife has had a really tough few months at work...a lot of tears...i really wanted to get her away somewhere and was planning a small trip to the Victorian High country next week ...my nightmare is continuing it seems.

 

[adamjedgar]

Ok...now a request for some problem solving advice.

This latest issue (engine overheat) occurred within 5 minutes of starting the car.



timeline since engine installation a month ago

(due to FAD seal failure and my work away commitments, car hasn't been driven much since engine was installed other than home from dealership, a short 4wd trip outing mostly gravel roads and light offroad then home...seal was found leaking the next morning and i began pulling it apart the on the Monday after picking the car up from dealership on the Friday afternoon 3 days earlier)

After finishing Axle issue, i then had to go away for a week. Son drove the car into town and back a mid last week...no problems. I got home Monday night


Day 1 December 25 - 1.5 hours each way trip to Torquay beach south of Geelong Victoria Australia along motorway...100km/hr - 110km/hr most of the way, easy drive no hassles and didn't get into it at all...its quite flat there's no need to push the car. First little distance trip since engine install a few months ago. my son drove down i drove home...car ran flawlessly

Day 2 - yesterday

about lunchtime took daughter to gym (10 minute drive each way at less than 80km/hr)
home - car sat for about 1.5 hours
got into jeep, started up, went to front gate, open drive through close, 200meters to T intersection, straight out onto road with 80km/hr speed limit...500 metres further, then the high tempt alarm goes off (no other warning...it was almost instantaneous)

What are the chances one of the following has occurred:

1. air lock in the cooling system (i know the dealership had trouble bleeding cooling system when this engine was installed)
2. thermostat failed to open (this is a brand new thermostat btw...you can see it on the paperwork i included in a previous post)

Considering cooling system bleed issues with this motor when it was installed...

How can i diagnose an airlock...and how can i purge this out of the system?

For Thermostat...given i don't know where i can get Jeep Coolant from or what alternative can i use there if dealership spare parts arent open? (they might be but I'm not relying on that)...i am not keep to pull this out an test it, but if i have too???

Finally, ever since i picked up the car from the Melbourne city Jeep dealership after new engine was installed, i can smell hot coolant. It was like this even when i sat in the car before driving out of the dealership (because the engine had already been running for about 5 minutes before i got into it)

The thing is, whilst i can smell the coolant, i cannot find any leaks anywhere. Im suspicious of the hot coolant smell...that was the same smell in the old engine when temp suddenly went through the roof and it failed on the Hume hwy at Berrima NSW Australia a couple of months ago. The new engine smells like this all the time despite temperature (up until yesterday) reading normal on the gauge.

 

[Stan H]

Well if it was only 1.5 min. Then the motor should be okay if it was shut down . IMHO.. now as a temporary solution with the antifreeze go to a parts house and get some (mixes with all types) Preston to get it filled up .. or drive another vehicle to dealer and get some to add to it.
What I am thinking is bad techs. Y8ur sorta in the wrong area of the world to find "experienced Jeep Mechanics "
Try looking for locals who are Jeepers and see if some assistance with the burping can be attained. The thermostat ...now Ibknow what I am about to tell you is crazy ,But I know if at least one example where the thermostat was placed in upside down.
That needs checked also.

 

[Stuntman Mike]

Y8ur sorta in the wrong area of the world to find "experienced Jeep Mechanics "

In Australia, they have the best car mechanics in the world!

 

[adamjedgar]

UPDATE...

OMG the coolant res is empty?

Given i had been checking every time i get out of the car for coolant leaks, i am puzzled by this.

When we took the vehicle to Geelong a couple of days ago, on the way down (about an hour into the trip) we stopped at a service station so my wife could pee.

I spent a good 5 minutes looking all underneath the Jeep checking for leaks...there were none anywhere that i could see.

Also, there was no evidence of any leaks on the driveway at home this morning after it overheated yesterday (i was less than 1km distance from home when alarm went off so i drove home at slow speed 50km/hr)...car sat in driveway on concrete last night. no coolant stains on concrete nor have i seen any damp patches before dark last night.

So where is all the coolant going???

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