My gladiator lost coolant and over heated

[Hootbro]

Dealership changed my oil and flushed and refilled my coolant free of charge. They apologized multiples times. Has ran perfect ever since.

I work in an ICU… I had no plans to drive it further than the 3 miles from where I was to the gas station to get more coolant, but because of our current staffing, high census and acuity of our patients, being was something I really wanted to avoid.

If I screwed the engine long term I will deal with it when I get there. It certainly won’t be the end of the world.

Life’s too short to worry about it too much

Did the dealership document the issue on the service ticket?

At least they stood up and changed the fluids .

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[ShadowsPapa]

Did the dealership document the issue on the service ticket?

At least they stood up and changed the fluids .

And the guy that left the cap off is currently sitting in the service manager's office, awaiting his fate......

But seriously, I can accept mistakes, we all make them, and I've made some doozies, perhaps some I'm not even aware of, but it's how those mistakes are handled that count.

 

[Blade1668]

I'd love to know the reason since the steering gear is accessed from below and the time taken to replace it doesn't allow for messing around with coolant. I can't see any reason on mine why there would be any need to touch coolant in any form.

But what makes it worse in your case - OAT has been used by Jeeps since well before the Gladiator - for a Jeep shop to not have OAT coolant is odd in itself, but then to recommend mixing when the books and tech stuff says "do not mix" is beyond belief.
In 2.5 years and 26,000 miles, mine has taken exactly 8 ounces of coolant to bring it to the line in the tank. And that's with it being not quite up to that line by just a smidge from day one, so you could say it took 6 ounces to bring it back to factory fill and then 2 more to satisfy my OCD.

I would like to know myself on why the coolant system was touched. Mine was around that mileage then too.
On the dealership that said just use incorrect coolant has some other shady s### issues too. Same steelership that had a 25k plus markup for Wranglers compared with the other dealership's in N. AL. AKA a 2018 JLUR listed for 80k equipped same as other for way less.

 

[njc2rn]

Did the dealership document the issue on the service ticket?

They did indeed! Was happy about that for sure.

 

[njc2rn]

And the guy that left the cap off is currently sitting in the service manager's office, awaiting his fate......

They actually had let me know the technician that performed the service no longer worked there… he had already been let go because of other issues and they weren’t surprised he was the tech that made the mistake. That’s of course FWIW.

 

[Mister Lamb]

If you end up ever having to drive a short distance with an overheated engine, roll down all the windows and blast your heat on max. I'd also throw in distilled water if in a pinch. Not ideal, but much easier to flush your coolant then fix a warped engine.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

They actually had let me know the technician that performed the service no longer worked there… he had already been let go because of other issues and they weren’t surprised he was the tech that made the mistake. That’s of course FWIW.

Yes, FWIW - but one could think of it another way.........
The shop apparently cares at least a little. I have worked in good shops - with co-workers who I am surprised survived even a month. The boss was great, the customers trusted the shop, and yet there was that one employee.
They didn't last long in the end, though.
You can go to any type of shop or store, GREAT reputation, 4.8 to 5 stars, and still have a crappy experience because of one employee.

Some are hired because they went to school, read books, memorized things, passed tests and got their certifications. Doesn't mean they are any good. No certificate means they know their stuff or can troubleshoot, or have good work ethics or practices.
Some are hired because they need bodies - especially today. The GOOD ones can work almost any place they wish, the bad ones get hired because places are short-handed. It's a bad thing when there's no sorting based in skill or ability and that's where we are today. Used to be the best got hired, the rest kept looking. Today - if you want a job you can get a job even if you can't really do the job.

Anyway - in a sense, that's worth at least something, perhaps even a lot. Especially if management cares.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

If you end up ever having to drive a short distance with an overheated engine, roll down all the windows and blast your heat on max. I'd also throw in distilled water if in a pinch. Not ideal, but much easier to flush your coolant then fix a warped engine.

Since it's losing coolant as the reason it's hot, you can stop anyplace that has a hose - just be careful to not inject COLD water into a HOT engine with any speed. Do it slowly. I've seen bad results when people get in a hurry.

You are going to totally drain and flush and start over anyway, any water from a faucet will do since it won't be in there long. Don't worry about distilled. It won't be in there long.

We used to see the boss tow dozens of over-heating vehicles into the shop in a typical summer because we were so close to I80/I35 - vacationing people who didn't know any better, or had bad luck, or in one case, semi tire blew and the rubber shrapnel was sent through the grill and through the radiator. It was an I6 and quickly warped that long head.
There were times we had 2 and 3 in there at a time, pushing the regulars waiting for other work down the list. (we never told a traveler it would be 2 weeks before we could look at their vehicle)

Cracked heads, cracked blocks, warped heads, blow head gaskets, you name it.

 

[Lost1wing]

You are correct. It is not the end of the world if you developed issues later on. Temperatures like that tend to harden seals and cause leaks. Keep an eye on it for sure. I hope it all works out and no other issues arise.

 

[badtux]

Some are hired because they need bodies - especially today. The GOOD ones can work almost any place they wish, the bad ones get hired because places are short-handed. It's a bad thing when there's no sorting based in skill or ability and that's where we are today. Used to be the best got hired, the rest kept looking. Today - if you want a job you can get a job even if you can't really do the job.

Everybody starts out in the business at the bottom, doing oil changes and fluid top-ups and other grunt work that doesn't require a lot of mechanical chops. This is because no matter how good your grades at mechanic school or on the certification tests, none of that tells how good a mechanic you will be as an actual mechanic. So you get put at the bottom, if you fuck up there you're fired, if you don't fuck up you're given actual jobs that require some actual skills and move up the chain. You graduate from shop monkey to doing routine brake and water pump jobs, then to more complex jobs like cylinder head replacement, and eventually over time if you develop good diagnostics skills you get to do the fun stuff as a master mechanic.

But everybody begins as the shop monkey, and the shop monkey is the one who does routine service on your car. This is one reason why I don't like taking my vehicle to the shop for routine maintenance. You're having your car serviced by people whose other job choice is Jiffy Lube (and we all know how stuff gets destroyed at Jiffy Lube, where the pit monkeys never met a torque wrench that they know how to use and strip out aluminum oil pans or crack plastic oil filter housings regularly). Granted, the quality of shop monkey you'll get at a dealership is likely higher than at Jiffy Lube, in at least they have the education and certifications that the pit monkeys at Jiffy Lube will never have (qualifications there being basically, "be breathing"). But it's still a crapshoot.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Everybody starts out in the business at the bottom, doing oil changes and fluid top-ups and other grunt work that doesn't require a lot of mechanical chops. This is because no matter how good your grades at mechanic school or on the certification tests, none of that tells how good a mechanic you will be as an actual mechanic. So you get put at the bottom, if you fuck up there you're fired, if you don't fuck up you're given actual jobs that require some actual skills and move up the chain. You graduate from shop monkey to doing routine brake and water pump jobs, then to more complex jobs like cylinder head replacement, and eventually over time if you develop good diagnostics skills you get to do the fun stuff as a master mechanic.

But everybody begins as the shop monkey, and the shop monkey is the one who does routine service on your car. This is one reason why I don't like taking my vehicle to the shop for routine maintenance. You're having your car serviced by people whose other job choice is Jiffy Lube (and we all know how stuff gets destroyed at Jiffy Lube, where the pit monkeys never met a torque wrench that they know how to use and strip out aluminum oil pans or crack plastic oil filter housings regularly). Granted, the quality of shop monkey you'll get at a dealership is likely higher than at Jiffy Lube, in at least they have the education and certifications that the pit monkeys at Jiffy Lube will never have (qualifications there being basically, "be breathing"). But it's still a crapshoot.

Wow, you must have had some bad experiences. It was never that way in the shops I worked in, and right out of college, I walked into a shop for an interview.......... the service manager was having trouble with a car that had a weird misfire. He had the Sun scope hooked up. We talked a bit, showed him my letters, then he said - look at this and tell me what's wrong.
I looked at the scope, put it under load, a couple revs, then told him what the problem was. He checked, made the change, and told me "you start on Monday".
Right out of the chute I was doing the same things everyone else was doing. Even those who had been there a while, including the service manager, were doing "grunt work", oil changes, whatever.
Wasn't too long and the owner was assigning me to work on some of his better customers' vehicles.
The owner threw people right into the mix - you sank or swam. He wanted to know you and your work. They also viewed every job, even oil changes, as critically important so there was no stigma attached to that sort of work.

Even before that, when I was still in HS - the guy running that shop had me doing anything that came in - valve work, timing chains, tune-ups, brakes, any of it. He even let me use his shop to do a couple of side jobs after-hours. (I was 16)

If you know something, it will show and the smart boss will recognize it.

Even those who do "oil changes" can be damned good at what they do, take pride in their work and catch things while doing the work.

 

[badtux]

Wow, you must have had some bad experiences. It was never that way in the shops I worked in,

Dealerships tend to operate the way I mentioned, because they have a *lot* of mechanics and a lot of stratification and specialization. Smaller shops, of course, are different. My friend Tom's shop rarely has a "shop monkey" for the menial jobs, he has two other mechanics and does some wrench turning himself and all of them are very experienced. But I've had very unpleasant experiences with routine maintenance and dealerships. Because of high turnover there's always a new guy doing the routine maintenance work and he may or may not be any good. For that matter, even on the more complex jobs some mechanics take shortcuts that I would not take. For example, the mechanic who changed my cylinder head left behind a couple of clamps in the vee of my engine as well as breaking one of the fuel injector electrical plugs. I found this all out while taking all that same crap off to change the oil filter/cooler housing after it cracked and started drooling coolant down the back of my engine. Not to mention that the reason the housing cracked, I suspect but cannot prove, is that he did not torque the bolts in the order and to the torque specified in TechNet/Alldata, this plastic housing has very specific requirements. I would never just leave a clamp behind that fell into the vee, I'd grab a magnet and fish it out. And when I put in the new housing I torqued it exactly in the order and to the torque specified in Alldata. But I have pride in my work and am not working to book. So.

 

[BornCDN]

Noticed my 2021 Jeep Gladiator’s fan was coming on a few days ago. Today it came on and I smelled antifreeze, then temp gauge came on indicating high engine temp.

Pulled over to check engine bay and discovered dealership didn’t put my fill cap back on coolant reservoir after they did the check/top off during oil change and service. It was about 3 weeks ago it was changed, and since that time no issues, including a trip from here to Jacksonville, NC, a 13 hour drive.

Anyway, made it to the next gas station like 4 miles away. Temp was between 265-295. Refilled with antifreeze and engine seems to be fine now.

Any idea if there will be any long term issues!l? So pissed I didn’t follow behind the dealership to make sure they did everything correctly.

thanks in advance!
~Nick

This happened to my Jeep as well. Took it to the dealership and they ran it through pressure tests and everything. Came to the conclusion bad cap. This was replaced then a few days later still same issue. I had the mechanic take the engine apart. Turns out I had to replace, head gaskets, lifters, and camshafts. Funny part is, when jeep was loosing coolant, there was no smoke or dripping coming from the engine.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

This happened to my Jeep as well. Took it to the dealership and they ran it through pressure tests and everything. Came to the conclusion bad cap. This was replaced then a few days later still same issue. I had the mechanic take the engine apart. Turns out I had to replace, head gaskets, lifters, and camshafts. Funny part is, when jeep was loosing coolant, there was no smoke or dripping coming from the engine.

How much coolant did they add?
Your description is a bit odd sounding.
Sounds like it lost PRESSURE, not coolant.
Caps don't cause coolant loss. They cause a loss of pressure.
A loss of pressure causes boiling of coolant.
So - you fail to give any details - how HOT did it get? Did you not look at the temp gauges? I mean the ones in the off road pages, or the temperature gauge you see when scrolling through the engine information pages in the cluster.
From the fuel economy screen, go up 3 clicks, then left or right to see the exact coolant temperature.

Without knowing how much coolant they added - or knowing the temperature it got to - we can't say anything, really.
These don't suddenly lose coolant - so if it really DID lose coolant, it wasn't all of a sudden, it's been getting low for a while and you didn't notice.
Or, it was losing PRESSURE, not coolant, and again, you didn't notice the temperature climbing.
To get hot enough to ruin heads, you'd have seen a warning, or a gauge showing hot on the dash.

There's a lot more to this story than is told here. something smells fishy.

 

[BornCDN]

The coolant was tested for pressure and it passed from the dealership. When I say loose coolant I mean like this. I was driving for 10 min and the heat gauge of the engine started to go up. So I pulled over to turn it off so it would not overheat. I filled it up with the coolant on the side of the road and drove back to the house (10 min) and there was no coolant again.

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