Overheat because of no coolant - Potential damage to ask about

[RiverMtnBeach]

I'd like your opinion here, and maybe @JeepCares can weigh-in on this if needed...
Went in for my 10K service/oil change and the dealer forgot to put the cap back on my coolant reservoir. 400mi later it ran dry (while towing up a steep grade, BTW) and quickly overheated. Filled it back up with about 2 gallons of drinking water (it was REALLY empty) and made it another 200 miles without issue.
At this point, dealer has agreed to flush/replace coolant once I take it back (OK, least they can do), but what else should I be concerned with longer-term? Is this engine toast? Seems to be running OK, except for it smells like I'm cooking with curry because of all the coolant on the exhaust manifold, but I feel like this is a serious oops.

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[ShadowsPapa]

There are a few "details" that can make a big difference.......
HOW overheated? What was the actual temperature if you happen to know or have seen it? (cluster simply has that simple basic indicator - lame)
Did it actually over-heat and tell you? (not doubting you! Just looking for a few little details)
Some engines can get hot - way hot - and be just fine. Others - by the time it boils it's toast.
So it matters.
In this case, I'd want the dealer to actually run at least these tests -
Pressurize the system, look for it to hold pressure,
They can and should check for combustion gases in the cooling system,
They should monitor your oil for indicators of coolant in the oil
And it should be noted what they did and what happened - in the paperwork submitted to Jeep.

IMO they COULD be responsible for damage to the engine (cracks, blown gaskets, etc. - but they may push back depending on how hot it got and how far you went after the very first indication something wasn't right.
Don't take me wrong - I'm not blaming you or even suggesting - but do be prepared.
Reason being - I've worked on vehicles that have had damage - and in two cases, the owner ended up paying.

In any case, get them to run tests and document everything. (it's difficult saying what "may" or "may not" take place without knowing exactly how things went down, what you did, what you saw and how you reacted - and how the truck told you what was going on.

 

[RiverMtnBeach]

There are a few "details" that can make a big difference.......
HOW overheated? What was the actual temperature if you happen to know or have seen it? (cluster simply has that simple basic indicator - lame)
Did it actually over-heat and tell you? (not doubting you! Just looking for a few little details)
Some engines can get hot - way hot - and be just fine. Others - by the time it boils it's toast.
So it matters.
In this case, I'd want the dealer to actually run at least these tests -
Pressurize the system, look for it to hold pressure,
They can and should check for combustion gases in the cooling system,
They should monitor your oil for indicators of coolant in the oil
And it should be noted what they did and what happened - in the paperwork submitted to Jeep.

IMO they COULD be responsible for damage to the engine (cracks, blown gaskets, etc. - but they may push back depending on how hot it got and how far you went after the very first indication something wasn't right.
Don't take me wrong - I'm not blaming you or even suggesting - but do be prepared.
Reason being - I've worked on vehicles that have had damage - and in two cases, the owner ended up paying.

In any case, get them to run tests and document everything. (it's difficult saying what "may" or "may not" take place without knowing exactly how things went down, what you did, what you saw and how you reacted - and how the truck told you what was going on.

Don't have a temp. Was climbing a grade for about 10 miles with 4,000lb trailer at a steady 3.5-4K RPM in 3rd gear (5 south through Gorman) and no indication of trouble. Temp steady at just below half-way like it always was. After cresting the hill, it popped up to about 3/4, then back to normal, then quickly pegged. Immediately let it coast to safe turnout and let it idle and temp back to normal. Moved again to the off ramp and immediately pegged again. Once I got to a place it was safe to check coolant level, noticed right away the reservoir was empty and steaming with the cap sitting neatly upside-down in it's service holder on top of the bottle.
Put a little water in it and was bubbling for a little while. Kept adding more, idled a bit to settle, added some more, and repeated until back to fill line. Temp back to normal and no further issue.

 

[RiverMtnBeach]

Did it actually over-heat and tell you?

This is what I'm most curious about. The gauge was all over the place - way too quickly to be accurate. Half to pegged and back to half in less than a minute? No way!
So was it overheating the whole time, or never actually overheated? No idea...

 

[Minty JL]

Unfortunate situation.

After anybody services my vehicle I check fluids and caps for this reason. Even the most experienced tech can have a bad moment and miss something. I normally do all of my services and modifications, but sometimes I can't because of my work/life schedule.

I know, I know, you paid them for a service and it should be good. But remember at the end of the day we're all humans and shit happens. I definitely applaud your level head with the situation this far.

Cheers

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Unfortunate situation.

After anybody services my vehicle I check fluids and caps for this reason. Even the most experienced tech can have a bad moment and miss something. I normally do all of my services and modifications, but sometimes I can't because of my work/life schedule.

I know, I know, you paid them for a service and it should be good. But remember at the end of the day we're all humans and shit happens. I definitely applaud your level head with the situation this far.

Cheers

Amen and well said.

All it takes is someone asking for help with something, a tech getting called up to answer a quick question, whatever.......

And also for the level-headed OP at this point. Kudos.
It sort of sounds like it was maybe a matter of coolant on the sensor, no coolant on the sensor, then coolant again and so on. SO, with a little luck, all may be well.
I would ask them to please run simple tests - and they should be willing to run the tests because if there IS an issue and it's their fault - I'd hope and expect that even THEY want to catch it sooner rather than later - repair minor stuff before it becomes bigger.
If it happened to me (meaning I was the one that worked on that truck) I'd want to test and catch issues while small rather than have someone out somewhere and things really go sideways. And doing the tests means documenting that (assuming the best) there's no combustion gases in the cooling system, there's no loss of pressure during the pressure test and so on.

 

[RiverMtnBeach]

Unfortunate situation.

After anybody services my vehicle I check fluids and caps for this reason. Even the most experienced tech can have a bad moment and miss something. I normally do all of my services and modifications, but sometimes I can't because of my work/life schedule.

I know, I know, you paid them for a service and it should be good. But remember at the end of the day we're all humans and shit happens. I definitely applaud your level head with the situation this far.

Cheers

Agreed, and I’ve worked my share of customer service, tech support, etc. to understand. That being said, I just want it made right. That’s what separates the good from the bad, and I’m giving them a chance to make it right. Plenty of time to have a sh*t fit and shame then by name later if they make poor choices on how to handle this properly. ?

 

[RiverMtnBeach]

Amen and well said.

All it takes is someone asking for help with something, a tech getting called up to answer a quick question, whatever.......

And also for the level-headed OP at this point. Kudos.
It sort of sounds like it was maybe a matter of coolant on the sensor, no coolant on the sensor, then coolant again and so on. SO, with a little luck, all may be well.
I would ask them to please run simple tests - and they should be willing to run the tests because if there IS an issue and it's their fault - I'd hope and expect that even THEY want to catch it sooner rather than later - repair minor stuff before it becomes bigger.
If it happened to me (meaning I was the one that worked on that truck) I'd want to test and catch issues while small rather than have someone out somewhere and things really go sideways. And doing the tests means documenting that (assuming the best) there's no combustion gases in the cooling system, there's no loss of pressure during the pressure test and so on.

For sure, and that’s the advice I was looking for confirmed by a couple replies. Just want to be thorough. I even called the writer directly right when in happened and asked if OK to simply fill it back up with water I was lucky enough to have on-hand. Not letting them play the “why did you do that?” game.

 

[Kevin_D]

This is what I'm most curious about. The gauge was all over the place - way too quickly to be accurate. Half to pegged and back to half in less than a minute? No way!
So was it overheating the whole time, or never actually overheated? No idea...

The electronic temperature gauge doesn't move in a linear fashion like an analog gauge. It has some preset positions that it will indicate. The, "Normal," one is just below ½-scale, and it'll sit there with temperatures as high as 230ºF (you can watch the coolant temperature reading to verify.)

Kevin

 

[RiverMtnBeach]

After anybody services my vehicle I check fluids and caps for this reason.

Me too. Usually. Just happened to be busy and went a few fill-ups without checking because “they just serviced it.”

 

[RiverMtnBeach]

The electronic temperature gauge doesn't move in a linear fashion like an analog gauge. It has some preset positions that it will indicate. The, "Normal," one is just below ½-scale, and it'll sit there with temperatures as high as 230ºF (you can watch the coolant temperature reading to verify.)

Kevin

So it went from OK, to hot, to oh f*ck! ?
Makes sense.

 

[Kevin_D]

So it went from OK, to hot, to oh f*ck! ?
Makes sense.

Yup, that's about it!


Kevin

 

[WK2JT]

I’d ask for a warranty extension.

 

[Minty JL]

Amen and well said.

All it takes is someone asking for help with something, a tech getting called up to answer a quick question, whatever.......

And also for the level-headed OP at this point. Kudos.
It sort of sounds like it was maybe a matter of coolant on the sensor, no coolant on the sensor, then coolant again and so on. SO, with a little luck, all may be well.
I would ask them to please run simple tests - and they should be willing to run the tests because if there IS an issue and it's their fault - I'd hope and expect that even THEY want to catch it sooner rather than later - repair minor stuff before it becomes bigger.
If it happened to me (meaning I was the one that worked on that truck) I'd want to test and catch issues while small rather than have someone out somewhere and things really go sideways. And doing the tests means documenting that (assuming the best) there's no combustion gases in the cooling system, there's no loss of pressure during the pressure test and so on.

Yeah the Master Tech get pulled to help new techs, service managers and

I’d ask for a warranty extension.

I would think that's a reasonable request.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I’d ask for a warranty extension.

Yes. That's reasonable for sure. I'd suggest engine and transmission since with that much heat we don't know what the transmission temperature got up to, but even if only engine, it's the least they could do. And if nothing goes wrong later that could be related, they are out nothing.

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