Coolant level slowly going down and strange smell in engine bay.
- Thread starter Truckdriver
- Start date
Bocephus
Well-known member
Normal as far as I can tell. Dipstick levels / color looks perfect. At last change a few months ago (when I had a noticeable loss of coolant and strongest odor in the cabin) the dumped oil looked totally normal, as far as I could tell.
stumblinhorse
Well-known member
Sorry, smell outside the Jeep will never go away. Really is bad in the garage after a full engine heat cycle.
Bocephus
Well-known member
That’s honestly comforting. Hoping my coolant adventures might be over.
For @AUSTX or others, if I had head-gasket issues - would I necessarily be seeing evidence of oil/coolant mix or loss of oil pressure? Or could a gasket failure be limited to loss of coolant, and not affecting/interacting with oil flow?
stumblinhorse
Well-known member
Well, I can tell you that it drove me crazy…. I looked for leaks thinking there has to be one with how bad it smells! But never needed to add any coolant for years. It does take a while to get all air out, so don’t be worried with adding a few ounces of coolant 3 or 4 times in the first 1000 miles…. It finally stays at the full line and then you can ignore it.
ThePack392xrAdventures
Active member
Mmm,
Are you close enough to another dealership? I would have someone else pressure test it again.
Our 2022 had same smell but it came and went. We never saw anything leaking or dripping in the engine bay or on the ground and I looked and looked. There was also a gurgling sound inside the cabin when the engine was turned off. Both dealerships I spoke too (one purchased from, one close to home that did the test) recommended the pressure test.
From reading the forums I thought for sure it would be the reservoir, but ended up being pin hole in the radiator covered by warranty.
It took approximately a month to five weeks to get the radiator. During that time, I would add a shot glass or so of coolant each week.
Snap shot on our issues below. We love our 392 and we have not had a bad mile in the beast!!
2022 XR-125k miles
Issues to date
1-thermostat - took it in multiple times. Blows extremely hot air. Have to move to low position before temp will cool, then back up to temp desired. Gets to 68 degrees and goes hot. Auto feature used a great deal. Jeep made some tweaks but it has never been right.
2-gold on valve covers peeled off with micro fiber. Replaced under warranty, they peeled again.
3-right rear axel seal leak, replaced under warranty. The forums indicate this been an issue for years.
4-stabiltrac (sp) shut down driving back from IA. Huge sustained cross wind wind with gusts up to 65mph. The Jeep logo on the steering wheel was positioned at 8&2 for miles and then it beeped and gave me the warning lights it failed. Pulled over immediately and shut it down. Called dealership, said okay to drive it (Lost cruise control, adaptive cruise and blind spot monitoring features). Stopped in next city 20 miles north, shut it off, and it reset. Have not had the issue since. It was the angle of the steering wheel tilted for an extended period of time that caused it fail.
5-pin hole leak in radiator replaced under warranty.
Good luck and I hope this helps!
Are you close enough to another dealership? I would have someone else pressure test it again.
Our 2022 had same smell but it came and went. We never saw anything leaking or dripping in the engine bay or on the ground and I looked and looked. There was also a gurgling sound inside the cabin when the engine was turned off. Both dealerships I spoke too (one purchased from, one close to home that did the test) recommended the pressure test.
From reading the forums I thought for sure it would be the reservoir, but ended up being pin hole in the radiator covered by warranty.
It took approximately a month to five weeks to get the radiator. During that time, I would add a shot glass or so of coolant each week.
Snap shot on our issues below. We love our 392 and we have not had a bad mile in the beast!!
2022 XR-125k miles
Issues to date
1-thermostat - took it in multiple times. Blows extremely hot air. Have to move to low position before temp will cool, then back up to temp desired. Gets to 68 degrees and goes hot. Auto feature used a great deal. Jeep made some tweaks but it has never been right.
2-gold on valve covers peeled off with micro fiber. Replaced under warranty, they peeled again.
3-right rear axel seal leak, replaced under warranty. The forums indicate this been an issue for years.
4-stabiltrac (sp) shut down driving back from IA. Huge sustained cross wind wind with gusts up to 65mph. The Jeep logo on the steering wheel was positioned at 8&2 for miles and then it beeped and gave me the warning lights it failed. Pulled over immediately and shut it down. Called dealership, said okay to drive it (Lost cruise control, adaptive cruise and blind spot monitoring features). Stopped in next city 20 miles north, shut it off, and it reset. Have not had the issue since. It was the angle of the steering wheel tilted for an extended period of time that caused it fail.
5-pin hole leak in radiator replaced under warranty.
Good luck and I hope this helps!
Attachments
AUSTX
Well-known member
It sounds like you have a very small leak but not likely from the head gasket given no fluids mixing. Even a tiny leak can result in a significant loss of any fluid. Once it's fixed, given the powerful binding properties of glycol, I would recommend you wash your engine bay well using a citrus solvent and let it soak for about 10-15 min. Use brushes to get into nooks and crannies. Be sure to cover electrical. I've used Chemical Guys and Simple Green with very good results. Hope it turns out better than worse.
Last edited:
Bocephus
Well-known member
Thanks !It sounds like you have a very small leak but not likely from the head gasket given no fluids mixing. Even a tiny leak can result in a significant loss of any fluid. Once it's fixed, given the powerful the binding properties of glycol, I would recommend you wash your engine bay well using a citrus solvent and let it soak for about 10-15 min. Use brushes to get into nooks and crannies. Be sure to cover electrical. I've used Chemical Guys and Simple Green with very good results. Hope it turns out better than worse.
Mallcrawler_392
Well-known member
I noticed a coolant smell yesterday. I stopped at Costco, opened the door and could smell coolant. I got home and looked under the hood. I could see splatter on the rod coming off the steering wheel, looked like dried liquid, and I could see dried liquid under the coolant tank. Must be leaking. I'll have to take it back to the dealer and have them check it.
Taste it if coolant it should have a sweet taste to it. That’s why animals like it ,but it’s poisonous.
Smell it first could be mouse pee
Mallcrawler_392
Well-known member
It's Pink lolTaste it if coolant it should have a sweet taste to it. That’s why animals like it ,but it’s poisonous.
Smell it first could be mouse pee
Let us know when you get it sorted out thanks
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