Just returned from Colorado, where we ran some pretty rugged trails, with many "I can only see tree tops and sky over the top of my hood" uphill angles. I smelled coolant and my reservoir was low, but couldn't identify any leaks, or symptoms of head gasket /head leaks. I topped it off for the next day, and the same thing happened. This time, I was in the right light and uphill angle to see little spritzes of coolant coming out of my ventilated hood. Looking under the hood, I found a drop of coolant hanging on the vent port of my reservoir tank. Immediately above the tank, on the underside of my hood, I found clear evidence that this was the source of the coolant loss. It was coming out the vent tube, and being blown upward. I bought a new radiator cap, but it made no difference. My trailing buddy has an '04 TJ, and looking under the hood, we found the same evidence of coolant loss (see pics). His coolant level was just above the "Add" line, and he didn't recall the last time he'd added coolant, it had been so long.
So... if this is just an issue of coolant sloshing out at extreme angles, I'm betting there are a number of our members who have encountered this, and have found creative ways to solve the problem (additional recovery vessels downstream, attach hose to send overflow coolant to the ground, etc.) or simply let the tank level run chronically low, like my buddy does. Please share any wisdom / solutions.
Thanks!
P.S. - the red one's mine
So... if this is just an issue of coolant sloshing out at extreme angles, I'm betting there are a number of our members who have encountered this, and have found creative ways to solve the problem (additional recovery vessels downstream, attach hose to send overflow coolant to the ground, etc.) or simply let the tank level run chronically low, like my buddy does. Please share any wisdom / solutions.
Thanks!
P.S. - the red one's mine
