Am I losing coolant?

[4.0]

Hello all

When I bought my TJ the radiator was leaking, only signs were some wet spots on my steering stabilizer and the decreasing level of fluid in the reservoir.

Managed to get it replaced, on the dealer invoice I was charged for coolant, so I assume they topped it off... however I didn't have the sense to pop the hood before driving off to verify. (clearly they had to add coolant to the system following replacement but did they top off the res?).

I popped the hood today on a whim, and the coolant level sits a good 2 inches below "full." No wet spots on the pavement, or steering components, no beads of coolant or crusty residue on the top of the radiator. Jeep stays steady at 210 for my 15 mile highway commute at 50-70mph consistently.

Being a 2001 this is fairly important for me to pin down whether there is actually a problem of not.

Oil does not look milky under the fill cap, and no white smoke from the exhaust.

I'm gonna pick up some distilled water today and top off the res, in the mean time does anyone have any thoughts?

 

[JKP]

Most likely they didn't burp all the air out of the system, and after you drove it, it burped the air out and sucked in coolant from the overflow.

Fill it up and keep an eye on it.

 

[KennethS]

I agree, very likely there was an air bubble when they filled the radiator and driving it and having hot/cold cycling resolved it. Top off the radiator in addition to the reservoir and keep an eye on it for a few days to ensure all is well.

 

[Moglocker]

I agree, very likely there was an air bubble when they filled the radiator and driving it and having hot/cold cycling resolved it. Top off the radiator in addition to the reservoir and keep an eye on it for a few days to ensure all is well.

Hopefully they did this