I have a 2014 Jeep Wrangler Sahara with 110,000 miles. I have been having overheating issues. A small shop I brought it to said I had a crack in the overflow reservoir and replaced it but them said they heard a "gurgling" and suspected a blown head gasket. The next shop said if it was a head gasket it wasn't worth doing. He ran it at the shop for 1/2 hour and hottest it got was 220. I ran it back up the NJ GSP and when I got off it was at 249. As soon as I stopped at a light it dropped to 235. At this point I'm really not sure what to do. It needs rear brakes and 4 tires as well. Otherwise, it is in great shape. Thermostat has just been replaced as well,
2014 Jeep Wrangler Sahara
- Thread starter mattv
- Start date
This is a Wrangler TJ forum for Jeeps made without minivan engines (sorry couldn't help myself) from 1997 (best year) to 2006.
You might want to check out wranglerjkforum.net.
I'd do a combustion gas test. You can get a tester at Harbor Freight or any parts store.
-Mac
You might want to check out wranglerjkforum.net.
I'd do a combustion gas test. You can get a tester at Harbor Freight or any parts store.
-Mac
As for the head gasket, as Mac said, there are chemical testers that react with any combustion gases in your coolant and turn a certain color and eliminates any of the guesswork. Does it smoke going down the road? Does the exhaust smell "sweet"? What does the oil look like, the coolant, and are you losing coolant?
Head gasket labor is $$$, but if it's a Wrangler in good shape and it's not "worth" it to him, he's probably too busy to get it done in time or doesn't want to do it. If you take anything away from this, please don't consider "head gasket in a bottle".
As @macleanflood said this is the TJ site, head on over to the JK site.
That said we have several JK’s in our family. The 3.6 is difficult to burp (getting all the air out). I recommend by starting with elevating the front end about 8” and loosening the radiator cap and go out a check it every now and see if the level has dropped. You may need to run it a little bit with the heater on a couple of times. Some people use a funnel to assist (which have) but on the JK forum there are mixed opinions about using them. I don’t think it’s absolutely necessary but I do think it makes it a little easier. There is also a screw hole in the t-stat housing that can be unscrewed to let air out, see picture. Check the fan, if memory serves correctly it kicks in at 226 degrees. Then I believe there is a high speed but I don’t recall the temp.
In addition seems like most people have issues with t-stats that are not OEM.
+1
Whatever you do, don't put stop-leak or headgasket sealer in a bottle in the cooling system, it will plug everything up and cause more problems.
If it were mine I would get one of those chemical testers that you can test your coolant, as it does sound like a possible head gasket issue.
As far as the guy saying it isn't "worth it", he probably means the engine if the rest of the Jeep is in good shape. To replace head gaskets on a 3.6L V6 it is a decent amount of labor, and most shops will opt to replace the engine instead, even if it is with a good used one, since the price will likely be about the same.
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