coolant loss
 

I've been having a bit of coolant loss from my reservoir tank and not too sure why, it's not a great amount but it's going somewhere. I've been keeping a close watch and it there is no coolant leaking onto the ground? I'm suspecting it might be a problem with the cap so I bought a new one however comparing the two of them I found out that the new one is 16lbs and the old one (I'm assuming it's the original cap) is 18lbs, can I still use the 16lbs one or should I go get an 18lbs cap? It's for a 1996 Grand Cherokee Laredo. Do you have any suggestions/advice on where it could be leaking onto if not the ground? I've looked pretty much everywhere and can't seem to find it. Thanks.

Re: coolant loss
 

The cap is correct, factory calls for 14-18 lbs. I had a leak similar to this on my 98, one of the side tanks was slowly seperating from the core so while I was driving I would lose a bit of coolant but when it was sitting cold I never had anything under it. Take a close look and see if there are any signs of seperation between the aluminium and plastic.

Re: coolant loss
 

Do you think it could possibly be a blown head gasket n the coolant is going into the cylinders or something? I really hope that's not the case.

Re: coolant loss
 

It could be a head gasket, but I really doubt it. More likely culprits are radiator (main or heater), hoses or water pump.

Re: coolant loss
 

Yeh I really hope its's not a head gasket. How could I be sure that it's not a head gasket and how could I check to see if it the radiator (main or heater), hoses or water pump?

Re: coolant loss
 

I'm going through the same thing right now with my 2002 gc then the check engine light came on and the jeep started to run ruff.
I did all the same thing rad cap and add anti-freeze every two days not alot a inch or two.
cyclinder 3 and 4 had a misfire code and the spark plugs are soaked and wont fire.

I hope you dont have this problem.
p.s.
i started the way you are right now

Re: coolant loss
 

Yeah I hope I don't have the same problem as you, so far it seems like it's running fine and no check engine light on yet (hopefully stays that way). I just finished checking it and it seems like it didn't lose any coolant from the last time I checked it yesterday, I'm not 100% sure but I'm guessing I might of had air pockets in the reservoir or something, I'll keep a close eye on it, but I'm really hoping that's the end of the problem.

Re: coolant loss
 

You can have the cooling system pressure tested, it makes looking for a leak a little easier. blown gaskets are usually accompanied by overheating problems.