That radiator in the photo is upside-down as I can just see the drain valve peeking out behind the red line in the top right corner.

 

Thanks for pointing this out.

 

Just a heads up, one member had similar problems that progressed and later was found to be coolant leaking into the the #3 cylinder:

A couple of weird issues

I have a 2013 pat with around 127k miles. On long road trips, I have noticed that the temp will go to halfway between the middle mark and the hot mark. It will then drop back down. Thermostat issue? It has also recently developed a rough idle when its first started. It has done this both...

www.jeeppatriot.com

Fuel injectors leaking?

While I had my jeep in the shop getting the compression tested, the mechanic mentioned that the fuel injectors could be leaking overnight which could be causing my symptoms when starting (rough idle). Smoke also rolls out from underneath the metal part on the rear of the engine just above the...

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A compression test didn't find anything wrong.

 

Thanks a lot @Sandstone indeed very interesting. Seems quite similar to "our" mystery. I'll investigate further

 

I guess burping the upside-down radiator question is no longer relevant 😅 'love these forums. Thanks guys!🍻

 

You can pick up a cheap borescope camera off Amazon (i have one made by depstech that works well) and look in each cylinder. Usually when it burns coolant, it'll start steam cleaning the carbon off the top of the piston. There's also a chemical test for hydrocarbons that can be done on the cooling system using a color changing fluid.

 

You can pick up a cheap borescope camera off Amazon

That is exactly what I have ordered from fleabay after reading. I am a bit curious to have a look at cylinder #3 that is occasionally sending misfire code even after plugs were replaced. I do suspect the coil (likely original from 2009) and will have it switched with #1 to see whether the code moves along (I cross fingers 😅)

 

Thanks for the update, sorry to hear it though.

If you do go with a sealer, let us know how it works out.

 

Thanks for the update, sorry to hear it though.

If you do go with a sealer, let us know how it works out.

Decided to try the liquid sealer solution. In case it works as bragged about, there is nothing to loose. And indeed, it seems to work. Liquid sealer can be a solution to extend operational usage of the car.

Got a bottle of Rislone radiator & heater core Stop leak. It is a sort of liquid copper that mixes with the existing coolant (antifreeze). According to manufacturer, it targets thinner cracks in radiators rather than larger holes in head gasket. But could not find an immediately available head gasket-specific sealer that did not require flushing the coolant and filling up with clear water. Not really willing to see what happens to a radiator filled with pure water in December in Canada 😅

Instructions say to pour half a bottle for a 4-cylinder engine. Poured the entire bottle, considering this is an attempt to seal a larger hole in a gasket. Instructions also say that in certain circumstances the product may require a few heating/cooling cycles to work. [update] the manufacturer informations mention that this product may also work on gaskets and that there is an adapted product for even bigger leaks if this one doesn't work well enough.

In our case, the product started working during the second heating cycle. How do we know? the steam-machine act at the end of the exhaust greatly reduced, the idle became more regular (aka less like a Harley Davidson) and the misfire code ceased coming back few seconds after turned off with the ODB2 scanner. So far so good. The product appears to work on head gasket too.

Trick: remove to clean and dry the spark plug. Wash it with a toothbrush & paste if needed. Rince well and put it back when dry and clean. It works wonders on the misfire issue.

We'll be observing what happens after more heating/cooling cycles and if the coolant level in the reservoir remains stable.

 

By the way, forgot to update on the original purpose of this post : removing air bubbles from cooling circuit.

Ordered an affordable "coolant funnel kit" that locks on the various coolant fill holes (radiator, hose or reservoir). The Canadian merchant promptly shipped the kit and it was delivered in no time.

How this works : you lock that funnel on the filling hole on the coolant hose and simply add coolant until 1/3 in the funnel. Now, folks, don't be silly, make sure it's the coolant hole and not the engine oil or brake fluid or windshield detergent hole, right?

Then start the engine, turn heater on and wait the engine reaches its operating temperature to open all thermostats. Watch bubbles (if any) come out in the funnel and level of coolant decrease. Add coolant as needed to keep level in the funnel. After a few minutes without any bubbles, you can turn off the engine, remove the funnel, lock the radiator cap in place and go buy yourself a cold beer.

It potentially helps if the nose of the car is slightly elevated, if you revv the engine a bit a few times to increase coolant flow and "massage" the coolant hose (use gardening gloves, it's hot).

There is a pin to avoid spilling coolant when you disconnect the funnel from filling hole. Thus you can easily recover the excess coolant. Remember, it's toxic to nature and wildlife. Just position the funnel on the coolant bottle and remove pin (open the coolant bottle first lol).

In the case of our Patriot, did this at the same time the liquid sealer was poured in the cooling hose (in our case hose was empty). Just added coolant in the funnel until 1/3rd and let engine run a good 45 minutes. It was quite fun to watch how much air actually comes out. In our case, after big bubbles ceased coming out, a continuous strain of smaller bubbles never stopped. We figured these come from the blown head gasket as the small bubbles stopped shortly after engine was turned off.

One can easily repeat this procedure a few times to ensure all air trapped in circuit is removed.

'hope this helps

 

'hope this helps

Thanks for taking the time to update us!

 

Thank you sharing your experiences with explanations. I tried a stop leak product (Bar's Leak) decades ago and it seemed to work. Supposedly they only coagulate at the area of the leak and don't plug the coolant system. "Mechanic in a bottle" remedies occasionally work and can extend the useful life of something where the repair option is so expensive that you just get rid of the vehicle.

 

+1 with you. Understood that it's only a plaster on the wound and by definition temporary. But it can be repeated. In the case of this particular Rislone product, the perceived added value is that the product remains in the circuit and could be readily available to reseal if/when the "coagulation" comes off.

Funny to think that once in a while you will be driving a steam machine 😅 pity the cute pink color is not extended to the steam 😂😂😂