Cooling problems

[supahcraig]

Hi y'all, first post here, I'm a regular on several jeep forums, which doesn't really apply here but now I've fulfilled my responsibility as a Jeep owner. I normally do all my own work, but I haven't had to dive into this car so I don't have my usual list of go-to places for basic info.

Had some weird stuff happening lately. temp gauge kinda jumps around, A/C sometimes stops blowing cold, steering makes a weird noise at full lock. Some of that probably points to a serpentine belt in need of replacement, that much is easy.

Related to that appears to be the belt tensioner. It seems to periodically move up/down, which may be related to the a/c compressor? IDK, my jeep doesn't have this "feature" and it doesn't really jive with my understanding of belt tensioners...or maybe it's gone bad?

But I'm also losing coolant. There are no visible leaks, and there doesn't appear to be any coolant in my oil. The old girl has 110k miles on her, so I'm probably due to change a lot of things, but I didn't know if there are some common weak points in the cooling system at this point. I've added coolant to the overflow reservoir twice in the last 4ish months, and I was able to add about half a gallon directly to the radiator this morning which seems like an indication of trouble elsewhere.

 

[Yupster Dog]

Welcome to the forum Craig.
People need to know what you are driving to help you out.(year trim)

 

[supahcraig]

Sorry, I assumed that would be visible since I filled out my profile.

2012 Lincoln Navigator L

 

[Don Hall]

Losing coolant.... not in oil.....
possible head gasket rupture, and coolant is going out the tail pipe (?).

 

[supahcraig]

Losing coolant.... not in oil.....
possible head gasket rupture, and coolant is going out the tail pipe (?).

if so, it's only trace amounts, I'm not seeing any smoke out the back. How to test that?

 

[Don Hall]

If exhaust gases are in the coolant, there are simple test kits/tools available from most auto stores.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/head-gasket-blown-test

 

[Yupster Dog]

Sorry, I assumed that would be visible since I filled out my profile.

2012 Lincoln Navigator L

you can put that in your signature and it will be on every post you make.

 

[Don Hall]

A simple check for a breached cooling system: if the overflow reservoir level is elevated when hot, and does not lower during cool-down, there is air in the system preventing a return siphon to occur.

A breach does not have to be a "blown' head gasket, it can be any loose hose connection, or split hose end, etc.

 

[supahcraig]

scratch that; I do have some white smoke out the back. it seems to more or less go away after about 10 seconds, but I am seeing trace amounts of white smoke.

 

[supahcraig]

Definitely head gasket....looked at doing this myself and WOW that's an involved project, and I can't see putting that kind of money into this car knowing that other stuff needs attention too.

So I traded it. 2021 Expedition Max XLT in the house. I didn't realize just how worn out the Navigator was, and I didn't realize how far along the interior & features had come since 2012. Even on the XLT trim. And also how lousy the used market is right now.

 

[ManUpOrShutUp]

So I traded it. 2021 Expedition Max XLT in the house. I didn't realize just how worn out the Navigator was, and I didn't realize how far along the interior & features had come since 2012. Even on the XLT trim. And also how lousy the used market is right now.

Used market is fantastic right now for sellers. It's awful for buyers.

 

[supahcraig]

its less good when there's a wreck on the carfax. Thanks random lady who ran into me at a stop light 3 months ago.

 

[Trainmaster]

How did you deem it to be a head gasket problem? Common on the first generation trucks but usually with higher mileage than you had. Uncommon on a truck with suck low mileage if never overheated.

 

[ManUpOrShutUp]

its less good when there's a wreck on the carfax. Thanks random lady who ran into me at a stop light 3 months ago.

Most of the stuff on Facebook Marketplace are rebuilds and they're still fetching thousands above book. Gone are the days of not being to sell a vehicle with an accident history and/or salvage/rebuild title. You're always going to take a massive hit on a trade though.