Cherokee 2.5TD dumped its coolant

[Glen Heather]

G'day everyone,

It had to happen. Bought a very clean and straight XJ Cherokee 2.5TD with about 200,000km and within 1000km it has proved it was, indeed, too good to be true. It immediately began blowing too much black, sooty smoke, so I had already booked it in for a full diesel system service, but before it got there it has stopped.

Heading up a hill on light load, there was a quiet pop followed by warning lights, loss of power and a temp gauge heading rapidly for the red zone. Pulled over, there's coolant everywhere. Trailered it home.

Now, it appears no hose blew. I think the coolant came out of the reservoir, given the position of the puddle and where the coolant spilled on the Jeep. I can't find a holey hose. So now we have almost surpassed by limited troubleshooting ability.

There's no sign of coolant mixing with the engine oil. The engine still turns over but doesn't fire, not that this worries me cos I haven't refilled it with coolant yet.

The intercooler hoses have oil in them, which I suspect may point to a blown turbo seal but I don't know this for sure, nor do I know if that would relate to the overheating problem and dumped coolant.

Could it be a turbo-related problem? Could the excessively rich mixture have brought it on? Anyone have any clues or advice?

[sfedek]

G'day everyone,

It had to happen. Bought a very clean and straight XJ Cherokee 2.5TD with about 200,000km and within 1000km it has proved it was, indeed, too good to be true. It immediately began blowing too much black, sooty smoke, so I had already booked it in for a full diesel system service, but before it got there it has stopped.

Heading up a hill on light load, there was a quiet pop followed by warning lights, loss of power and a temp gauge heading rapidly for the red zone. Pulled over, there's coolant everywhere. Trailered it home.

Now, it appears no hose blew. I think the coolant came out of the reservoir, given the position of the puddle and where the coolant spilled on the Jeep. I can't find a holey hose. So now we have almost surpassed by limited troubleshooting ability.

There's no sign of coolant mixing with the engine oil. The engine still turns over but doesn't fire, not that this worries me cos I haven't refilled it with coolant yet.

The intercooler hoses have oil in them, which I suspect may point to a blown turbo seal but I don't know this for sure, nor do I know if that would relate to the overheating problem and dumped coolant.

Could it be a turbo-related problem? Could the excessively rich mixture have brought it on? Anyone have any clues or advice?



Where abouts are you in NSW?

Eddy

[Glen Heather]

Central West, near Mudgee.

[mud_slut]

how often was it blowing black smoke ? just up steep hills? only when cold ? etc etc

[layback40]

G'day everyone,

It had to happen. Bought a very clean and straight XJ Cherokee 2.5TD with about 200,000km and within 1000km it has proved it was, indeed, too good to be true. It immediately began blowing too much black, sooty smoke, so I had already booked it in for a full diesel system service, but before it got there it has stopped.

Heading up a hill on light load, there was a quiet pop followed by warning lights, loss of power and a temp gauge heading rapidly for the red zone. Pulled over, there's coolant everywhere. Trailered it home.

Now, it appears no hose blew. I think the coolant came out of the reservoir, given the position of the puddle and where the coolant spilled on the Jeep. I can't find a holey hose. So now we have almost surpassed by limited troubleshooting ability.

There's no sign of coolant mixing with the engine oil. The engine still turns over but doesn't fire, not that this worries me cos I haven't refilled it with coolant yet.

The intercooler hoses have oil in them, which I suspect may point to a blown turbo seal but I don't know this for sure, nor do I know if that would relate to the overheating problem and dumped coolant.

Could it be a turbo-related problem? Could the excessively rich mixture have brought it on? Anyone have any clues or advice?

What warning light came on?
Oil in the air hoses is probably the crank case vent.
May not be an excessively rich mixture. Could be bad injector tips.
Do you have any experience with diesel engines?
What is the history of the engine before you got it?

[del97td]

fit a new thermostat if its sticky it will cause coolant to pump out of the reservoir also clean out the pressure cap on the reservoir

[Mudmonster]

fill it with coolant or water.
a while ago when i had a leeking welsh plug it leeked all the coolant out of the over flow bottle and wouldnt start, filled it up and it started.

a bit of oil in the intercooler pipes is normal wouldnt worry about that.

could also have done a head or head gasket?
once you fill it with water see if it will start/run, if not clutch start it and see if it blows smoke at idle, if it blows out smoke at idle it may be the head gasket.

see how you go.

if you have done a head let me know i can do you a good deal on a set of 4 and put you in contact with a bloke for the head gasket kit.

all the best

[Glen Heather]

G'day, I've been away a few days. Thanks for the replies. I've topped up the coolant (water only at this stage). There's no leak, so I think I can definitely rule out blown hoses. However, the engine turns over but will not fire. I'll have a go at clutching it and let you know if I have any luck.

Before it stopped, it was blowing black smoke most of the time, but not at idle. The higher load (up hills etc), the more smoke it blew.

[mud_slut]

mine also blows smoke up hills...im a bit worried now im going to do a head now :hammer:

[layback40]

mine also blows smoke up hills...im a bit worried now im going to do a head now :hammer:
There is nothing yet been posted to suggest that Glen Heather has done a head except that he overheated it. A TD with a bad head still starts. There is some other issue with his engine. Dont know if he has reset everything by disconnecting the battery for 15 minutes or if a fuel supply check has been done. There is a long way to go yet !! ;)

[Mudmonster]

mine also blows smoke up hills...im a bit worried now im going to do a head now :hammer:

a diesel will blow smoke under load up hills, nothing to worry about

[cheezel]

What does the previous owner say?
How much fuel in the tank?
How old is the fuel filter and is there any water in the filter bowl?

Also, unsure if mentioned above though check the TD sticky, deezelweezel points out that you want to have the car on a slope when filling the coolant up to avoid air pockets.

Good luck! I too bought a diesel only to have it stop on me when I was about a k down the road. I called the bloke, had a chat and decided I'd still drive it back from syd to Melb.. Cheers :-)