i took my 2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo to dealer to get radiator replaced ,7 times in 2.5 years will make a burping sound and 3 weeks later leaking … you can set your clock between burp and bad radiator … this is nuts . dealer is stumped , he just keeps putting them in …
Are you or the dealer paying for all this? Unless the dealer is paying for all this you need to find a new place to get service.
If a third party (insurance) is paying for it, then they are getting ripped.
Someone who knows what they are doing, needs to check this one out.
You know the definition of insanity? It’s doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. So, you’re dealer is insane! or clueless or doesn’t care…
The first thing I would check for is over-pressurization of the system. This can happen when the pressure relief fails (typically the cap on the radiator) and/or the system is being pressurized by some other source like a leaking head gasket.
So, change the radiator cap, this would be normal to do when swapping out rads because it’s cheap insurance. Secondly, have them (or someone competent) perform a gas sniff test at the radiator to check for combustion gases being present in the system.
We had a similar situation in our shop about a year ago. It was on a Dodge pick-up truck. We had replaced quite a few radiators for a customer (all under warranty) and there was no visable damage. We tried from multiple reasources and they all would start leaking in a short amount of time. It drove the mechanic nuts. We noticed that the leak occured in the same relative spot every time.
That led to a theory that was confirmed by a body shop we did some work with… The frame had been slightly tweaked somehow and that put a stress on the radiator and under pressure over time would cause the leak.
Other than being more than slightly amazed that someone would continue to throw radiators at a problem by the truckload, I agree with the possibility of an alignment or installation problem that is tweaking the radiator.
The big question I have is exactly who was footing the bill for this escapade? Surely not the customer, and it’s hard to believe that anyone in the chain (service dept., parts, dept, or the supplier, factory OEM or aftermarket) would keep eating this cost without raising a white flag and saying wait a minute guys after the first couple of radiators.
yes believe it or not this is a dealer ,they are looking for an electrical problem now
I have an '03. Four radiators so far. Two differnt shops, OEM radaiators, #2 - 4 under warranty, but still costs $125+ for installation & etc. Leaks were at transmission cooler, left side of core, right side of core. Radiator caps were replaced. Pressure was checked. Heater system valve checked. Thermostat has been replaced. Mechanic has idea re. cause. Mechanic is pretty good. Have used same shop for years.
Is this a common problem for this model sereies?
I tend to lean toward some torsion/distortion situation.
Has this ever been hit?