I was working on doing a coolant system flush today on my daughter's 2011 Sport Unlimited due to a suspected heater core issue. There is great heat on the passenger side but very little on the driver side and I have already replaced the blend door actuator on the driver's side under the steering column area.
I drained the radiator, removed the overflow container and cleaned it out, disconnected both the top and bottom hoses that lead to the heater core and back flushed both directions. I then put the hoses back on (original configuration), closed the radiator stop cock, and re-atttached the overflow container. I then put an engine cleaner product in the radiator and filled with distilled water, adding more as the engine sucked it in, burping the top radiator hose during the process to get the air bubbles out.
At this point I started the Jeep to allow it to get up to operating temperature and crossed my fingers that there would be equal heat on both sides. Although it was considerably better than before it was far from normal. I should note that as I revved the engine to 3000 rpm it did appear to produce better heat, better than before I started this process. I took it for a drive ~15-20 minutes on both side street and highway and on the highway it was starting produce a decent amount of heat on the driver's side. Still not normal but I could tell it was trying and it was certainly better than before I started.
Here's the rub, when I got back home and parked in the driveway to crawl back under the Jeep to pop the retaining clips that hold the plastic radiator shroud back in to place that I loosened to clear debris from the bottom corners of the radiator I noticed a drip coming from near where the firewall is. I looked up to see what appears to be a rubber hose 2-3" in length that is pointed downward at a 90 degree angle was dripping. This was not happening before I started this project today, there was not fluid leaks on the garage floor.
I have attached some pictures that are from the top down angle. These are of the driver's side looking down at the side of the block and back to the firewall. I have an arrow pointing to the hose that is leaking.
I am hoping someone can clue me in to what this hose is, why it is leaking, and what in the world I could have possibly done that would have caused this issue. The only part I ran pressurized water through was the heater core.
I drained the radiator, removed the overflow container and cleaned it out, disconnected both the top and bottom hoses that lead to the heater core and back flushed both directions. I then put the hoses back on (original configuration), closed the radiator stop cock, and re-atttached the overflow container. I then put an engine cleaner product in the radiator and filled with distilled water, adding more as the engine sucked it in, burping the top radiator hose during the process to get the air bubbles out.
At this point I started the Jeep to allow it to get up to operating temperature and crossed my fingers that there would be equal heat on both sides. Although it was considerably better than before it was far from normal. I should note that as I revved the engine to 3000 rpm it did appear to produce better heat, better than before I started this process. I took it for a drive ~15-20 minutes on both side street and highway and on the highway it was starting produce a decent amount of heat on the driver's side. Still not normal but I could tell it was trying and it was certainly better than before I started.
Here's the rub, when I got back home and parked in the driveway to crawl back under the Jeep to pop the retaining clips that hold the plastic radiator shroud back in to place that I loosened to clear debris from the bottom corners of the radiator I noticed a drip coming from near where the firewall is. I looked up to see what appears to be a rubber hose 2-3" in length that is pointed downward at a 90 degree angle was dripping. This was not happening before I started this project today, there was not fluid leaks on the garage floor.
I have attached some pictures that are from the top down angle. These are of the driver's side looking down at the side of the block and back to the firewall. I have an arrow pointing to the hose that is leaking.
I am hoping someone can clue me in to what this hose is, why it is leaking, and what in the world I could have possibly done that would have caused this issue. The only part I ran pressurized water through was the heater core.
