antifreeze pooling in plug wells

1945 - 196*, Willys CJ series, questions, discussions, regarding anything related to the post war jeep.®
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g.keating
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antifreeze pooling in plug wells

Post by g.keating » Wed Jan 11, 2017 9:47 am

This issue is happening on a CJ3A with a L4 .

The antifreeze seems to pool in all the plug wells but mostly on #4. I have pulled all plugs and with a light see no antifreeze in the combustion chambers on all plug holes. The valve is dry. Not even damp. Fire end of plug is dry.

I have a heater valve on the back of the head but it is not leaking, and if it was I can see no way for antifreeze to get to #1 -#3 cylinders from it without leaving some trace.

Also, this issue seems to happen only in the winter while in storage.

The engine starts fine and runs smooth with no smoke at all. No blue and no white. I just started it in a shed and would have noticed it for sure.

No oil in coolant and no coolant in oil.

Original head and engine. Can the head just be porous from age. Cracked??

Head gasket??


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Re: antifreeze pooling in plug wells

Post by Joe Gopan » Wed Jan 11, 2017 9:58 am

I suspect upper radiator hose or heater hose. Prestone will find a way at certain cold temperatures, wrap a paper towel or toilet paper around the hose ends when you shut it down for the nite.
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Re: antifreeze pooling in plug wells

Post by athawk11 » Thu Jan 12, 2017 10:59 am

I have this same issue. As predicted above, mine leaks from the radiator hose-to-head connection. I purchased a new hose from Ron F. Still leaks. Either my old school clamp isn't up to the task, or I have a micro crack in the outlet mounted to the head.

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Re: antifreeze pooling in plug wells

Post by Joe Gopan » Thu Jan 12, 2017 11:41 am

OEM style clamps, especially if repro., can be a headache.
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g.keating
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Re: antifreeze pooling in plug wells

Post by g.keating » Thu Jan 12, 2017 11:49 am

Its definitely related to cold outside temps. Only happens when stored for the winter. Jeep does not have this issue during warmer seasons. Maybe metal contracts during cold weather and causes small leaks.

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Re: antifreeze pooling in plug wells

Post by Joe Gopan » Thu Jan 12, 2017 12:23 pm

OEM Decades old clamps deform somehow, OEMs had Fillister Head Slotted Screws. The repros available over the past 30-30 years with the round head slotted screws are not perfect. I have a been lucky to have rounded up a quantity of 40's 1-1/2" Double Wire Hose Clamps that I save for my Jeeps, Dodge and CCKW. They do not allow leaks.
The worm type clamps are also excellent. The Worm type clamps were developed for aviation in WWII. The P-51's in ETO had a similar Glycol dripping problem and found that they had to use two clamps on each end.
Something else to consider, this seems to be more of an issue with the vehicles that have straight sections of fabric reinforced straight hose such as used on many Jeeps and not the molded curved hose. If your straight hose is old enough (maybe swollen some) it may be deteriorated enough on the inside to be affected by "wicking" which will seep thru the ends.
The straight hoses (Gates Green Stripe) on my MB, CCKW are all approaching 15-20 years old and will be replaced with new sections and all will have the vintage double wire clamps to prevent seepage. They may not be exactly "factory, but do look vintage enough to fit the bill.
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HONOR GRAD-WHEELED VEHICLE MECHANIC SCHOOL 1960 - US ARMY ORDNANCE SCHOOL(MACHINIST) ABERDEEN PG 1962 - O-1 BIRD DOG CREWCHIEF - 300,000+TROUBLE FREE M-38A1 MILES
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Re: antifreeze pooling in plug wells

Post by ghiltgen » Tue Feb 07, 2017 5:35 pm

Late reponse to your post, but if above doesn't resolve the issue, consider removing the head and having it magna fluxed to look for a small crack in the top of the head. Small crack can be very hard to detect otherwise.
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