Hellcat Coolant Question

[JRabq]

Greetings, hope everyone is well.
Today I was out driving, about 3 hours with a few stops. Only unusual activity was sitting making a phone call with engine and a/c on for about 15 minutes. Ambient temp about 85°.
Completed drive. All temps normal. Normal driving/engine behavior. Upon pulling into garage and turning off motor, liquid dripping from front left, next to front wheel well. Opened hood, abd coolant reservoir bubbling and was up to the overflow tube. Presume that thid is the source of dripping/puddle. All dripping stopped after about 5 minutes. After about an hour, coolant level low. Added about a quart of mopar antifreeze mix to get level to 1/2 way between low and full marks. I ran the motor about 5 minutes...no visible leaks. First I have ever seen this. Any thoughts?

 

[Hellcatcfp]

Subscribed. Maybe overfilled coolant from factory? Mine was ever so slightly underfilled. Curious as well.

 

[JRabq]

I have had this 2017 HC for over a year, purchased used from local dealer. The coolant level has been in proper range with very rare topups.

 

[1971demon]

I have had this 2017 HC for over a year, purchased used from local dealer. The coolant level has been in proper range with very rare topups.

Stuck thermostat?...tmro I would replicate todays activities and see what happens

 

[Hunter]

Stuck thermostat?...tmro I would replicate todays activities and see what happens

Agree.
It also may have already been low.

 

[JRabq]

Tnx...too impatient to wait til today.
So drove it last night.
Level of coolant filled to between marks, 1/2 way. Drove about 20 minutes with coolant temp being displayed. 160° when I started it, still warm from earlier. Temp up to 203° driving. Stopped 1/2 way and sat about 3 minutes...temp up to 213°....drove home with temp back to 202-203°. Popped hood, fan spinning. Looked normal. After turning off motor, coolant bubbling to top of reservoir, drips again. This morning after cooling overnight. Coolant level low. Do I have a pressure leak?

 

[1971demon]

Tnx...too impatient to wait til today.
So drove it last night.
Level of coolant filled to between marks, 1/2 way. Drove about 20 minutes with coolant temp being displayed. 160° when I started it, still warm from earlier. Temp up to 203° driving. Stopped 1/2 way and sat about 3 minutes...temp up to 213°....drove home with temp back to 202-203°. Popped hood, fan spinning. Looked normal. After turning off motor, coolant bubbling to top of reservoir, drips again. This morning after cooling overnight. Coolant level low. Do I have a pressure leak?

So the same thing happened on both runs?

 

[JRabq]

So the same thing happened on both runs?

Ran HC last eve after mostly cool and expan tank filled to mid level between marks. Inspection while running looked normal. Temp driving right at 203°, up to about 212° idling, then 203° driving to home. Once motor off, expansion tank level rise to very top and leak/puddling directly below expansion reservoir, no other drips noted. Level below min mark on checking this morning. Nothing abnormal from exhaust.

 

[1971demon]

Ran HC last eve after mostly cool and expan tank filled to mid level between marks. Inspection while running looked normal. Temp driving right at 203°, up to about 212° idling, then 203° driving to home. Once motor off, expansion tank level rise to very top and leak/puddling directly below expansion reservoir, no other drips noted. Level below min mark on checking this morning. Nothing abnormal from exhaust.

I'd just replace the thermostat with the same one...just to rule it out...maybe someone else can give you a better insight...

 

[JRabq]

Tnx.
I am under warranty, calling dealer in the am.

 

[1971demon]

Tnx.
I am under warranty, calling dealer in the am.

Better yet...let them deal with it..and if they give you trouble...tell em what you do for a living..and that you'll put him to sleep for a long...long time...

 

[Hellcat Cuda]

The coolant tank is prone to cracking around a nipple located low, down adjacent to the edge of the valve cover. They crack and just seep coolant until the coolant gets low enough to cause bigger issues if not caught. Had that problem with my Chargers and the guys (God bless them) would never pay attention until the car would overheat big time and they'd show up on the back of a roll back. On the early 5.7s, after one or two times of this, the heads would lose their valve seats. The Eagles would stand up to many overheats.

Check for an ever so slight crack where the nipple comes off the tank. There will be a silver (aluminum) sleeve on the inside of the nipple that hasn't solved the problem. For the life of me, I don't know why FCA hasn't fixed the design, except FCA and the dealers are making good money replacing them.

 

[Hemiride]

I worry about the bubbling as you describe it. Could be a blown head gasket.

 

[moparjim]

The coolant tank is prone to cracking around a nipple located low, down adjacent to the edge of the valve cover. They crack and just seep coolant until the coolant gets low enough to cause bigger issues if not caught. Had that problem with my Chargers and the guys (God bless them) would never pay attention until the car would overheat big time and they'd show up on the back of a roll back. On the early 5.7s, after one or two times of this, the heads would lose their valve seats. The Eagles would stand up to many overheats.

Check for an ever so slight crack where the nipple comes off the tank. There will be a silver (aluminum) sleeve on the inside of the nipple that hasn't solved the problem. For the life of me, I don't know why FCA hasn't fixed the design, except FCA and the dealers are making good money replacing them.

Good info, I was unaware of this issue.
A crack in the coolant bottle could also be the cause of the bubbling.
These sealed systems like to stay sealed.

 

[EricG]

Good luck with the fix, keep us posted.

 

[45-70govt]

I find that a very bright but small beam flashlight is handy for finding coolant leaks. Take the car somewhere very dark, then shine you light around under the hood. The steam will really jump out in the beam of light with no ambient lighting around. Found a very small leak in my Jeep that way.

 

[16GoManGoHC2]

The tank cap may be bad. When I changed the fluid in mine cap did not reseal, system wouldn’t not pressurize and splash would come out the overflow vent. Cap does not seat on center and if not in right spot the compressed gasket does not reseal, look at attached picture. A new cap fixed my issue

 

[stonewall]

Mine would do this to a lesser degree when it was new. and I replaced the tank cap, no more problems. Mine would drip and mopar juice stinks like damn it!

 

[JRabq]

Tnx for the info. Got car back from dealer friday. Diagnosis was faulty cap not holding pressure. $25 replacement, no other charges. So far, no leak or overflow. Fluid level normal so far.

 

[JRabq]

I think the bubbling i described was dead space air in the expansion tank moving around with the fluid on its way out the overflow tube, as opposed to bubbling fluid moving through the system.