P0115 in the mountains

[izzyandsue]

Good morning, I am out in Highland, NC, and this morning go a Po115 code, coolant smell in engine bay. Temp began to climb so I pulled into town, CEL, read code. I see a little coolant but no leaks, anyone seems this before? Looking at other posts all I can see is th coolant temp sensor. Will that sensor failing cause engine overheat?

 

[AndrewHadji]

P0115 Engine Coolant Temperature Circuit Malfunction

Hope you find the source!

 

[izzyandsue]

I just put 1.25 gallons of water in radiator, not sure where it went.

 

[AndrewHadji]

I just put 1.25 gallons of water in radiator, not sure where it went.

oof, thats quite a bit, i lost mine through my heater core valve engine bay side. Any coolant in the cab?

 

[GLTHFJ60]

Baby powder to find the leak. It's going somewhere.

When you get to a parts store, get a coolant test kit and test your coolant for combustion gasses, then check your oil for water.

 

[izzyandsue]

This is bizaro. Drove to town dump this morning, vehicle loaded up with all luggage so heavy, got there and smelled a little coolant. Thought it was the dump smell. Drove up a hill on 2nd gear back to town 4 miles, towards the end the AC quit and got the CEL with the code. Outside temp was 70, coolant was gauge climbing and high, pulled over into parking. On engine bay, saw wetness on passenger side, on top of the radiator by little hose. Let it cool down and went for breakfast.
When cool enough, opened radiator cap and added 1.5 gallons of pristine mountain organic water. Closed it up, engine on, and all seemed fine, no leaks, revved engine. Told my wife to follow me on the LR all the way home and I will pull over if they saw any water or if I got another issue.

Well, made it home, engine ran as cool as ever, no leaks, AND all the coolant is still in there, AC was working fine all along as if nothing went wrong. This was 3.5 hours of hard up/down mountain driving followed by highway speeds, outside temp 90s, road top temp 110F. So what the hell is going on? What would cause a sudden expillation (new word) of coolant? I may want to get a new radiator and cap anyway as they have a life warranty.

John, don't know that trick, what do I do with the baby powder? Head gasket was done when I bought truck, so should be good but I will double check gasses. The coolant that I can see looks perfect, no oil floating.

 

[JohnVee]

When was the last time you checked coolant level? It might have been slowly leaking, unnoticed, for a long time (1.5g worth).

 

[izzyandsue]

Haven't checked coolant for a long while, truck has always seemed to run cool and I have never smelled any coolant. This time, it was wet on the engine bay, odor was strong. I am thinking OEM cap is next, reading some of these:

Little road trip help COOLANT bottle pukeing

another mysterious coolant loss... huge bubble?

 

[JohnVee]

Let me check my stash for a NIB OEM cap. Text me a reminder if you haven't heard by 10pm.

 

[JohnVee]

BTW... I have an OME radiator NIB waiting to go into my '94 (no rush) if you need one in a hurry. Not sure if it's correct for your '97.

 

[izzyandsue]

Thanks John! no rush on mine either, I can order and wait. I do have a small leak on the top of the radiator, where the mold seam seems to have a weak point. I will get another radiator, but busy this week with parents visiting. I hope that was the issue with mine, coolant has been leaking and I didnt notice. Looks nice and dry in the engine bay after the long drive home, no so all is well for now.

 

[RedHeadedStepChild]

I checked all the fluids on the return trip. It's been a while now, but it was full then.

 

[mtweller]

Seems logical a small radiator leak over time, that turned into overheating and some steam in the engine bay (explains why you hadn't been noticing before). Then, with it running cooler after refilled the only fluid loss evaporated during the drive. Did you check to see if it's still topped off?

 

[fourtrax]

i think the 94 rad has 3 cores/brass , 95 and up only have 2 cores/aluminum.

i think this was done to reduce weight.

** corrected with factual info , Thanks Beno

 

[izzyandsue]

The leak is on the mold seam here, you can see it oozing upwards when full, so probably been happening slowly under pressure. Bad shot of plastic in mold, cold runner, bad batch of ABS.... Regardless, lifetime warranty so will be calling 1-800radiator to start the exchange. Like most companies I know, there are no processes, so will go with the flow and report back. I expect the worse service when dealing with suppliers, that way I am delighted if they ever do just the basics.

Radiator change is about 2 hours, if I remove the belts.

 

[izzyandsue]

I checked all the fluids on the return trip. It's been a while now, but it was full then.

Nice avatar! Fix that actuator so we can go play....

 

[RedHeadedStepChild]

Nice avatar! Fix that actuator so we can go play....

Sadly, that may be pushed back further.
One of my dogs ate a toy while he was boarded.
He wasn't eating for a few days. He had emergency surgery last night. That was NOT in the budget.

 

[NCFJ]

Sorry to hear that Jim, hope he recovers well. Does he have to wear the cone of shame?

We are with you on the Vet bills.

 

[pawwright]

Sadly, that may be pushed back further.
One of my dogs ate a toy while he was boarded.
He wasn't eating for a few days. He had emergency surgery last night. That was NOT in the budget.

ooof... been there - hope all goes well for the pooch and that he heals quickly.

 

[OGBeno]

i think the 94 rad has 4 cores/brass , 95 and up only have 3 cores/aluminum.

i think this was done to reduce weight.

8/1992-1/1995: 3 Core Brass
1/1995-EOP: 2 core aluminum.

Radiator caps are the same: 16401-54750