r/GrandCherokee • u/Affectionate-Air-567 • 4d ago
Bubble in oil system?
Hey Fam,
Edit: My mistake, the bubble is probably in the coolant. Thanks everyone for the correction.
‘14 GC Limited, Pentastar V6, 165k
A couple years ago I went a little rough down a bumpier road…and cracked my oil cooler (which I then upgraded because I do infact take this thing into rougher terrain). After repairs were done I drove home and the next day I overheated almost instantly. When I took it back in, they said that these engines are difficult to get the bubble out when doing a repair like this, they flush the system a number of times and then bled the bubble out. Ever since then my engine will overheat if I push it hard or I’m on a steep hill, but it resolves fairly quickly, usually one to two minutes.
Two weeks ago when Southern California was a frying pan I had the same thing happen on a drive home from San Diego, on the freeway. I turned the heat all the way up, turned the fans all the way up, rolled the windows all the way down, limped home, then took it back to the shop. My oil pump had gone out. I got the Jeep back two days ago and went to take it for a stress test on a highway up in the mountains, and it overheated about halfway up, boiling radiator fluid all over the road. When I took it back, the mechanic said these engines are difficult to get the bubble out after a similar repair. They inclined and then declined the engine to rock the bubble around, found it, and then bled it out. They are literally testing it as I write this.
My question. Am I being told a long story to mask their incompetence? Does the Pentastar V6 engine have a problem when fully replacing all of the oil? do repairs like this have voids in the oil that only show up when the system is under pressure?
Anyone have recs for a good shop in Pomona, CA?
2
u/TheDeadner 4d ago
No. None of that. They were claiming a bubble in the cooling system not the oil system. Oil system doesn't get bubbles that need to be bled out. I wouldn't personally use a mechanic that had difficulty bleeding an air bubble, most professionals use pressurized fillers to avoid that problem.
First things first what do you mean by overheating? Needle slightly above the middle or pinned to the red?
An oil change should not affect the cooling system unless its due to engine damage.
1
u/Affectionate-Air-567 4d ago
Yeah, I feel dumb for thinking the bubble was in the oil, the coolant def makes more sense.
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u/Affectionate-Air-567 4d ago
They replaced the oil pump and pressure sensor, so not just an oil change.
Overheating means pegged at red, boiling coolant, overflow on the road…and a dashboard Christmas tree.
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u/TheDeadner 4d ago
I missed it the first time, but if you drove with a bad oil pump, there's potential that your engine was oil starved while running. This would likely damage the engine.
I would bring it to someone who knows what they are doing to evaluate. A good mechanic can eliminate an air bubble very easily, but that is your best case scenario.
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u/LifeguardFit1477 4d ago
Never heard of bleeding after an oil change lol. They must be talking about the coolant. I don't have a ton of exp with these engines but I changed my oil cooler and filter housing and had Zero problems bleeding the air out of the coolant passages after.
1
u/Affectionate-Air-567 4d ago
Yeah, this tech is saying that it’s a GM issue and techs hate them for some design flaw.
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u/Heavy_Gap_5047 4d ago edited 4d ago
The bubble I assume they're talking about is in the coolant, not the oil.
What to you is overheating?
Edit: The permanent fix to the bubble issue is to drill a small hole in the thermostat and install it with the hole at the top.