I'll be really curious to see what the outcome ends up being, so please circle back around and update even if nobody else chimes in.

 

Will do, hopefully have some opinions from the local machine shops this week about the condition of the heads and possible solutions

 

My 2012 JK had a slow leak at the thermostat housing which took a while to discover. The O-rings get weak and stay in a D shape making for a bad seal. New is on left.

 

I have already replaced the thermostat housing, thank you for the suggestion however

 

Hello Foxrider68 did you ever find the issue with your wife's jeep?

I have a 2010 with 178K Mi. and its having similar issues...however the coolant loss is not that much, but I see decreasing levels on the reservoir. I also see water dripping from the exhaust whenever the jeep is turned on and remains on idle.
No outer leaks anywhere.

Thanks.

 

I did, i have been incredibly busy with moving and forgot to post the results on here sorry about that guys. It ended up being the drivers side cylinder head requiring replacement, it was warped. I changed it myself and its been running perfectly for the past couple weeks. Apparently this issue is relatively wide spread on the earlier 3.6, yours being a 3.8 i dont think you would have the same issue.

 

Great; thank you for the update!!
I will continue reseaching for mine. Very difficult to pinpoint exactly what is going on.

 

Yeah sorry i cant be of more help, it is definitely frustrating to figure out considering this one didnt show any of the normal signs of a bad headgasket. Have you checked the oil recently? Like i said ours didnt show signs in the oil but yours might and that would be a pretty good sign of a bad head gasket.

 

If the heads gasket is leaking then it will let coolant into the combustion chamber or oil lines. Watch your coolant level like a hawk. Check water coming out of the tail pipe after the engine warms up. Check your oil to see if it is milky. I would check your radiator cap, and make sure the fan module is working by checking to see if it works when the AC is on. The fans go bad and then the engine overheats then you get the dreaded warped heads quite easily.

 

Mine is going through alot and I can smell coolant on the exhaust manifold burning too. where should I check first?