One of the common issues with the 2.8 Diesel engine fitted to the Jeep Wranglers is a coolant leak that can develop on the passenger (Right hand drive) side of the vehicle.
There are a number of possible caused for this leak including the EGR cooler, the various coolant hoses underneath the manifold and the coolant header tank itself.
The most common cause of a coolant leak on this side of the vehicle is actually from the inlet manifold itself. right in the middle of the head and thus the manifold is a water jacket that has a small gasket around it. When this leaks coolant runs along the cylinder head and drips off the back of the head and down around the bell housing.
This gasket is not cheap from Jeep around $500 however what is often of more concern is the plastic manifold itself distorts preventing the new manifold from sealing correctly. See the image. When this happens a new manifold is required.
Here is the fun part. At the time of writing now new manifolds are not available in Australia meaning only second hand options are available and there is always a risk with second hand parts.
The other exciting component to this fault is the time required to remove this manifold and then put it back. This will take you the best part of a day and half to do. If its your first time, longer. If your paying a workshop to do this repair expect a substantial labour invoice.
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