Slimebones
Active Member
Just out of curiosity, what brand was the two replacements?
WJCO's Build Thread, 1999 WJ
- Thread starter WJCO
- Start date
Snboarder113
Hooked
When it climbed up (now with new engine) did it puke or just climb? Did you swap caps?
Which one had stop (flow)leak in it?
Was it leaking at all?
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Which one had stop (flow)leak in it?
Was it leaking at all?
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WJCO
Meme King
1A Auto. I've had good luck with them in the past with parts. I don't expect anything from them but I am going to let them know what happened. If anything they may have an answer about it or may be able to find the info useful.
WJCO
Meme King
Nope never puked but kept climbing when I drove it the other day. After I got vehicle back from the shop(prior to motor replacement), it was puking when cold, too much pressure in system from the crack.
The first radiator I had caused the temps to climb, no stopleak yet. I put the stopleak in after first shop found hydrocarbons in the system.
The 2nd radiator (same brand) was brand new and shop flushed all the stopleak out of block before reassembling vehicle. So no stopleak at that point.
Prior to replacing the motor, I put a different brand of stop leak in but no luck. When I replaced the motor, I flushed the radiator really good until it came out clear and it was flowing pretty good so I really don't think the stopleak had anything to do with it. Especially since the symptom was the same with both radiators.
Either way, my 5year old radiator is back in the Jeep and working. Cap is brand new. No external leaks ever.
Judesign
Caught the Bug
Fuckn a. What an ordeal. Loving that you put in the work. Congrats.
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98XJ06LJ
New member
You said the radiator you just reinstalled was five years old. Just curious, does that mean it was replaced five years ago or is that when you purchased the Jeep?
Wondering if this radiator is OE or aftermarket.
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Wondering if this radiator is OE or aftermarket.
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notnalc68
That dude from Mississippi
Snboarder113
Hooked
Soooo.....
....
.
Doesn’t maaake sense. If it flowed fine that means the heat exchange efficiency was below oe specs somehow. It was a direct replacement right? Not like switched to aluminum or different cores or something. Zero sense.
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WJCO
Meme King
Exactly. That's where I'm at.
No kidding. Me too.
We bought the Jeep 4 years ago and the radiator had been recently replaced. So I'm not sure the exact age on it.
Yeah. It does suck. But I'm happy to have learned this. I'll be a lot more picky with my next radiator purchase.
Yep.
Makes no sense. They both had the appearance and weight of aluminum. The only thing I can think of is that the original one had bigger tubes for better flow. I remember being just as puzzled when I first replaced it, made no sense that the condition got worse. After I found out the motor was bad, I just figured that since air was getting into the coolant, that somehow the new radiator was making the foamy mixture flow more and overheat quicker. But now that the motor is fixed, not the case. That's when I decided to go back to the old radiator and see what happens. It worked. I'm hoping the company will tell me something like "That part is for the WJ without the tow package" or some stupid mistake like that. I just can't imagine that they haven't run into something like this. Hell, I even took off my winch after the radiator gave me problems the first time just to see if it was an airflow issue, made no difference.
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98XJ06LJ
New member
I'm wondering if the radiator that you have in now ( the original) is a V-8 radiator and the two you bought were 4.0 parts that they mixed up at the manufacturer.
Do you know if the tanks are the same on V-8 versus 4.0? As in same hose nipple locations?
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WJCO
Meme King
That's exactly what I'm wondering. Something like that happening. It bolted up identically.
Agreed. I still want to know though, lol.
Slimebones
Active Member
Yep. School of hard knocks. We will all learn something from this, thanks for sharing. All the details really are appreciated. Please share any further developments. And above all, let us know when you want to share a trail run again.
notnalc68
That dude from Mississippi
WJCO
Meme King
Ran a first trail today since the engine replacement. No issues at all. Ran great and temps hovered around 200F. Appears all is good again.
Next item on the list is fixing my rear locker. Copper tube is broken at the seal housing. I have all the parts. Just waiting for enough time to get around to it.
BaddestCross
Active Member
Congrats! Glad to hear your hard work and frustrations paid off!
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Build Thread - Adventures of Fiona - https://wayalife.com/showthread.php?t=47407
TrailHunter
Hooked
That's great news!