OK, new member here, first post. Forgive if this has been covered...
I've got a 2006 Unlimited, bought it on the showroom in 2005. 150,000 miles Manual transmission (6-speed)
2 weeks ago I ran a 200-mile day trip, which is way more than I ever travel in the Wrangler under normal conditions. Ran perfectly.
Next morning, I started it and heard the tell-tale clanging from the engine and had coolant leaking out the bottom of the water pump. OK, so the water pump crapped. Never been replaced.
Read up on the how-tos and didn't have time, so I took it to my mechanic to have it replaced. Based on research, I also requested a new thermostat while they were at it. Both were original.
They did the work, test drove it, and coolant was pouring out from the A/C condensate line - the heater core had blown out. Was replaced 4 years ago. Since I'm in Florida and heat is not critical, they just bypassed the heater core to get the Jeep back to me.
Two days later, in stop/go city traffic, coolant started spewing from the grill, up, onto the windshield. 3"+ long crack in the radiator, next to the cap. (Yes, the cap had been replaced with the water pump and the thermostat - 18# cap from NAPA).
Mechanic was too busy to look at it, so I took it back and replaced the radiator myself with an after-market model from NAPA. I also replaced the radiator cap (again), just to be safe.
Fearing head gasket issues, I also got the gauge to do a compression test on the cylinders to see if there was any obvious weak spots. I ran the test 2x on each cylinder and got average readings of 151 - 191 on all six cylinders, so I felt better about the head gasket.
Everything back together with no issues, ran with cap off to check and bleed out any air - everything checked out great, no leaks, running at 212 degrees+/-, no overheating.
Today was the first longer trip around town and it ran great with no issues - until I parked for a few minutes with the A/C on max. The temp gauge shot up to the red zone and the warning "Check Gauges" message came on. Turned the A/C off and got back on the road and it cooled right back down. When I got home I checked to make sure the fan was running - it was. I let it idle for 20 min with the A/C on high at home and no problems.....
Original question was going to be about the possible pressure issue (change the water pump and thermo, and suddenly the heater core and radiator both blow out).
Now I'm also wondering if the possibly sporadic overheating might be a separate issue.
Thoughts? I'll probably take it to the mechanic next week and have them pressure test the system and maybe do the die test for exhaust fumes in the coolant.
Thanks!
JW
I've got a 2006 Unlimited, bought it on the showroom in 2005. 150,000 miles Manual transmission (6-speed)
2 weeks ago I ran a 200-mile day trip, which is way more than I ever travel in the Wrangler under normal conditions. Ran perfectly.
Next morning, I started it and heard the tell-tale clanging from the engine and had coolant leaking out the bottom of the water pump. OK, so the water pump crapped. Never been replaced.
Read up on the how-tos and didn't have time, so I took it to my mechanic to have it replaced. Based on research, I also requested a new thermostat while they were at it. Both were original.
They did the work, test drove it, and coolant was pouring out from the A/C condensate line - the heater core had blown out. Was replaced 4 years ago. Since I'm in Florida and heat is not critical, they just bypassed the heater core to get the Jeep back to me.
Two days later, in stop/go city traffic, coolant started spewing from the grill, up, onto the windshield. 3"+ long crack in the radiator, next to the cap. (Yes, the cap had been replaced with the water pump and the thermostat - 18# cap from NAPA).
Mechanic was too busy to look at it, so I took it back and replaced the radiator myself with an after-market model from NAPA. I also replaced the radiator cap (again), just to be safe.
Fearing head gasket issues, I also got the gauge to do a compression test on the cylinders to see if there was any obvious weak spots. I ran the test 2x on each cylinder and got average readings of 151 - 191 on all six cylinders, so I felt better about the head gasket.
Everything back together with no issues, ran with cap off to check and bleed out any air - everything checked out great, no leaks, running at 212 degrees+/-, no overheating.
Today was the first longer trip around town and it ran great with no issues - until I parked for a few minutes with the A/C on max. The temp gauge shot up to the red zone and the warning "Check Gauges" message came on. Turned the A/C off and got back on the road and it cooled right back down. When I got home I checked to make sure the fan was running - it was. I let it idle for 20 min with the A/C on high at home and no problems.....
Original question was going to be about the possible pressure issue (change the water pump and thermo, and suddenly the heater core and radiator both blow out).
Now I'm also wondering if the possibly sporadic overheating might be a separate issue.
Thoughts? I'll probably take it to the mechanic next week and have them pressure test the system and maybe do the die test for exhaust fumes in the coolant.
Thanks!
JW