Wrangler TJ Radiator Replacement

Chris said:
Haha, yep... You probably should have.

Time for a new radiator, that's for sure.
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Sadly I don't have time to replace the radiator myself, so, $530 later and Christian Brothers is replacing my radiator ($200 of that is for the better than AutoZone quality radiator). At least they are driving me to work!

They wanted to charge me another $500 total for changing the hoses, t-stat and gasket, flush the lines with fancy chemicals. Wayyy too much for what they would be doing!
 
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Wow, that's a lot of money for a relatively simply job. Well, the $500 for changing hoses, thermostat, etc. However, it is a messy job, and if that includes factory OE parts, then it's not that bad in all reality.
 
Chris said:
Wow, that's a lot of money for a relatively simply job. Well, the $500 for changing hoses, thermostat, etc. However, it is a messy job, and if that includes factory OE parts, then it's not that bad in all reality.
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I figured it wasn't too much money. $200 for the radiator and $300 for labor? Eh.


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Nashorn101 said:
I figured it wasn't too much money. $200 for the radiator and $300 for labor? Eh.


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That's not bad. Like I said, it's a messy job, so I wouldn't probably do it myself for less than $300.
 
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Chris said:
There's a saying that goes, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it".

While I believe that applies to a lot of things, I don't think it applies to a cooling system on a vehicle with high miles. Why you ask? Well, because if your cooling system fails, it will leave you stranded (possibly in the middle of nowhere, or a trail) with an expensive tow bill.



Once a cooling system has 100k plus miles and 10+ years of use, I think it's time to start thinking about replacing it.

All you'd really need to replace is the radiator, thermostat (and the housing gaskets) and water pump. You could replace the upper and lower radiator hoses, but those should be fine unless they appear visually beaten.

I'm not saying you need to do it today, but when the funds permit, I'd do it sooner rather than later... Especially since you're constantly dealing with that crazy Texas heat, which is going to be harder on a cooling system than more mild temperatures.
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Jerry Bransford said:
The TJ has a lot of areas that can benefit from aftermarket upgrades, the cooling system is just not one of them. Lots of us wheel out in the deserts of SoCal, me included, and if the factory cooling system wasn't adequate, you can bet we'd be experts in knowing how to upgrade it so it was.

We are however expert in realizing the factory cooling system is more than up to anything our local deserts can throw at it. We have come to realize through experience that "upgraded" aftermarket radiators are anything but upgrades, they seldom even come close to performing as well as the OE Mopar radiator with its all aluminum core does. It would be very tough to find an aftermarket radiator that even equalled its cooling performance and tougher yet to find one that outperformed it. And it'd be a lot more expensive than the Mopar. Really. :)
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Ok let me better understand this my TJ normally runs around 200 or a little better however when really hot outside a/c on stop and go etc it runs up to 210 to 215 everyone says this is normal. Seems to me in these conditions it is producing more heat then can be desapated therefore running above t-stat open temp if there was a better radiator I would think temp would stay about t-stat rated temp
 
Nashorn101 said:
Sadly I don't have time to replace the radiator myself, so, $530 later and Christian Brothers is replacing my radiator ($200 of that is for the better than AutoZone quality radiator). At least they are driving me to work!

They wanted to charge me another $500 total for changing the hoses, t-stat and gasket, flush the lines with fancy chemicals. Wayyy too much for what they would be doing!
Click to expand...

You don't have one free hour in your day?

Not trying to put a damper on your day, but you got boned for that price. Radiators are one of the easiest things to change. 4 bolts for the fan shroud, two hose clamps, drain, 6 radiator bolts, r&r, and refill and button it all back up.

Where did they get your radiator from? As far as I'm aware, all of the parts stores in your area of Texas (Napa, O'Reilly, Autozone, & Advance Auto) use rebranded Spectra-Premium radiators that are made in Canada. I personally have one and it's been fine for two years but I would definitely prefer Mopar.
 
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Davidtj said:
Ok let me better understand this my TJ normally runs around 200 or a little better however when really hot outside a/c on stop and go etc it runs up to 210 to 215 everyone says this is normal. Seems to me in these conditions it is producing more heat then can be desapated therefore running above t-stat open temp if there was a better radiator I would think temp would stay about t-stat rated temp
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It's probably possible to get a radiator that cools so much that your engine will constantly stay at the 195° thermostat temp. My question for you is...why do you need that?

The system is designed for 210°. 215° is perfectly fine too. You have nothing to gain by trying to find a better radiator that will keep you've at a constant 195°. It's unnecessary.
 
Brantley said:
It's probably possible to get a radiator that cools so much that your engine will constantly stay at the 195° thermostat temp. My question for you is...why do you need that?

The system is designed for 210°. 215° is perfectly fine too. You have nothing to gain by trying to find a better radiator that will keep you've at a constant 195°. It's unnecessary.
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I was just questioning because all my other cars/trucks seem to run at t/stat temp regardless of temp
 
Brantley said:
You don't have one free hour in your day?

Not trying to put a damper on your day, but you got boned for that price. Radiators are one of the easiest things to change. 4 bolts for the fan shroud, two hose clamps, drain, 6 radiator bolts, r&r, and refill and button it all back up.

Where did they get your radiator from? As far as I'm aware, all of the parts stores in your area of Texas (Napa, O'Reilly, Autozone, & Advance Auto) use rebranded Spectra-Premium radiators that are made in Canada. I personally have one and it's been fine for two years but I would definitely prefer Mopar.
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I have no other way to get to work but with my Jeep - and this weekend I absolutely have to drive back in Austin. So, I couldn't wait to get a Mopar compressor in the mail, so Christian Brothers drove me to and from work today (which saved me $80 in Uber fares) and installed what the tech described as a near OEM quality radiator, that I learned was made in Taiwan. Which is better than China! ;)

So yeah I had no choice.
 
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I’m trying to make sure I have this right. I’m switching back to a Mopar radiator for an 06 TJ with auto trans. Here are my connections:

Mopar Radiator with quick disconnect
IMG_3613.JPG


Trans Oil Lines currently:
IMG_3615.JPG


Is this oil line going to connect directly to the Mopar radiator or am I missing something like an o-ring?


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blacksun43 said:
I’m trying to make sure I have this right. I’m switching back to a Mopar radiator for an 06 TJ with auto trans. Here are my connections:

Mopar Radiator with quick disconnect
View attachment 50165

Trans Oil Lines currently:
View attachment 50166

Is this oil line going to connect directly to the Mopar radiator or am I missing something like an o-ring?


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Is the radiator threaded to fit the transmission lines? I am looking to replace my radiator, so I want to make sure that I order all the parts that I would need before I start taking things apart.
 
SOMD-JeepFan said:
Is the radiator threaded to fit the transmission lines? I am looking to replace my radiator, so I want to make sure that I order all the parts that I would need before I start taking things apart.
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Short answer, the quick connects on the Mopar radiator are not threaded.

The long answer: On my ‘06 SE i6 Auto, the Mopar radiator I ordered came exactly as shown in the pic. You can’t tell but there are “e-clips” on the radiator ports that are easily removed using a pick tool.

This style of connector is called a quick connect (in case you hadn’t heard the term because I hadn’t). Now, the brass male threaded connectors in my second pic above are also attached to the transmission lines with the same style of “e-clip” that are on the radiator ports and are easily removed using a pick tool as well.

The previous owner had a Taiwanese radiator that required those brass connectors to be added to the trans lines so the lines could be screwed into the radiator. I removed the brass connectors and the trans lines slipped directly into the radiator.

I slipped the e-clips back on, locked the plastic cap back in place and done.

Check out this video, this guy explains it well, only tools I needed were the pick and a wrench to loosen the brass connectors. The Mopar radiator even had the o-rings already inside the trans line cooler ports. If you shine a light in there, you can see them (my eyesight is going)
 
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I got my TJ (235000 miles) and ordered parts (radiator, water pump, ...) before I red this radiator thread. I have replaced OE with a three row aluminum rad. We will see how long it will last. fingers crossed.
 
ChrisTJ the froggy said:
I want to thank everyone and Chris in particular for all the messages that encouraged me to do the job!
I did it today on my 2006 Sport, draining only the radiator because I couldn't reach the block screw.
HOAT coolant and Mopar radiator.
Thank you all!
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Glad to hear you accomplished it on your own! Well done!
 
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Does anyone know what the differences are between the 00-04 and 05-06 radiators are? If it's just the transmission fittings that can be unthreaded and changed, I'd like to have just 1 as a spare on the shelf than one of each.
 
bobthetj03 said:
When/if it does fail, I'm sure it'll be at the most inopportune time like last time, lol! Maybe I should order a Mopar unit now and stow it.
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I had a radiator spring a leak on my Cherokee XJ climbing a mountain trail in Vermont. Talk about an inopportune time. I was at the mercy of the only local Jeep dealer.
 
I’m not sure how to disconnect the transmission cooling lines from the radiator. I don’t want to break something that I will need to use again.
 
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