Could a clogged cat lead to a blown radiator?

S

skrelnik

TJ Addict
Lifetime Supporting Member
Joined
Jan 10, 2018
Messages
2,871
Location
CT, United States
Had a couple issues with the 2005 LJ recently. Was on the highway going 70mph and my check guage light came on and then the entire engine shut down. Was a messed up situation but I was able to start the engine while coasting in neutral (manual tranny).

Fast forward a week, all has been good, until a today, as I was driving I saw a ton of white smoke from my engine. Radiator was leaking, and I was so close to my mechanics shop that I drove there and left it. Pending review until tomorrow.

I also have had a CEL code of 0431, so my question is, could a clogged cat lead to a blown radiator. Is there any relationship between these two systems, specifically to my issue?

I used to have CELs 032, 038, 052 and 058, but it's now 0431, could also be a bad PCM and completely unrelated to the radiator.

Thanks team Wrangler TJ!
 
skrelnik said:
I also have had a CEL code of 0431, so my question is, could a clogged cat lead to a blown radiator. Is there any relationship between these two systems, specifically to my issue?
Click to expand...
That’s a perfect storm kind of failure. The performance would be so bad you’d notice just driving it around long before the radiator failed.

More likely the radiator failed from a vibration induced crack or a rock thru the grill.
 
never monday said:
That’s a perfect storm kind of failure. The performance would be so bad you’d notice just driving it around long before the radiator failed.

More likely the radiator failed from a vibration induced crack or a rock thru the grill.
Click to expand...

The performance was not bad, per se, so I am leaning towards the 0431 being my new PCM error code, while the radiator could have cracked due to age, it is 15 years old, combined with our recent weather swings, going from 20's up to 60's for a couple days, then back to 20's, and then the radiator leak occurred.

I am trying to better understand if a clogged cat could reduce back pressure, causing the cats/engine to get excessively warm which would also work the radiator, and also could overheat "something" causing the check gauge light to appear and engine shut down (while travelling 70mph on the highway).
 
skrelnik said:
The performance was not bad, per se, so I am leaning towards the 0431 being my new PCM error code, while the radiator could have cracked due to age, it is 15 years old, combined with our recent weather swings, going from 20's up to 60's for a couple days, then back to 20's, and then the radiator leak occurred.

I am trying to better understand if a clogged cat could reduce back pressure, causing the cats/engine to get excessively warm which would also work the radiator, and also could overheat "something" causing the check gauge light to appear and engine shut down (while travelling 70mph on the highway).
Click to expand...
I drove from middle of nowhere Nebraska to the Twin Cities with a clogged cat. Never had any temp issues. Couldn’t exceed 55 mph or it’d throw a code and I’d lose power. Sunday afternoon so I had no choice.

I’d get a random misfire code.
 
  • Like
Reactions: skrelnik
skrelnik said:
The performance was not bad, per se, so I am leaning towards the 0431 being my new PCM error code, while the radiator could have cracked due to age, it is 15 years old, combined with our recent weather swings, going from 20's up to 60's for a couple days, then back to 20's, and then the radiator leak occurred.

I am trying to better understand if a clogged cat could reduce back pressure, causing the cats/engine to get excessively warm which would also work the radiator, and also could overheat "something" causing the check gauge light to appear and engine shut down (while travelling 70mph on the highway).
Click to expand...
A clogged cat will increase back pressure until a vent is created. If it gets to a complete block the engine can’t inhale.
 
  • Like
Reactions: skrelnik
sierradmax said:
Blown head gasket gets my vote. Leaking coolant into combustion chamber..
Click to expand...

It did not leak into the combustion chamber, it sprayed the engine bay and leaked straight down to the ground. The white smoke was the fluid hitting the engine (hot areas under hood). The white smoke was not coming from the tailpipe.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Apparition
skrelnik said:
The performance was not bad, per se, so I am leaning towards the 0431 being my new PCM error code, while the radiator could have cracked due to age, it is 15 years old, combined with our recent weather swings, going from 20's up to 60's for a couple days, then back to 20's, and then the radiator leak occurred.

I am trying to better understand if a clogged cat could reduce back pressure, causing the cats/engine to get excessively warm which would also work the radiator, and also could overheat "something" causing the check gauge light to appear and engine shut down (while travelling 70mph on the highway).
Click to expand...
A clogged cat...
If it's completely clogged it won't run...at least for very long.
If it's mostly clogged it will run but be complete dog shit. No power to speak of. You might hit the speed limit but not as quickly as normal.

You said you were cruising at 70 mph when the shut down occurred.

I assure you this...if your cat was clogged enough to get an insanely high temperature you would've noticed something is wrong with how your Jeep is running.
 
  • Like
Reactions: SvtLdr
Rubicon88 said:
No perfect storm.

It's called a mopar radiator and they're hit and miss
Click to expand...
A clogged cat causing a radiator failure, as the OP suggested/asked about. Would require a perfect storm of failures.
For the radiator to fail as a stand alone seperate item while the cat was degrading is MOPAR quality
 
Rubicon88 said:
A clogged cat...
If it's completely clogged it won't run...at least for very long.
If it's mostly clogged it will run but be complete dog shit. No power to speak of. You might hit the speed limit but not as quickly as normal.

You said you were cruising at 70 mph when the shut down occurred.

I assure you this...if your cat was clogged enough to get an insanely high temperature you would've noticed something is wrong with how your Jeep is running.
Click to expand...

It turned out just to be the radiator and thermostat. Cats were fine and no leaks after a smoke test. I am kind of thinking that the Check Gauge light came on, and power shut off, due to a bad PCM...that's all I can think of here.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Rubicon88, Apparition and never monday
skrelnik said:
It turned out just to be the radiator and thermostat. Cats were fine and no leaks after a smoke test. I am kind of thinking that the Check Gauge light came on, and power shut off, due to a bad PCM...that's all I can think of here.
Click to expand...
As I mentioned above
(and many other times)
mopar radiators are hit and miss on these Jeeps in lieu of any year and adversity or lack of

I've seen small cracks to full blown peeling open across the top of the plastic.
Why I say hit and miss is because there seems to be no pattern.
In other words issues happen with these at times with the slightest to even no adversity of the cooling system and I've seen some hold together after a big over heat as well.
 
Rubicon88 said:
As I mentioned above
(and many other times)
mopar radiators are hit and miss on these Jeeps in lieu of any year and adversity or lack of

I've seen small cracks to full blown peeling open across the top of the plastic.
Why I say hit and miss is because there seems to be no pattern.
In other words issues happen with these at times with the slightest to even no adversity of the cooling system and I've seen some hold together after a big over heat as well.
Click to expand...
Yep, keep some epoxy, sandpaper and mesh in your jeep just in case. And carry lots of water.
 
  • Like
Reactions: skrelnik
Top Bottom
Back