EJD's '00 TJ Sahara Overland Build & Excursions

So I’ve been chasing a significant coolant leak for a week or so now and today was the day to wrap this up. I thought I had narrowed it down to the water pump and furthermore thought it was the gasket. It was not. On my Mopar water pump the weep hole is on the top so I had to remove the pulley to verify it was not coming out of that and it wasn’t. It was actually coming from above the water pump completely and turns out it was coming out of the inner underside of the upper radiator hose. Tightthat clamp up and added a 2nd one for safe measures until I replace the hose itself.

Hard to believe this went from almost replacing a water pump to simply tightening and adding a hose clamp.

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Now I just need to tackle the leaky heater core and my cooling system will be completely overhauled!
Awesome news! I would go with a constant tension hose clamp (like OEM) they seem to do a better job then the normal screw kind.
 
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So I’ve been chasing a significant coolant leak for a week or so now and today was the day to wrap this up. I thought I had narrowed it down to the water pump and furthermore thought it was the gasket. It was not. On my Mopar water pump the weep hole is on the top so I had to remove the pulley to verify it was not coming out of that and it wasn’t. It was actually coming from above the water pump completely and turns out it was coming out of the inner underside of the upper radiator hose. Tightthat clamp up and added a 2nd one for safe measures until I replace the hose itself.

Hard to believe this went from almost replacing a water pump to simply tightening and adding a hose clamp.

View attachment 144969

Now I just need to tackle the leaky heater core and my cooling system will be completely overhauled!

I had that exact same problem! I also now have a water pump sitting on the shelf because I jumped the gun ;)
 
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Awesome news! I would go with a constant tension hose clamp (like OEM) they seem to do a better job then the normal screw kind.


I agree. I had leaks all the time from hoses when the weather would fluctuate warm/cold with worm clamps. I went back to the factory constant tension clamps back in the fall and haven't had a leak since.

Mine came with this on the thermostat end,
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and this for the radiator end.
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Awesome news! I would go with a constant tension hose clamp (like OEM) they seem to do a better job then the normal screw kind.
I will have to order some of those, a good hose clamp is really hard to come by these days. I plan on getting a fresh upper rad hose too!

I had that exact same problem! I also now have a water pump sitting on the shelf because I jumped the gun ;)
Lol, man I was so happy to see my water pump was not actually leaking! I suppose always good to have a spare on hand for when the day comes!
 
I put together some info on clamps and part numbers of what came on my Jeep when I bought it.

https://wranglertjforum.com/threads...urces-for-constant-tension-hose-clamps.28271/
But, I have a brand new #42 clamp from clipsandfasteners.com and a used #47 that came off a vehicle in the junkyard. The 47 has some light surface rust and could use a clean up. If you want them I'll send them to you no charge. Just PM me your address.
 
Installed some of these today!

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Also new EAG tire carrier addition. Last week some time I accidentally bumped my spare into a tree in the forest and it caved in my tailgate pretty good. Bent it back into shape with some 2x4’s and decided to try out this tire carrier instead.

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Then went for a cruise up the PCH to Cannon Beach with my daughter. We’re on route to the Fratelli’s Hideout from the Goonies. The park ended up being closed from a major landslide so we were unable to actually go to that spot.

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So we found another...
 
Installed some of these today!

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Also new EAG tire carrier addition. Last week some time I accidentally bumped my spare into a tree in the forest and it caved in my tailgate pretty good. Bent it back into shape with some 2x4’s and decided to try out this tire carrier instead.

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Then went for a cruise up the PCH to Cannon Beach with my daughter. We’re on route to the Fratelli’s Hideout from the Goonies. The park ended up being closed from a major landslide so we were unable to actually go to that spot.

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So we found another...
Jealous! I’m heading out next weekend to camp for a few days :) We need to find a good link up time (next week maybe?) to go camp!
 
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Went over to the TSF today and social distanced the “Bates Road” trail for the first time and let me tell you, holy shit I was not expecting the choppy hill climbs that trail is filled with.

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Notice the sleeping 2yr old in the back 😂

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Had to get out of the house and into the forest for a few after a very long week at the hospital. Daughter, pops, and I went up to the snow line and got a little muddy today. Refreshing!
 
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Great day on the “Jones Creek” trail, saw a couple other Jeeps out on trails too, a JL and a JKU but everyone in the area seemed to be fishing the Wilson River. Trail was a lot of fun with flexy off camber hillclimbs and beautiful open mountains for as far as you could see in all directions.

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I have a nice panoramic of this shot but the file is too big to load apparently...
 
Man what a beautiful day, Jeeps were out in full effect today in the forest. Guess it’s one of the only places open to dispersed social distance recreation in the area.

Firebreak Five was a riot and it looks like somebody added new rocks and ruts to one section so I was able to complete 95% of it with only minor damage. 😉✌️

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Threw in the new Gates upper radiator hose today along with the 2 clamps from @MountaineerTom (thanks again buddy)! Those went on perfect and the leak is finally gone there.

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Now I seem to have an oil leak somewhere in the lower front driver side of the engine...🤬 There was a couple different small spots where oil was dripping down off of control arms, tie rods and the diff. Not sure where to start looking or what the best approach is for finding that leak. Oil seems to be hitting the fan a little too as there was spray on the inside of my hood. Any common areas anyone could highlight for me that would leak oil and hit the fan?
 
Threw in the new Gates upper radiator hose today along with the 2 clamps from @MountaineerTom (thanks again buddy)! Those went on perfect and the leak is finally gone there.

View attachment 170527

Now I seem to have an oil leak somewhere in the lower front driver side of the engine...🤬 There was a couple different small spots where oil was dripping down off of control arms, tie rods and the diff. Not sure where to start looking or what the best approach is for finding that leak. Oil seems to be hitting the fan a little too as there was spray on the inside of my hood. Any common areas anyone could highlight for me that would leak oil and hit the fan?
I just noticed the other day that my radiator hose is ramming right into those AC lines there. Was yours doing that? And did you get the Gates to resolve that?

P.s. it sucks moving up here and everything being shut down, even in MT. I can't find anywhere to go camp. Showers are closed, bathrooms are usually closed. We found one place in ID, that was nice. If you have any suggestions for boondocking in Western MT, let me know. I'm getting a teardrop trailer and buying a generator and camp shower so we can do what we want.

Great pics in your thread. Looks great on your new found trails!
 
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Crank seal maybe? Check around the harmonic balancer.
Oh I hope not...would not look forward to replacing that seal, it’s pretty buried.

Will check it out though on my next dry day outside.