Improving the cooling on our TJs

Ericshere03 said:
I can tell you that perfect rust free desert SBC 350s will give you a HEKKOVA time removing their drain plugs, luckily they’re external hex.
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I didn't have that problem with my 2005 engine using a 8mm square socked. But, I don't envy the folks in the rust belt. Apply Mouse Milk and hope for the best. :)

I looked into the plug material stuff a little more and it looks like a brass plug should work if you keep the coolant maintenance up since the cast iron anode has much great mass than the cathodic brass. From what I read you shouldn't have a conductive solution (necessary for galvanic corrosion) until your PH drops to 7, so you could run test strips to confirm you stay near the 8-9 PH range. It's worth noting that some cooling systems tend to rust up more than others even when everything is done correctly, due to bad previous maintenance. Thermocure helps, but it won't prevent rust (that's sitting behind rust flakes) to become exposed and alter the coolant after flakes fall off into the coolant. Not everyone will have this problem, but I believe it's worth mentioning.

I'm doing flushes right now and just switched to a 304 stainless steel since I had two laying nice and pretty on the counter. I believe the SS material basically perfect because it's one slot more cathodic than nobel (since the plug was likely carbon steel instead of cast iron). Brass is four slots over on the chart. Just keep an eye on your PH and all will be good to go if what I've read is correct.

Ericshere03 said:
Sounds like a plan for the thermostat. Just don’t buy a Mr Gasket knockoff, additionally, test them in a pan before installing! I do this and never found a “bad” thermostat until I tried the Mr Gasket, looks like the same but in my case opened early. Maybe a fluke. But I bough 5 Robert shaws and watched them all open in unison …
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I almost always boil my replacement thermostats to ensure they open. The PO had a 210* thermostat installed and didn't tell me...it was also stuck shut in the boiling water so I guess the rating didn't really matter.
 
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MikeE024 said:
I didn't have that problem with my 2005 engine using a 8mm square socked. But, I don't envy the folks in the rust belt. Apply Mouse Milk and hope for the best. :)

I looked into the plug material stuff a little more and it looks like a brass plug should work if you keep the coolant maintenance up since the cast iron anode has much great mass than the cathodic brass. From what I read you shouldn't have a conductive solution (necessary for galvanic corrosion) until your PH drops to 7, so you could run test strips to confirm you stay near the 8-9 PH range. It's worth noting that some cooling systems tend to rust up more than others even when everything is done correctly, due to bad previous maintenance. Thermocure helps, but it won't prevent rust (that's sitting behind rust flakes) to become exposed and alter the coolant after flakes fall off into the coolant. Not everyone will have this problem, but I believe it's worth mentioning.

I'm doing flushes right now and just switched to a 304 stainless steel since I had two laying nice and pretty on the counter. I believe the SS material basically perfect because it's one slot more cathodic than nobel (since the plug was likely carbon steel instead of cast iron). Brass is four slots over on the chart. Just keep an eye on your PH and all will be good to go if what I've read is correct.



I almost always boil my replacement thermostats to ensure they open. The PO had a 210* thermostat installed and didn't tell me...it was also stuck shut in the boiling water so I guess the rating didn't really matter.
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So, would you rather your block corrode with stainless or the plug corrode with brass ;-) … I literally don’t think it makes a lick of difference. Good maintenance is key. I did a Thermocure treatment, filled with fresh juices and added some RMI-25.
 
Ericshere03 said:
So, would you rather your block corrode with stainless or the plug corrode with brass ;-)
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It's likely not going to corrode on me so I haven't given it a thought.

Ericshere03 said:
I literally don’t think it makes a lick of difference.
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That was the point of my last post. I put a little more info in there than just our opinions. Both will be fine unless we don't maintain our systems.

Ericshere03 said:
Good maintenance is key. I did a Thermocure treatment, filled with fresh juices and added some RMI-25.
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I flushed about 50 gallons through the heater core the other day using a tool that combines water and compressed air. I did so because bad stuff kept coming out so I kept going. The gun tool works infinitely better than just running water pressure.

Yesterday, my ECTs were 212* doing 93 mph on the highway with ambient temp at 92*...with Thermocure and distilled water in the system. I flushed the radiator and heater core again yesterday after dropping the Thermocure. I then added an in-line coolant screen after finding an option and configuration that works well for me.

I flushed the radiator a bunch more today because bad stuff kept coming out using the flush gun, then Thermocured it again I then dropped the Thermocure by running about 20 gallons of distilled water through the system.

My hope is that the ECTs will be pretty nice and sustainable moving forward.

Things are looking pretty good right now.

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Additional info:

The coolant screen makes the water & coolant filling process much nicer because opening up the cap lets bad stuff out and helps reduce the air gap. Reducing the air gap results in the thermostat opening up way sooner, so there's no need for me to pull the thermostat to speed up the process when doing many flushes.

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Dropping and installing the plug is a breeze using the hex-tip plug.

A length of 8-1/4" tip-to-base worked well for me.

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TexasTJ2004 said:
What is the PN for the coolant screen part?
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AF64-2043

I like it much better than the JEGs versions because those leak.

I originally planned to run 1.25" barb fittings at the upper radiator hose, but it was too long and I didn't want to stress the top port on the radiator.

These are the -16 ORB-to-3/4" barb fittings I went with.
 
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