Is there such thing as a "good" performance aluminum radiator for the TJ?

I have a champion and it does not cool worth a shit in front of my stroker motor...but that extra 60 horsepower creates a lot of heat.
I never had an overheat issue running the supercharger with the OEM radiator. I didn't like that it pinged a bit easier with some enthusiastic use on a hot day.
 
My problem was that the champion was modified to put a coolant temp sensor into the bottom tank and I had to have the bottom tank welded up so it would clear the steering shaft because I moved the steering box forward. It was a disaster that did not work well when i stretched the front 1.5"
 
My problem was that the champion was modified to put a coolant temp sensor into the bottom tank and I had to have the bottom tank welded up so it would clear the steering shaft because I moved the steering box forward. It was a disaster that did not work well when i stretched the front 1.5"
Figure out why we do 99% of the stretch work in the back yet?
 
Yes MOPAR for 2 and the last one was NAPA


I have to ask. were these *new* Mopar radiators? If so, you seem to have incredibly bad luck compared to the vast majority of TJ owners. If they were used radiators, then what do you expect? Nothing lasts forever.

Can't really conclude much from the failure of an aftermarket or used radiator.
 
If you have ever had a grill shell out of the vehicle, the last term you would use to describe it is flexible or a little bit flexible. It takes about 30 seconds of examination, a bit of critical thinking, and a small bit of knowledge about material strength to figure out that anyone who says the TJ grill flexes is pretty much full of shit.

Look at how the OEM radiator is mounted to the mounting flanges. The two plastic end tanks have small recessed areas molded into them that a #10 size machine screw with a square head is slid into. There are two at the top and bottom on each side in the slots. The mounting flange has holes that fit over the screws and then a Keps nut is threaded on and tightened down.

If the grill shell flexed, it would rip those tiny little screws right out of the plastic. Of all the issues and problems I've read about over the years, the failure of that attachment method has never been brought up or mentioned and I've never seen it on any used radiator I've messed with either.

The other thing that is overlooked is how the grill is mounted. There is a center mount with two snubbers at the outer corners on top of the frame. As the frame flexes under articulation, one side moves up and compresses the snubber and the other side just lifts off the frame since the shell can pivot on the center mount.

I know from a design failure that if you try to mount the shell to the frame at the corners and eliminate the center mount, it will tear up the mounts, or rip the bolts out of the corners of the shell and even then, it won't damage the radiator.

As for the 4 bolt mounting. Take a look at the flange sometime. Once you figure out that the flange is about 3" wide and unable to flex laterally since that is a very large shear plane, you'll understand that 2 bolts, 4 bolts, 6 bolts, or 20 won't change anything. It should be noted that the 05-06 that come to us leave the factory with 2 bolts per side. I suspect that is not because there was an issue with damage but because they figured out the flanges don't flex and it only needs 2 per side. The reason I think that is we have seen quite a few with just the upper bolts holding them in. (not recommended)
Was passing on what I was told from rep. I didn’t have enough knowledge on how core support was built to argue the point. That’s why this form is great so we can get it all out there and decide what is best
 
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I have a champion and it does not cool worth a shit in front of my stroker motor...but that extra 60 horsepower creates a lot of heat.

I'm planning on installing my stroker stuff in about 6-8 months...I'll have to see if that changes my opinion on the Champion...and I'll have moved to Yuma by then, so we'll see how it does in the desert
 
I'm planning on installing my stroker stuff in about 6-8 months...I'll have to see if that changes my opinion on the Champion...and I'll have moved to Yuma by then, so we'll see how it does in the desert
Well it was not worth a shit on my yj with a stroker, the faster I go the hotter it got. at 45 it cooled fine, at 65 it wanted to get to 230 temp and it was only 104 outside. Dual electric fans and a spal PWM controller with a thermostat to control the fans. If I ran the AC, it was worse. I either need to get a different radiator or swap back to a mechanical fan.
 
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Well it was not worth a shit on my yj with a stroker, the faster I go the hotter it got. at 45 it cooled fine, at 65 it wanted to get to 230 temp and it was only 104 outside. Dual electric fans and a spal PWM controller with a thermostat to control the fans. If I ran the AC, it was worse. I either need to get a different radiator or swap back to a mechanical fan.
At the time, it was the best option I had, the griffin is epoxied so I could not weld it, the northern radiator was not an option, copper brass was too expensive and I was learning. The best thing I had going was the stroker motor still runs like a raped ape. If I got the cooling system figured out and the shocks were a better quality, it would be on par with my LJ with leaf springs.
 
You'll get a LOT of pushback on those of us who know better. The TJ's OE Mopar coupled with the serpentine belt-driven fan is preferred by us desert wheelers who often wheel in very hot conditions. If an aftermarket radiator coupled with an electric fan worked better, it'd be a common conversion for those of us wheeling in hot conditions. Heaven knows we modify most of the other parts of our Jeeps but the factory cooling system is MORE than up to anything the hottest conditions can throw at it. And if there's a most common problem I see in the desert causing overheating, it's from having converted the 2.5 or 4.0 engine to an electric fan.
The TJ 2.4L engines come from the factory with an electric fan setup...
 
Isn't that because the 2.4 didnt have enough power to turn a manual fan? o_O :eek: :alien:

It takes more power to turn an electric fan than it does to turn a mechanical one.

The 2.4 doesn't need a 190HP fan like the 4.0 does and the crank is far from the radiator which make it difficult to keep the fan aligned in the shroud.
 
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Are we going to start listing off other engines? Here's an old Saab with a mechanical fan.
20161210_094916.jpg
 
The TJ 2.4L engines come from the factory with an electric fan setup...
Sure, they absolutely did. Now, one must ponder the question as to why if the solution existed, bolted up to the TJ grill with its own shroud and the temperature management electrical figured out, did they NOT convert all of the TJ models to run that fan and shroud set up?
It wasn't hard to move over to the 4.0. Everything is exactly the same.
It wasn't an issue of fitment since there is plenty of room in front of the 4.0 for it to work.
It wasn't cost since that wasn't ever an issue given the advent of the Rubi models.

So what was it that caused them to not convert all of the TJ's over to run the electric fan since it was all figured out and being used?
 
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What passes through the window? I found a few similar examples, but no clear installed images.