I have a 02 TJ with about 177xxx miles. the past 3 days when i drive more than 5 mins it overheats. i have recently replaced the thermostat and flushed the radiator, engine, and heater coil. I'm running out of options and I'm definitely out of ideas. And to top it all off i found out i have a pinhole leak in my radiator today. could that be causing it to overheat, or is it something else?
Overheating issue
- Thread starter Jacob_Wooding
- Start date
If the radiator isn’t full of fluid, it will overheat, no question about it.
So check your radiator fluid level when it’s cold and see where it’s at. But the pinhole leak is obviously causing you to lose fluid.
So check your radiator fluid level when it’s cold and see where it’s at. But the pinhole leak is obviously causing you to lose fluid.
alright before i drove it today i checked it and it was full. After it overheated i added about a half gallon back to it to make it home.
That’ll do it then. You’re losing a ton of fluid and that’s causing it to overheat.
Mopar, only. The TJ's Mopar radiator has an all aluminum core and its design somehow lets it cool better than any reasonably priced aftermarket radiator we're aware of. It's a very good design. And don't get misled by a radiator's ad saying it has 2, 3, or even 4 rows and think it will cool better with more rows. More rows do not necessarily equate to better cooling and more rows can sometime even reduce its cooling ability.
Check sources like https://www.wermopar.com/auto-parts...oling-system-cat/radiator-and-components-scat If you have a manual transmission you can use a radiator that says it's for an automatic. Most radiators come set up for automatics, their transmission cooler fittings just aren't used when you have a manual transmission.
Especially avoid store brands like from Autozone whose radiators are junk and will likely spring a leak within months.
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I like the Mopar replacement radiator.
I have replaced rads with all kinds of fancy crap,in the past but OEM seems to cool the best, IMO.
and everything fits nicely too,
I have replaced rads with all kinds of fancy crap,in the past but OEM seems to cool the best, IMO.
and everything fits nicely too,
Yep, you have a 16yr old radiator, time to replace with a Mopar.
I've had MANY a leaking radiator and not one single stop-leak product had ever stopped a leak, tried them all.
Replacing the the radiator is the only way.
I've had MANY a leaking radiator and not one single stop-leak product had ever stopped a leak, tried them all.
Replacing the the radiator is the only way.
And while you have all that apart, it's a good time to install a Mopar water pump @Jacob_Wooding . Especially if that is the original.