Overheating Jeep TJ?

Thejeepchick

Thejeepchick

New Member
Joined
Mar 13, 2024
Messages
8
Location
Dallas
This is a long story and I’m sorry because I know many people have posted about this, but I have gone through many posts and have yet to find a true answer. ANY advice would be appreciated… I have a 2005 Wrangler X, 108k miles, I’ve done nothing but pleasure drive this baby since I got it in 2011 at 33k miles. I do not rock climb and I barely off road it. It’s safe to say I baby it to compared to other Jeepers. I’ve done all the maintenance work to it routine oil and transmission changes etc, with that said, I have no clue why I’m having this problem…

Okay, flash back to a few months ago, like 2-3 months. I was driving to West Texas to drop my jeep off at a family members, which was a normal 3 hour drive. I over heated midway, randomly. I pulled off the road and it only took a few moments to cool down… I thought “Well, thats strange…” because this has never happened in the past. I get to my destination no problem BUT when I go to pick it up a month or two later, I had problems. I drove home and 2 hours in it seemed fine, i stopped for gas and BOOM overheating. I stopped the Jeep, waited a while for it to cool and go back on the road. As soon as i pulled into my driveway, BOOm again, over heating.

SO! Ive had off and on problems with over heating at an idle. At this point (week or so ago) I have replaced the thermostat, all hoses and the water pump. I topped the coolant off and tried again. When running it at idle in the drive way for about 16 minutes, it blew the radiator, just completely destroyed it. I thought well… its old… lets replace it to. So now radiator, running with new coolant, I start it up without the cap and no problems. As it gets hot, I have steam coming out the radiator. I know what you are thinking because I was thinking it too. Head gasket. I replaced the LAST THING I could think of. The fan clutch. I started it up, waited about 15 minutes, held at the normal 210. And then gave it some gas and THERE IT IS, spike in temp.

I would like to add. I AM NOT leaking fluid, Im not losing coolant, I have no coolant in my oil…I have no other signs that its a head gasket.

So… I’m trying to figure out if I'm missing something. This is the first and only Jeep I’ve had, and Ive never had problems. I know theres a chance it could be a head gasket but I have NO other traditional symptoms that show it’s for sure a head gasket. Im wiling to go down the rabbit hole because I truly don’t believe it. But I would like input on what other have experienced. Am I missing something or should i just say screw it, you’ve replaced everything coolant wise, it’s a head gasket.
 
Did you flush the cooling system at any point? Could be beneficial. I can't imagine (with this issue seeming sporadic) that it's likely, but maybe there's some debris or a blockage in there (heater core?) causing flow issues. Also important to make sure ALL air is out of the cooling system.

Have you checked or replaced the coolant temp sensor? And are you certain the fan clutch you installed is operating properly?

I'm just trying to think of things we've done to fix similar issues that you haven't already done.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Dr. Internet
No, any help is appreciated! Ive flushed it, heater core was my next (and absolute last) step. I have. A van that had heater core problems but it never over heated… not to say this one isn’t a problem. I haven’t done the coolant sensor, I guess I wasn’t thinking it was a problem because it’s clear that it was reading correct, at least it seems so, the engine/system is HOT. It seems its over heating more when idling which is why I thought clutch would finally solve it.
 
What radiator did you put in? A cheap/poorly constructed radiator can definitely cause these issues. Also, did you reuse your radiator cap, or buy a new one? A good cap with the proper psi rating is also crucial.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jerry Bransford
It could still have had trapped air in the cooling, check the coolant level in the radiator. Trapped air escaping can cause steam causing it to need more coolant to replace the air that escapes as the engine runs after installing a new radiator. Only add coolant to a cool engine, never right after it overheats.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Cooper Smith and Apparition
Get a test kit and test the coolant for exh gases to check for head, head gasket, block issues.

The heater core is not the problem. If you just have to verify, you can connect the heater hoses together and bypass the heater core. To date, no one has found a heater core that is as good as the OEM, so don't replace needlessly.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jerry Bransford
I went with a radiator from Oreilys since it had a warranty. And it’s a new cap as well, rated for 18lbs. I tried the whole, get on an incline, keep the cap off, circulate the air. It’s not pushing coolant out the radiator, which made me think it’s not over pressurized? When I first started it up with the new radiator, it wasn’t pushing any exhaust out the cap. It took a while before it was “steaming” out the cap. (I’d like to add, it was holding temps normal before the original radiator it blew up or before the second one started steaming.)

Yeah, heater core was the absolute bottom of my list. It just wouldn’t make sense and I agree, dont replace it unless needed. I’ll try a test kit this weekend if the weather is on my side. I appreciate any advice on this. Im still in denial that it could be block related as the inline 6 is ALMOST bulletproof.
 
Thejeepchick said:
I went with a radiator from Oreilys since it had a warranty.
Click to expand...
Those O'Reilly and other Auto part store warranties are great. They don't question you a bit when you have to replace them every 2 or 3 years.
Seriously though, if it turns out that the rad IS no good, a distinct possibility, get a Denso or Nissen. Those two seem to have the best reputation around here since Mopar's are nearly impossible to find.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jerry Bransford
Head gasket is suspect.

Explain the "blew the radiator" a little more. Split the top tank? Need some more specifics. It's an older Jeep. The OE radiator would be on it's last legs anyway.

What radiator cap do you have for it? The radiator cap should be the "fuse" in the system to prevent excess pressure. Old plastic radiator tanks can split at normal pressures though.

Have you checked the actual temp with a thermometer?

Have you replaced the temp sensor?
 
I don't believe I saw thermostat mentioned. Check to see if a) it is the correct part, b) it is installed correctly (there are many, many threads on this subject); and c) it is working correctly.
Good luck!!
 
Link said:
Head gasket is suspect.

Explain the "blew the radiator" a little more. Split the top tank? Need some more specifics. It's an older Jeep. The OE radiator would be on it's last legs anyway.

What radiator cap do you have for it? The radiator cap should be the "fuse" in the system to prevent excess pressure. Old plastic radiator tanks can split at normal pressures though.

Have you checked the actual temp with a thermometer?

Have you replaced the temp sensor?
Click to expand...

So “blew up” as in the plastic completely busted and threw all the coolant on the engine. Before I wanted to assume head gasket, I told myself it could just be old, it’s almost 20yo and it’s the original part. The engine WAS NOT over heading when it happened. I attached a screen shot from a video. It was bad bad.

As for the actual temp, no I haven’t checked. But it’s hot, the whole engine bay is hot and I believe the temp gauge is telling the truth. I haven’t replaced the sensor just yet, but it’s been on the list of inexpensive parts, that could be replaced anyways. Just haven’t messed with it.

For those just joining, the list of parts replaced in order: thermostat, hoses, radiator cap, water pump, radiator, fan clutch, (also valve cover gasket while I was at it because it needed to be done)

Here’s why I’m concerned about pressure. As each part was replaced, I ran the engine to see if it helped. It wasn’t like I replaced them all at once. After the thermostat, the hoses were leaking a little bit, not bad but they were also bubbling (why was there air in the line) after they were replaced, the gasket in the water pump was leaking, and then the radiator blew. So, I’m wondering if it is a head gasket, it’s getting exhaust in the cooling system and it’s pressurizing all the old parts as I’m replacing new. It’s just odd that if it was pressure, why is it not pushing coolant out when the cap is off? Am I missing something?

Please know, this is the first car I’ve ever gone this deep into. Still learning.

IMG_7043.png
 
Get a combustion gas test kit from your favorite auto parts store. It's not always conclusive but it's information.

You could also send some of your oil to Blackstone for analysis. They'll tell you if you have coolant in your oil.

-Mac
 
I feel like thats my only option at this point… It’s hard to accept it’s a blown head gasket. I just want to be 100% positive before pretty much putting the thing through open heart surgery. LOL
 
Thejeepchick said:
I feel like thats my only option at this point… It’s hard to accept it’s a blown head gasket. I just want to be 100% positive before pretty much putting the thing through open heart surgery. LOL
Click to expand...

Head gaskets really are not hard. I did my neighbor's 04 WJ in my gravel driveway in an afternoon. I spent more time fussing with getting the exhaust out of the way then I did with getting the head off and back on.

And old parts just wear out...do some diagnosing before you panic.

-Mac
 
Top Bottom
Back