With the summer months upon us and the temperatures rising into the mid 90’s to low 100’s, I started noticing fluid dripping from under the hood of the TJ. I opened up the hood and there was rust colored coolant everywhere. The Jeep sprung a leak! Well, come to find out that the plastic topped (yep, plastic!) of the radiator had split and was spitting rusty coolant all over the place. Now, I am normally really good at keeping fluids up and changed, but this had slipped my mind after the past few wheelin’ trips. Needless to say the coolant in the Jeep’s engine was less than desirable.
Radiator Neglect: A little neglect goes a long way!
Tech and photos by Jon Maib
So the search began for radiators. I needed something cheap that would be a perfect fit so I started looking in junk yards but could not find anything. Plus, if I bought another Jeep radiator from same model Jeep, I would still get a plastic top! So I did what any other red blooded American would do… I hit eBay!
! I came across a seller that sells 3 row radiators (factory Jeep only has 2 row) cheaper then most stock 2 rows cost. The Auto Radiator Outlet beat out most all the prices I could find so I hit the 'buy now' button. Then I called the company to get them all paid up and figured I would have the radiator by the weekend – Weekend wrenching…woo-hoo! Well, to my surprise the radiator came the very next day. That’s service!
When I get new toys, they don’t sit in the box very long. In fact, after work I opened the box and began to get to work on it. The engine didn’t even have a chance to cool down. So after a visit to the hospital for 3rd degree burns… nah… just kidding, I began the install. Now to install a radiator you only need a few simple tools and a large bucket. Especially for a Jeep, almost anyone with any mechanical skills can do it. First thing you need to do is to drain the old radiator. There is a small twist dial on the lower left hand side (if you’re facing the front of the Jeep). Once all the radiator coolant has drained you can then begin disconnecting all the hoses making sure to have a bucket close by for any liquids that may come out of the hoses. Once all the hoses have been disconnected, remove the 4 bolts that hold the fan shroud on and push it back over the fan. Now that the shroud is out of the way, you can then remove the 6 bolts holding the old radiator in place. After all the bolts have been removed, gently lift the radiator out of the Jeep making sure that you don’t snag any hoses. Check out the difference… the new one looks all clean and pretty.
Take the new one and slowly guide it into the Jeep. Ensure that it doesn’t catch on anything because you can damage the radiator fins. Once the radiator is in place, re-install the 6 bolts and then the fan shroud and its 4 bolts and hook up all the hoses. Now, if you're like me and have neglected the radiator and its water for some time, you will need to flush the system. I took mine to the pros for a complete system flush, but you can do it yourself if you have a few containers available to dispose of the old radiator fluid properly.
Read Flushing Your Cooling System By Mike Allen
This project is simple and will only take an hour or two to complete. Don’t be afraid to tackle this project, but more importantly… especially with the summer months at hand, be sure to check your fluids!
