Cooling System Woes... Fixed. I hope!

[One_Big_Midgett]

Well after countless gallons of coolant, then when that got to expensive I turned to straight water and to many times being stuck on the side of the road. I finally got a new radiator, water pump upper and lower hoses and thermostat. The only thing I have not replaced are the fans. But that and a ram air hood are in the works. It turns out my radiator had a split in the plastic tank on the passenger side. So tomorrow will be the first test of my almost completely new cooling system. Wish me luck! I am going to need it.

While I was at it I removed the ac condenser. The first step into converting it into an O.B.A. system. As I said the plan is to add a cooling fan setup from Dirtbound Offroad and a ram air/cowl hood I found on ebay. But for now I just hope I cam stop this thing from overheating, then I will worry about cooling it down even more.

I'm sure most of you already know what the Dirtbound Kit looks like. I will post pics of the hood scoop soon. For now I'm going to bed it has been a long day.

[Carves]

See how it runs with the new parts and missing aircon condensor before worrying about fans & hoods.

Theres a whole bunch of cooling mods out there to choose from ... but they arent all needed - to sort out an XJs overheating issues in its various operating conditions/locations .. ;)

[One_Big_Midgett]

Well after the drive to work this morning I don't know if I should be scared or overjoyed. It was lightly raining this morning, my route is half highway and half side streets. What gets me is that the heep never went over 100 on the temp gauge. It only takes me about 15-20 minutes to get to work.

Any suggestions/thoughts?

[Mudderoy]

Well after the drive to work this morning I don't know if I should be scared or overjoyed. It was lightly raining this morning, my route is half highway and half side streets. What gets me is that the heep never went over 100 on the temp gauge. It only takes me about 15-20 minutes to get to work.

Any suggestions/thoughts?

I guess it really depends on your rig, but knowing how mine acts I would be worried. Mine will get up to operating temp with in 5 minutes. With your temp being so low I would squeeze the upper hose to see if there is any coolant in it.

[Carves]

Well after the drive to work this morning I don't know if I should be scared or overjoyed. It was lightly raining this morning, my route is half highway and half side streets. What gets me is that the heep never went over 100 on the temp gauge. It only takes me about 15-20 minutes to get to work.

Any suggestions/thoughts?


X 2 with Mudderoy ... Somethings not quite right.

I'm thinking either the thermostat is a dud ... or the sender/sensor isnt getting the right message to the gauge.

[Brasscatz]

And as my good friend Carves brought to my attention a while back... if there's no coolant to measure, the temp will measure really low. ;)

[Cheromaniac]

Well after the drive to work this morning I don't know if I should be scared or overjoyed. It was lightly raining this morning, my route is half highway and half side streets. What gets me is that the heep never went over 100 on the temp gauge. It only takes me about 15-20 minutes to get to work.

Any suggestions/thoughts?

Yeah I have a few. As Confucius would say, Sum Ting Wong: ;)

1. x2 on making sure that the cooling system actually has coolant in it.
2. If you don't have an IR laser temp. gun, buy one. It doesn't cost much and it's a very useful tool.
3. If your engine does have coolant, next time you drive to work, check the upper radiator hose after you arrive while the engine's still idling. The hose should be hot to the touch and feel firm.
4. If you have a hot upper radiator hose, your temp. gauge should be reading well above 100*F. If it's stuck below that, replace the sending unit.
5. Even if the thermostat was stuck open, the engine should have warmed up sufficiently enough after 15 minutes to be well above 100*F so I think you need to replace the gauge sending unit anyway.