New Radiator in XJ

NickMaul

NickMaul

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 4, 2009
Location
Norfolk, VA
My radiator in my 92 xj cracked on the way to the beach last weekend and the shop i took it to (not a dealership) put in a brand new radiator. When my sister had the xj it overheated all the time and my dad's mechanic decided to put in a larger radiator. Jeep ran cool no matter what.

When i got the jeep back from the shop i could already tell the radiator was much smaller. Driving home today traveling 70mph average in the 90 degree weather the water temp was a bit above average....210+degrees. With my older, larger radiator it would never touch 210 on the highway.

pic of needle going 70 mph on the highway with A/C
ai978.photobucket.com_albums_ae262_1tonoffun_5de1d88a.jpg


is this normal or am i freaking out?:confused:
 
that sucks, sounds like you got the cheapest (least capacity) radiator possible. Both my XJs are right at 210max, maybe the racerig got a hair over 210. Have you checked the coolant level in the bottle? Were you towing anything? The factory automatic tranny cooler is in the radiator, so towing will dump extra heat in there.

Make sure they reconnected the aux. fan harness, its over by the radiator cap.

It might come down to putting in another HD radiator or a little sloiwer. I remember my old CJ would hit real high temps with the cheesy 2 core radiator, slowing down 5MPH or so would drastically drop the temps. When I finally carnaged that radiator, I put in a HD one and had no issues.
 
Doesn't look bad to me, I'd just run it. My Ram runs like that also. You could get a Laser Thermometer Gun and check the actual temp, they can be had for as little as $30.
 
thanks for the help guys. i wasnt towing anything that day but i will tow my hobie sailboat randomly. i was just worried about how hot it will get when trail riding but i will figure that out eventually. if it gets too hot i will replace it with a better radiator
 
did ya confirm the aux fan was reconnected after the radiator replacement? Check under the radiator cap neck for the 2-pin connector.
 
I recently replaced mine with a 2-row CSF from radiatorbarn.com. At the same time I replaced the thermostat, housing and temp sensor. My fan shroud was toast so I didn't put it back on. Also removed all of the AC stuff, bypassing the compressor. I ran Callalantee all weekend and never reached higher than 210. Most of the time it hung right around 200.

Run it on the trail for a good while and see how it does. I wouldn't worry about 210-220 but if you start getting higher then I suggest pulling the radiator and upgrading to a CSF 2 or 3 row.
 
cltdba said:
I recently replaced mine with a 2-row CSF from radiatorbarn.com. At the same time I replaced the thermostat, housing and temp sensor. My fan shroud was toast so I didn't put it back on. Also removed all of the AC stuff, bypassing the compressor. I ran Callalantee all weekend and never reached higher than 210. Most of the time it hung right around 200.

Run it on the trail for a good while and see how it does. I wouldn't worry about 210-220 but if you start getting higher then I suggest pulling the radiator and upgrading to a CSF 2 or 3 row.
Click to expand...

thanks. checked out the web site and if i have problems i will probably do all that besides bypassing A/C
 
i had problems with my 92xj overheating. changed water pump,thermostat and still overheated. driving(sitting still on 85) in charlotte got hot enough to crack the radiator. replaced it with a pull a part $30 one and runs about the same temp as your showing. should be ok.
 
x2 on CSF from radiatorbarn.com
I got the 3row, but what impressed me was I had it delivered in under 2 hrs. I called the 1-800 #, hit a number for tech help, then it fwd'd me to the local dist., which was on the east side of GSO. He told me the best price was online, and to go ahead and order online, note my delivery details in the comments section. Voila, in about 90 minutes, my cellphone rang and they were outside my work.
 
Seems hot to me, 91 and up HO motors usually dont overheat like the 90 and older models, yours has a radiator cap instead of a plastic bottel right, might have a clog somewhere, any stopleak floating around in there?
 
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