Cooling Tune-Up Procedures - All Jeep® vehicles

 
 

    Overheated Jeep

  • Flush dirt, bugs and leaves from front of radiator with a brush and garden hose. If your grill has clogged areas, this will cause overheating. Do not mess with the cooling fins on the radiator. Smashing or bending the fins will reduce the effectiveness of the radiator and could lead to overheating.

     
  • Inspect the radiator cap. Replace it if the rubber gasket is broken, dried out or missing.

     
  • Check the condition and level of coolant. If it is rusty, flush the system and replace it with a 50/50 mixture. Coolant not only serves to keep the engine temperature regulated, but it also lubricates and protects the water pump and radiator. Never put just water in your radiator. This will lead to failure of the cooling system.

     
  • Flush the radiator every 15,000 miles or once a year.

     
  • Inspect radiator and radiator hoses for leaks, cracks or soft, mushy condition. Tighten all clamps. Replace hoses as needed. Change the hoses every 90,000 miles no matter what.

     
  • Look for the heater hose running from the engine, through the firewall, to the heater core under the dash. Replace swollen or cracked hoses. To check the hoses, start the engine and turn on the heater. If after ten minutes the hoses are cool, they could be clogged.

     
  • Inspect all engine belts for wear and cracks. Replace if worn, cracked or glazed. Adjust loose belts. Any cracking or drying belts should be replaced. If the belt for the water pump is worn, your entire system can collapse.

     
  • Check the thermostat operation by running the engine for 10-15 minutes. Generally, it's OK if you can feel warm coolant surging through the upper hose. Beware of an engine that runs too hot or too cool. Tighten loose bolts on the thermostat housing at the engine.

     
  • Clean the engine exterior. Excessive oil and dirt will hide leaks, or insulate the engine, causing it to run hot.
FLUSHING THE SYSTEM

We all know how important our heating and cooling systems are in our Jeep® vehicles. At one time or another, we have all had something go wrong and suddenly the entire engine compartment is bellowing out with a smokey haze. The smell is bittersweet and we all know it too well...Anti-Freeze!

Jeep Radiator

There are many places on the net you can go to find out information about how to flush your radiator.

 

  1. Begin with the engine cold and ignition off. Remove the radiator cap. Make sure the engine is cool. If the radiator cap is too hot to touch, your engine is not cool enough.

     
  2. Open the drain-plug at the bottom of the radiator and drain the coolant into a bucket. You will want to dispose of the cooling fluid as environmentally conscious as possible. So, if there are any shops or recycling places in your area that take old coolant give it to them. Make sure you keep the fluid away from animals!. Don't just pour it on the ground. Animals tend to want to drink it, but it will kill them.

     
  3. Close the drain-plug and fill the radiator with water.

     
  4. Start the engine and turn the heater control to hot (this will open the heater control valve). Add cooling system cleaner and idle the engine for 30 minutes (or as per the instructions on container).

     
  5. Stop the engine and allow it to cool for five minutes. Drain the system.

     
  6. Close the drain-plug, fill the radiator with water and let the engine idle for five minutes.

     
  7. Repeat step No. 5. Close the drain-plug.

     
  8. Install new 50/50 mixture of water and ethylene glycol antifreeze/coolant. Be sure you use the same coolant as was in your vehicle. Many of the coolants that are designed to last 150,000 miles will react with cheaper coolants and cause corrosion of the radiator. The best way to do this is match color. If it says "Dex-Cool" or something of that nature, definitely use a Dex-Cool variant.
This article was sponsored by RADIATOR.COM.