cooling system

jeepsterxj · **Joined:** Wed Feb 27, 2008 3:11 pm **Posts:** 78

so ive been through 2 radiators and 2 hoses in the past 5 months...

what gives?

parts were ordered from rockauto.com - im guessing their parts are garbage? I bit the bullet and got mopar genuine stuff (my wallet hurts), haven't had a problem since (yay mopar)... but i want to know if there is any other part in the cooling system that i overlooked that would cause excess pressure and make things blow...

thanks guys!

jeepsterxj · **Joined:** Wed Feb 27, 2008 3:11 pm **Posts:** 78

yea its really weird, thats why i wanted to ask you guys what you thought... everything else seems ok though...bizarre?

sleeve84028 · **Posted:** Sun Feb 01, 2009 11:54 pm

I've bought stuff from Rock as well and never had any issues.

I must say that the Liberty radiator is poorly engineered.

tommudd · **Posted:** Mon Feb 02, 2009 12:10 am

sleeve84028 wrote:

I've bought stuff from Rock as well and never had any issues.

I must say that the Liberty radiator is poorly engineered.

what makes you think a Liberty radiator is poorly engineered, interesting

haven't heard of any more of them going than any other brand of vehicle , very few really

sleeve84028 · **Posted:** Mon Feb 02, 2009 12:24 am

Maybe the plastic end caps that crack and spring a leak???

CRDMiller · **Posted:** Mon Feb 02, 2009 12:28 am

That's a feature, not a deficiency :P

Guest · **Posted:** Mon Feb 02, 2009 12:29 am

Sleeve, it's a good thing you point out that the KJ does it and NO other car has EVER done it in the history of automobiles!

Man, I'm glad you opened my eyes!

tommudd · **Posted:** Mon Feb 02, 2009 12:42 am

sleeve84028 wrote:

Maybe the plastic end caps that crack and spring a leak???

But my ex wifes 86 Z28 that did that so the point is ............sorry I guess I missed something

Guest · **Posted:** Mon Feb 02, 2009 1:03 am

Hell, my Montero did it

and it was not plastic!

jeepsterxj · **Joined:** Wed Feb 27, 2008 3:11 pm **Posts:** 78

so i guess it was just bad luck? i mean i really feel like im missing something here haha

Blue KJ in PA · **Posted:** Mon Feb 02, 2009 9:24 am

I think the "missing" is the sarcasm that is flowing fairly deep on this thread... :wink:

tommudd · **Posted:** Mon Feb 02, 2009 10:56 am

Blue KJ in PA wrote:

I think the "missing" is the sarcasm that is flowing fairly deep on this thread... :wink:

no what is missing is everytime something happens you have a few that jump on and start blaming Jeep , Chrysler, Libertys , the union's etc when it is an item that will and does go bad on every vehicle ever made. Kind of like water pumps , universal joints, CVs and other wear items. :lol:

Its too bad that the OP had problems , but its the luck of the draw not poor design from Chrysler/Jeep or aftermarket suppliers. I have bought new starters before that went bad in 2 days, what did I do , replaced them and moved on , did not say it was a poor design on a small block GM engine. :roll:

Get my drift???????????????????????????????

NOW TO THE ORIGINAL POSTER have you had the system pressure checked? Have you replaced the thermostat? what else have you done besides replace radiators? There could be problems within that you need to check on further.

sleeve84028 · **Posted:** Mon Feb 02, 2009 5:13 pm

Who said anything about jumping on any band wagon and blaming any of the entities that you listed?

I blamed the engineers for not making the plastic end caps thicker and more resistant to cracking due to constant exposure to pressure, heat and vibration. This makes the radiator poorly designed from the factory to withstand it's natural enviornment. I further back up my claim because this failure [of the endcap] is repeatable amongst a majorty of the high mileage KJs on the road. When the radiator fails, it fails in the same spot ever single time, all you have to do is search the history on these boards for evidence of that. And we, here, represent roughly 6% of the KJ's out there.

To me a common failure of a raidator would be plugged core tubes, scaling, busted petcock valves and rock strike punctures.

jeepsterxj · **Joined:** Wed Feb 27, 2008 3:11 pm **Posts:** 78

well i pretty much did everything except the thermostat and water pump... neither are leaking, heat works fine, and no funny noises, pressure tests were OK, and coolant was flushed TWICE as well with no flow issues. Definately not the block being plugged up... Was i wrong to eliminate the water pump and thermostat after not seeing any of these symptoms? Im really leaning towards the parts just being shabby low grade made in china junkers from rockauto.com...

calamaridog · **Posted:** Tue May 19, 2009 11:38 am

I have a hairline crack in mine. I cleaned it off, applied some super glue, and it hasn't been leaking for a few days :oops:

So how much does a new OEM radiator cost and where can I order one online? :?:

JL Rockies · **Posted:** Tue May 19, 2009 12:25 pm

tommudd wrote:

Blue KJ in PA wrote:

I think the "missing" is the sarcasm that is flowing fairly deep on this thread... :wink:

no what is missing is everytime something happens you have a few that jump on and start blaming Jeep , Chrysler, Libertys , the union's etc when it is an item that will and does go bad on every vehicle ever made. Kind of like water pumps , universal joints, CVs and other wear items. :lol:

Its too bad that the OP had problems , but its the luck of the draw not poor design from Chrysler/Jeep or aftermarket suppliers. I have bought new starters before that went bad in 2 days, what did I do , replaced them and moved on , did not say it was a poor design on a small block GM engine. :roll:

Get my drift???????????????????????????????

NOW TO THE ORIGINAL POSTER have you had the system pressure checked? Have you replaced the thermostat? what else have you done besides replace radiators? There could be problems within that you need to check on further.

Now I know for a fact that the unions are responsible for the socialist water pumps found in Libertys.

jnaut · **Posted:** Tue May 19, 2009 3:58 pm

jeepsterxj wrote:

so ive been through 2 radiators and 2 hoses in the past 5 months...

what gives?

parts were ordered from rockauto.com - im guessing their parts are garbage? I bit the bullet and got mopar genuine stuff (my wallet hurts), haven't had a problem since (yay mopar)... but i want to know if there is any other part in the cooling system that i overlooked that would cause excess pressure and make things blow...

thanks guys!

what were your engine temps? And what was happening to the radiator? Was it blowing leaks?

Fulltimer · **Posted:** Tue May 19, 2009 5:20 pm

This MIGHT be related. Every once in a while my KJ would heat up. It usually happened when running off road or using the AC. But, it didn't do it all the time. I had to take her in to the stealership because of a oil leak so I asked them to check out the cooling system. I explained what was happening. They tested it with the AC on max, setting in the parking lot. What they found was SOMETIMES the fan wasn't coming on. The clutch on the fan had an intermittent slippage. So far so good. I ran around in 4X4 with the AC on max and the gauge never moved.

Terry

EDIT: the oil leak was the front crank shaft seal.

cooling system

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