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I'm at the Jersey shore & just bought 1994 Wrangler YJ Powered by a Chevy 350 V8

2K views 18 replies 7 participants last post by  EYJ 
#1 ·
I just bought this buggy for the beach. I replaced the radiator that was leaking with a new Jeep 6 cyl unit. I installed all new hoses & antifreeze. Why is it running 200 to 220 degrees. Am I undersized with this new radiator? Here is everything besides the radiator that the engine has installed.

The swap parts were supplied by advanced adapters. It has a 3" body lift to clear the trans tunnel and distributor. Jeep runs very good and in fact I drive it everyday to work and back. Engine was rebuilt last year with all quality components. Melling oil pump, summit pistons, Hastings rings, Clevite bearings, double roller timing chain, comp cams extreme 4 x 4 camshaft, heads were redone with a new valve job, seals, and springs and milled .015", Edelbrock performer intake, carb, valve covers, and air cleaner, MSD HEI ignition module, MSD fuel pump, regulated return style fuel system, March pulley set. Inside there is a full set of Auto-meter gauges with a 5" 10,000 rpm tachometer, speedometer, oil pressure, trans temp, water temp, voltmeter, and fuel gauge. Custom stainless exhaust system. Painless Wiring engine harness.
Thanks in advance for any help or ides you can send my way.
Hal
 
#2 ·
Wow, I guess the guy sold it because he was ready for the next project. Nice rig. Please post pics when you can. The temp seems a bit high to me too. Is the radiator a dual-core? If not, it may be a bit under sized in my opinion. I was running hot enough for the oil pressure relief valve to blow, so I put in a dual core along with all new pump, thermostat, etc. and it worked great, albeit on a stock 258 4.2l.
 
#5 ·
I have a an electric fan fastened to the new stock radiator with a switch on the dash. Right now I do not have a therm installed. I bought a 195 put it in & took it back out after a ride & the temp went up to 230. Without it I am running 200 to 220. I added 1 1/2 gallons of 100% antifreeze, but maybe I did not add enough water. Look in my garage for a couple of pics.
Thanks
Hal
 
#6 ·
I have a an electric fan fastened to the new stock radiator with a switch on the dash. Right now I do not have a therm installed. I bought a 195 put it in & took it back out after a ride & the temp went up to 230. Without it I am running 200 to 220. I added 1 1/2 gallons of 100% antifreeze, but maybe I did not add enough water. Look in my garage for a couple of pics.
Thanks
Hal
 
#4 ·
is your fan moving the air through the radiator as it should..I run custom radiators in both my 350 powered jeeps now but I have used stock radiators in the past with no problem..one was a 350 lt1 in a 78 cj7 with a mechanical fan..the other was a 50 willys with a 327 and electric fan
 
#7 ·
I have a an electric fan fastened to the new stock radiator with a switch on the dash. Right now I do not have a therm installed. I bought a 195 put it in & took it back out after a ride & the temp went up to 230. Without it I am running 200 to 220. I added 1 1/2 gallons of 100% antifreeze, but maybe I did not add enough water. Look in my garage for a couple of pics.
Thanks
Hal
 
#8 ·
First things first. With the engine cold, remove the radiator cap, top off the coolant, and then with the radiator cap off, have someone start the jeep. If coolant shoots out of the radiator cap, you have a head gasket leak, and that's what's causing your engine to run hot.

Second, jersey has hard water. You may have calcium build-up in your cooling system. Pour a full bottle of Lime Away in the radiator and bring the motor up to temperature. Let it sit overnight, drain, and flush it REALLY well. Fixed a similar problem for me in an old motorcycle.

Third, verify that the temp sensor is actually reading correctly. Hook up an aux sensor and compare the temperature.

Charles.
 
#10 ·
Bottled water


The radiator is brand new & I filled it with 100% antifreeze & added bottled water to get a 75% antifreeze/25% water mixture. I took the therm out but I will need it back in for the winter. I am trying your idea on taking the cap off to see what happens.
Thanks
Hal
 
#13 ·
I am thinking he has air in the system since it is a new radiator.
So here is a trick I learned from an old guy mech.
Jack the vehicle up so that the rad is higher than any other part of coolant system then take rad cap off and run system it will seem strange but if air is In their it will work its way out to the high point which should be the rad cap

You will have to jack so it lookalike you're climbing a big rock!
 
#16 ·
Bought it for the speed

I sold my Shelby 2 weeks ago Friday & bought this jeep because of the HP. It is hard to come off 130 MPH at New Jersey Motor Sports to a 4 or 6 cylinder Jeep even though I wanted it for the beach. My wife does not like the ride. When will they ever understand us???????????
HF
 
#17 ·
perhaps the temp sensor is from the V8 and the ECM is stock? I know when I replaced the temp sensor in my motorcyle, I used one off ebay from an older model and it read 220*. I later discovered that Honda had changed the ECM in later years of the same bike. Just a thought. Nice looking ride - love that engine bay.
 
#19 ·
1) 50/50 mix would be better - water is a better coolant than antifreeze but you need the corrosion and freeze protection.
2) engine timing can affect cooling - not enough initial/base timing (idle) slow timing curve and overall timing (cruise/hwy/WOT) will allow more of the combustion process to take place in the manifolds/headers creating more heat.
3) an inadequate electric fan won't pull enough cfm. I have a 5.9 magnum in my YJ and I'm running a Lincoln Mark VIII 18" fan that pulls well over 3000cfm and it does the job but most aftermarket 12-16" fans don't pull near enough. the hot/affordable setup the custom car builders/hot rodders go with now is the ford Taurus 3.8 or Thunderbird 4.6 2 speed fans with 2 speed relay setups - check out Hollister's web site The Hollister Road Company
car craft did an article about cooling and using the ford fans a couple of years ago, you can google that.

my first suspect would be your fan - what do you have there?
 
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