People in hot climates: What have you done to increase cooling capacity?
- Thread starter Tjtravis
- Start date
Kaptainkid1
TJ Enthusiast
No reason whatsoever you should need to mess with the stock cooling system, even in Arizona heat.
As long as your stock cooling system is properly maintained, “upgrading” the cooling it system is a waste of money and completely unnecessary.
As long as your stock cooling system is properly maintained, “upgrading” the cooling it system is a waste of money and completely unnecessary.
X3.
I overhauled my system in 2016 with a new mopar radiator and water pump. New G05 coolant, hoses, and thermostat. Crawling at 1mph in rocks or sitting in 100 degree weather in the bumper to bumper traffic the cooling system does its job.
Is that as slow as you can crawl? I think with my ratio I’m down to 0.2mph.
89grand
TJ Addict
I live in Phoenix, about as hot as a place can get. My cooling system is completely stock, my Jeep never gets hot.
best thing I ever did for my cooling system was to throw the aftermarket replacement radiator it came with in the metal recycling pile and put in the stock Mopar radiator that had 20% more tubes in the same-sized core. I was hitting 235 on the highway (100°F+ with a winch and at 6000' where air is 15% less dense) and since then it likes to sit around 206 in the exact same conditions.
Last edited:
I carry extra water and sometimes Gatorade so I get the salts back in my system.
Stock cooling system + external trans cooler if you have an automatic transmission. That's it, nothing else necessary, and the trans cooler may not be necessary depending upon your actual transmission temps when it is being worked hard on the trail at slow speed.
I use the Flex-a-lite 4116TJ direct fit transmission cooler which unfortunately appears to be discontinued. Some prefer the Derale brand, others like Hayden or B&M. [You can see mine in my avatar hiding behind Mr. Bill.]
Whatever the brand, most will do the job sufficiently, although I understand that @mrblaine is partial to a transmission cooler that works much better than the coolers most jeepers typically choose but is also much more expensive thus out of reach to many.
I use the Flex-a-lite 4116TJ direct fit transmission cooler which unfortunately appears to be discontinued. Some prefer the Derale brand, others like Hayden or B&M. [You can see mine in my avatar hiding behind Mr. Bill.]
Whatever the brand, most will do the job sufficiently, although I understand that @mrblaine is partial to a transmission cooler that works much better than the coolers most jeepers typically choose but is also much more expensive thus out of reach to many.
Bofa-Deez
TJ Enthusiast
Well I did take those stupid aftermarket grill insert things out of the slats. I never really had an overheating issue, but when temps were over 100, I did notice the water temp would climb towards 247-250. Now I rarely see 230.
Aside from that, I agree with above. Stock radiator and pump. I. At about 125k miles now, so I'm guessing a rebuild is in my near future.
Edit: those temps are from the OBDII port and Torque Pro app on my head unit, not the temp gauge.
Aside from that, I agree with above. Stock radiator and pump. I. At about 125k miles now, so I'm guessing a rebuild is in my near future.
Edit: those temps are from the OBDII port and Torque Pro app on my head unit, not the temp gauge.
Last edited:
The above comments really tell the entire story. It's sometimes hard to accept that the factory anything can be more than up to any job, especially where cooling is concerned. But in reality, the Mopar cooling system is as good as you're going to get, it has more than enough excess cooling capacity to keep the engine cool in any temperature a human can survive in. Pretty much any change to the OE cooling system will result in a downgrade/reduction in the cooling ability,
If your cooling system is struggling to keep things cool, there's a fixable problem... it's not a design issue. Find the particular component causing the problem and fix or replace it with the Mopar replacement. Most cooling problems are cause by aftermarket radiators, a radiator clogged from hard water deposits from having used tap water in it, mud/dirt clogging the radiator's cooling fins, old coolant having turned to sludge, a bad water pump, or a sticking thermostat.
Here in Aus the summer temperature is above bearable. My standard 4.0 TJ (manual 6 speed) never overheats using standard everything. All is maintained however and I am never concerned driving it on a 45 degree day (thats about 110 degrees using your yankee scale!).
Nimbley
TJ Enthusiast
Keep the fins clean of debris. Dirt and bugs can seriously decrease the cooling capacity of the radiator.
Im in PR, Last summer we had temps of 105-110 when adding the hummdity factor. I actually switch back to the oe fan. I used to ran a spall 3,000 cfm fan, it did fine at low speed but the noise was unbearable. At highway speed and hot days it would run a bit pass the middle. The amp draw was About 36a. If you shut it down for 10 secs the temp gets up pretty fast. Keep the oe system, it works fine even in tropical weather.
Last edited: