4wd Coolant Temps

[KodiakKJ]

Since I replaced my radiator on Monday, I've been tracking my coolant temps occasionally while driving to and from work. It's varies between 195-204 degree's Fahrenheit with city driving when warmed up. I was testing it in 4wd this morning and it went up to 219 degrees! It's the beginning of winter and was 46 degrees outside. This makes me wonder what its going to be like in summer with the near triple digit heat.

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[tjkj2002]

The cooling fan(without AC command on) does not even turn on till 219 degrees,heck the t-stat does not fully open till 218 degrees.Your fine as long as it does not creep past 222 degrees.

 

[KodiakKJ]

It doesn't sound like much headroom. The past few summers, we've been as high as 98° Fahrenheit. It makes me a little nervous for it to be that high for extended times. It only took a couple of minutes to get to 219° F. I am prone to getting overly nervous though. This is my first vehicle I'm making payments on from a dealership.

 

[LibertyTC]

The temperature gauge form owners manual states: If the needle points to the red zone, 5 chimes are going to sound. (what temp does that happen at?) and to pull over leave the Jeep running at idle with AC off until jeep returns to normal range.
If it remains in high zone then turn it off..cause you better call somebody!!
Ah how come it does not say to open the hood to allow more cooling?
I think I know why the kJ has good roof rails....
Cause you can then take the hood off and strap it down... up on the roof! :icon_lol:

Ok well maybe installing vents is a better idea. ...:gr_grin:

 

[LibertyFever]

KodiacKJ can you tell us a little more about your Jeep?
Is is the 3.7L gasser with or without the trailer package? What year?

I have an 04 Liberty Sport c/w the trailer package and used to have a lot of transmission overheating issues both while towing and while in 4WD.
Because I had the trailer package I had both the electric and mechanical clutch radiator fans and the transmission cooler.
My problem was with the electric fan, it simply failed.
Once I replaced it I've had far less problems but I always keep my eye on the water temperature.


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[profdlp]

This will probably just add to the confusion, but using a gauge app on my Garmin I have never seen it above 200F. Most of the time it goes to 196F and just stays there.

 

[LibertyTC]

Steve what driving conditions is that? If you got airflow while moving in summer ok but...
Gosh in the summer mine without HD cooling would hit 220 no problem with AC on stuck in traffic here.
Engage 4x4 climbing in the mountains, I have seen 230 and the temp gauge on the wrong side of the middle.
I have stopped before with hood open to check & see wtf is up and the fans were going fast hmm.....
I let it cool at idle with the hood well open, it dropped in a few minutes, before proceeded onwards & upwards.
Hot days = keep a close eye on temp gauge on a KJ & hood vents are then a good idea!

 

[profdlp]

Steve what driving conditions is that? If you got airflow while moving in summer ok but...

Cleveland summers are not bad, but we usually get a week or two of mid-90s a couple times in July and August.

Gosh in the summer mine without HD cooling would hit 220 no problem with AC on stuck in traffic here.

Can't recall any traffic jams longer than a few minutes except for maybe getting out of the parking lot after a ballgame. Still, no problem.

Engage 4x4 climbing in the mountains, I have seen 230 and the temp gauge on the wrong side of the middle...

I watched it like a hawk over the PA Turnpike pulling a heavily loaded 5x8 trailer in October. It wasn't too hot out but it wasn't cold, either. Never had the gauge go above the midpoint and temps were nowhere near that high. Since I had to rely on the idiot light for transmission temp (never lit up, fortunately) I did the next best thing and watched engine coolant temp carefully. I figured if the engine was working harder the transmission probably was too. I do have the extra trans radiator but not the full tow package with extra fan and shroud. Not a peep out of it.

Maybe it's just a side effect of my overall personal coolness. :rocking:

 

[tjkj2002]

It doesn't sound like much headroom. The past few summers, we've been as high as 98° Fahrenheit. It makes me a little nervous for it to be that high for extended times. It only took a couple of minutes to get to 219° F. I am prone to getting overly nervous though. This is my first vehicle I'm making payments on from a dealership.

The 3.7 warms up fast.


The higher altitude here puts more of a strain on our cooling system but with a good working system you will not have any issues running 219 degrees all day.When I'm on the trail mine will cycle to 220 degrees then back down to 195 degrees 3 times then the fan will stay on 100% of the time and the temps will stay right at 200 degrees.

 

[KodiakKJ]

KodiacKJ can you tell us a little more about your Jeep?
Is is the 3.7L gasser with or without the trailer package? What year?

It's a 2003, 3.7L gasser with no tow package.
I've been using a Bluetooth OBDII module with OBD Auto Doctor on my phone to view the temps. I'm not too worried yet since it's the beginning of winter. Heading to work with traffic, it tends to hover between 200-204. On my way home, it likes the 199 degree mark, but there's a lot less traffic when I get off. It's when it's up over 90 degrees in the summer while off roading that's making me wonder.

 

[CzarKJ]

Ya I agree. The initial reason why I added my clutch fan is because if my electric fan kicked out then I would have a backup and not cook my engine. This is just another reason to add one! These engines do not like too much heat (above and beyond heat).

 

[profdlp]

Ya I agree. The initial reason why I added my clutch fan is because if my electric fan kicked out then I would have a backup and not cook my engine. This is just another reason to add one! These engines do not like too much heat (above and beyond heat).

Did you do it yourself?

 

[CzarKJ]

Did you do it yourself?

Ya wasn't hard at all. Just followed twobob's lead.
http://www.jeepkj.com/forum/f196/hd-cooling-fans-installed-finally-51919/

 

[profdlp]

Another one for the list, assuming I can ever do anything at all.

 

[ltd02]

Ya I agree. The initial reason why I added my clutch fan is because if my electric fan kicked out then I would have a backup and not cook my engine. This is just another reason to add one! These engines do not like too much heat (above and beyond heat).

Don't put to much faith in the clutch fan alone. Mine didn't help me when my efan relay went in traffic. Still like having the two fans and the clutch fan definitely helps but without the efan, and not moving, I overheated anyway and cooked the HGs. :favorites68:

 

[tjkj2002]

Don't put to much faith in the clutch fan alone. Mine didn't help me when my efan relay went in traffic. Still like having the two fans and the clutch fan definitely helps but without the efan, and not moving, I overheated anyway and cooked the HGs. :favorites68:

Yeah considering the OE clutch does not even fully lock till 230 degrees.

It's a 2003, 3.7L gasser with no tow package.
I've been using a Bluetooth OBDII module with OBD Auto Doctor on my phone to view the temps. I'm not too worried yet since it's the beginning of winter. Heading to work with traffic, it tends to hover between 200-204. On my way home, it likes the 199 degree mark, but there's a lot less traffic when I get off. It's when it's up over 90 degrees in the summer while off roading that's making me wonder.

As long as your cooling system is functioning correctly there is no worry.Overheating does not occur on this engine till 260+ degrees.

 

[uss2defiant]

also the AC doesn't run as cool with the clutch fan alone.

 

[LibertyTC]

I know I have had a few beers .However....
I wonder if the KJ could somehow receive a set up like this! ??
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[renegade 04]

I got the hayden heavy duty clutch fan and it really does a great cooling down the jeep, and also pulls a lot more air threw the radiator than with out it. I also have the ability to turn on/off the electric fan and Ican also turn on the high or low setting if I want and I have no check engine light.

 

[dljacko]

I have just replaced the radiator in mine and am very surprised that it is only a single core 28mm one. I have had heating problems in the past and now I know why, I had never taken much notice of the radiator before but now I have I am looking around for a multi core one which will keep temperatures normal, even in the outback where it is normally 120F in the shade! There is a space problem, so I suppose everything can be moved forward slightly to accommodate the extra thickness of the multi core one.