I broke my radiator - can it be fixed?

[sfiforlife]

OK, so let me ask you this;

Ive been topping up with that stuff for quite a while now, and recently my heater wont work when idling, just blows cold air. Sounds like all this is related now, so replace the radiator, get a flush & I should have my problems solved...?

what have I done :icon_cry:

OK for this problem you definitely need to flush the heating core just to make sure that it isn't the culprit . Video below:

http://youtu.be/rtaePRH2tCs

 

[604KJ]

Called the dealer today; $230 for a new rad, $420 to install + Flush.
I am going to install and flush myself with that said.

My heat has been working all day now too after I topped up again last night, so presume it may not be clogged and just...empty?

I watched that heater core flush video, that guy used a garden hose and water from the faucet...Ive been reading this is bad and you need to use distilled...so whats the deal here?

 

[tommudd]

Yes use distilled water and Hoat Coolant , using distilled keeps all of the minerals etc out of the system that regular tap water has in it.

 

[sfiforlife]

Called the dealer today; $230 for a new rad, $420 to install + Flush.
I am going to install and flush myself with that said.

My heat has been working all day now too after I topped up again last night, so presume it may not be clogged and just...empty?

I watched that heater core flush video, that guy used a garden hose and water from the faucet...Ive been reading this is bad and you need to use distilled...so whats the deal here?

The proper answer would be "distilled water." I just hose mine down and it always works like a champ. I would assume in the "long run" using distilled water would prolong your cooling system because as years pass by minerals and calcium could potentially build up from using hose water. I have a 2004 Jeep liberty with 180K miles and do not really plan on keeping it any longer than 3-5 more years from now so it doesn't really bother me. Now if I had a car that is brand new or around 5 years old I would most likely not use the hose.

 

[tommudd]

The proper answer would be "distilled water." I just hose mine down and it always works like a champ. I would assume in the "long run" using distilled water would prolong your cooling system because as years pass by minerals and calcium could potentially build up from using hose water. I have a 2004 Jeep liberty with 180K miles and do not really plan on keeping it any longer than 3-5 more years from now so it doesn't really bother me. Now if I had a car that is brand new or around 5 years old I would most likely not use the hose.

Yep who cares what you do to it , but why not do it right for the next owner?

 

[CactusJacked]

I watched that heater core flush video, that guy used a garden hose and water from the faucet...Ive been reading this is bad and you need to use distilled...so whats the deal here?

I don't know of anybody who has distilled water magically coming out of their garden hose. :shrug:
Flush the heater core with the hose/tap water, then follow up with an air compressor to blow it clear.

 

[sfiforlife]

Yep who cares what you do to it , but why not do it right for the next owner?

I figured the jeep would be done after 250k miles (about 3 more years from now), I didn't think I would sell it to anyone (other than parts). Its at 180K now and I drive cross country quite a bit every year. How many miles do you typically get your engines to last for, prior to having to rebuild an engine or put a new one in all together?

 

[604KJ]

I'm watching people on youtube flush their radiators....getting slightly confused..am i right thinking of doing it this way;

1: Open Drain plug on rad and drain coolant
2: fill up reservoir with water(distilled)
3: run engine and keep topping up with water until rad drainage runs clear

Whichever way is the right way to do it, would I do it with the new radiator installed or flush with the old one and then install new and fill up with Hoat?

 

[sfiforlife]

I'm watching people on youtube flush their radiators....getting slightly confused..am i right thinking of doing it this way;

1: Open Drain plug on rad and drain coolant
2: fill up reservoir with water(distilled)
3: run engine and keep topping up with water until rad drainage runs clear

Whichever way is the right way to do it, would I do it with the new radiator installed or flush with the old one and then install new and fill up with Hoat?

Flush before you put the new one in to avoid contamination.

1. Drain the radiator by either using the drain plug or the big hose at the bottom. I like to use the big hose, since large pieces wont come out of that tiny drain plug if there are any. They will definitely come out of the big hose though.

2. Fill the reservoir with water until no more color comes out.

3. Connect the hose (or close the plug) and fill it up with water again.

4. Turn on the car with HEAT on full blast until car reaches normal operating temp (in the middle). This will allow the thermostat to open up and drain out what ever extra coolant is left in your cooling system.

5. Turn car off and wait for it to cool down (15-20 min). DO NOT OPEN reservoir while still hot!

6. Drain all water out again (you will see color again here now that it went through the thermostat and cycled through the rest of the system. Fill with water until all color is gone again.

7. Remove old radiator/Install new Radiator.

8. Fill up with Mopar HOAT 50/50.

9. Start car up with max HEAT. Check inside the reservoir as soon as you turn it on and top off as necessary. Close the reservoir with the cap.

10. While running, go open up the bleeding valve (on the top radiator hose, it should be the only Allen head screw). Dont open it up all the way, just until you see bubbles (and a bit of fluid) coming out and leave it like that until the bubbles stop or are not that noticeable any more.

11. Close bleeding valve. I had forgotten mine before and drove off. This will over heat your engine because it is losing pressure. So DO NOT forget to close this valve.

11. Go test drive it and check hot and cold air on the road while making sure the temp doesn't go above half point.

12. Come back, turn off car. Wait till it cools down and check coolant levels. Top off as necessary.

13. Log onto JeepKJ.com and thank me for spending 15 minutes typing this up.

 

[604KJ]

Those are the instructions I needed, I thank you ahead of time very much :cheers:

 

[tjkj2002]

Better yet just have a shop(that uses HOAT coolant,dealer is one) and have it done via the machine that will totally flush your system and get a 50/50 mix back into the system.Most have good deals this time of year for coolant flushes.


Those "DIY" flushes are a total gamble on actual coolant mixture since you can't totally drain the system,up to 50% of the system capacity is in the engine block and your not getting all of that out no matter how hard you try short of removing the engine.

 

[sfiforlife]

Better yet just have a shop(that uses HOAT coolant,dealer is one) and have it done via the machine that will totally flush your system and get a 50/50 mix back into the system.Most have good deals this time of year for coolant flushes.


Those "DIY" flushes are a total gamble on actual coolant mixture since you can't totally drain the system,up to 50% of the system capacity is in the engine block and your not getting all of that out no matter how hard you try short of removing the engine.

50% is when you simply just drain and then fill back up with coolant. No running water through the reservoir or running the engine with distilled water in the system. That's what steps 3-6 are for. It runs the distilled water through the engine and everywhere else before flushing it again. I typically repeat steps 3-6 multiple times until it also shows no color coming out after running the coolant through the engine but of course I'm really OCD when it comes to flushing. The other 50% is mainly in the heater core and hoses, this is why I take a hose to the heating core as well. But to be honest even the dealer flush is not 100%. It is estimated to remove 95% of old coolant. I have also heard of water pumps going out on certain occasion while performing a pressure flush at the dealer.

Bottom line is, there are ups and downs to every method. I feel more comfortable getting the job done on my car myself, more than any dealer out there, especially with the vast amount of talent and skills available on sites like this. You guys are amazing at what you do when it comes to helping others with questions on this site, there's no doubt about that.

 

[tjkj2002]

50% is when you simply just drain and then fill back up with coolant. No running water through the reservoir or running the engine with distilled water in the system. That's what steps 3-6 are for. It runs the distilled water through the engine and everywhere else before flushing it again. I typically repeat steps 3-6 multiple times until it also shows no color coming out after running the coolant through the engine but of course I'm really OCD when it comes to flushing. The other 50% is mainly in the heater core and hoses, this is why I take a hose to the heating core as well. But to be honest even the dealer flush is not 100%. It is estimated to remove 95% of old coolant. I have also heard of water pumps going out on certain occasion while performing a pressure flush at the dealer.

Bottom line is, there are ups and downs to every method. I feel more comfortable getting the job done on my car myself, more than any dealer out there, especially with the vast amount of talent and skills available on sites like this. You guys are amazing at what you do when it comes to helping others with questions on this site, there's no doubt about that.

Yeah but now you got 100% water in the system and when you fill up the coolant you may end up with a 30/70-40/60 ratio(antifreeze to water) or worst case if you use the pre-mix stuff only a 15/85-25/75 mix.


If the waterpump(or any other part of the system) starts leaking doing a flush via a machine that part was going to leak regardless.Plus you can't over pressurize the system with those machines since the radiator cap is still there(unless using a vacuum machine) so no way you can over pressurize the system.Chrsyler also recommends a reverse flush anyways and that can only be done with a machine.

 

[604KJ]

Im in the middle of taking the radiator out, and I see 2 other radiator looking things in front of the actual radiator.
Theres big one at the top and near the bottom theres another half sized one. Does anyone know what these are? Im pretty sure I don't have a tow package so I cant imagine one is a trans cooler...

I guess I'm about to find out, but do these 2 have any tie-ins to the main radiator?

One other thing, I stripped the bleeder valve (the top where the hex bit goes into) and I cant open it anymore...is there another way to bleed in the meantime?

 

[nullptr]

One is the AC condenser, the other is either a power steering cooler or a transmission cooler.

 

[ltd02]

One other thing, I stripped the bleeder valve (the top where the hex bit goes into) and I cant open it anymore...is there another way to bleed in the meantime?

If you mean the metal plug where the top hose meets the TC cover don't worry about it. I've never needed to open this to bleed mine. I have used it before but several times without and no problem. It should burp okay on its own. Just watch the level carefully after you fill it up. Helps to measure the amount you drained and should give a ballpark volume to add back.

 

[604KJ]

What a P.I.T.A that was! I would much rather install a lift again than mess around with the radiator. Took me a very long time, but its done and working fine. I have heat again, no more leaks, and I saved $500 doing it myself. The biggest pain for me was having to take off the ARB bumper just to get to 1 little bolt. I just couldnt get to it and after about an hour fighting to get it, I said F this and took the bumper off.

 

[renegade 04]

If you want to drain your entire cooling system like I did you need to remove the engine coolant drain plugs located on both side of the engine block around the middle freeze out plug. Note on the drivers side your will need to unbolt the starter to get to the drain plug, but you only need to move the starter out of the way so do not totally remove the starter.