Daughter's (16 yo) 1992 Laredo. Roof rack, lights, 31s, custom bumper with winch, 4 in. lift...so some air resistance. Live in MO so it gets hot, like 90+.

Engine overheated (barely) when I was driving it on the highway. Blew out the radiator as there was dust and grass. Replaced thermostat as it takes 10 minutes. Hasn't overheated but it gets very hot. Scary close. So for fun I replaced the 190 thermostat with a 160 and it hasn't made a difference. I don't want my kid on the side of the road. So...

Could it be all the add-ons and especially the winch blocking air to the radiator?

Should I just replace the radiator, water pump, hoses, belt to see if that does it. Seems cheap enough.

Any advice is welcome!

 

The accesories are a bit admissible imo. I'd look more to the cooling equipment of your jeep before I'd start placing the blame on some extra weight and subtle resistance.

How old is the radiator, how effective is your electric fan working? Is it wired to a toggle switch like some folks do or is it still wired up factory rleying on the temp switch to turn it on? Whats the condition of your mech fan? Whats the condition of your mech fan shroud? Are you running enough coolant vs water in your system? Are you running distilled water vs hose water in your cooling system??

 

thank you!

 

If it's overheating at highway speeds and not at slow speeds or idle, the fans aren't the problem. You either have a clogged radiator, lack of coolant flow (failing water pump, bad t-stat, etc.), or airflow problem due to the winch potentially blocking the radiator.

 

That winch blocking half your airflow doesn't help

 

What did the coolant look like when you changed the thermostat? Fresh and green or a brown muddy mess?

 

my first thought.

I don't know how hard you are pushing it on the highway but 31s with what I'm assuming is stock gearing could be working the trans pretty hard. That could be basically pumping some extra heat into the radiator.

 

First time it was rusty so I flushed it out. This time it was still green.

 

This .....
Plus putting in a 160 degree thermostat is going to do nothing for your problem; it will, however, result in you being cold in the winter, plus sludging up the oil.

 

It was a temporary experiment. But one thing I forgot to mention is the new 190 thermostat I pulled was stuck open if that means anything.

 

Also, let's say it is the winch. It bolts onto a plate that bolts to the bumper. So it can come off and still look good. Is there a setup where it can be connected and removed relatively quickly as needed?

Still think replacing the radiator, water pump, and belt is cheap and easy and they are 31 years old now. Agree?

 

First, what temp do you think it reached? XJ run pretty hot normally.

Was it a "fail safe" thermostat? Some are made to lock open after an overheating event.

In hot weather, with the AC on and that big winch blocking air flow, the cooling system is working really hard.

The radiator is likely a single row. Don't forget it has a trans cooler in it so that adds a heat load as trailer trash said.

 

Yes, fail safe.