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What's the general consensus, for replacement on a budget? The one that has been in my jeep since I bought it appears to be an upgraded radiator that is not an exact fit (the only thing holding it in place is the upper and lower radiator hose), made of copper and brass. The cooling fins have been worn/rotted around the mechanical fan since the day I bought it. But it had been holding up to itself until now. Coolant is leaking from somewhere and the only thing I'm left with is the radiator itself. I don't mind going to a stock radiator, if it will still do the job. I have a newer XJ electric fan that I will eventually swap out from the old one. And will also eventually replace the mechanical fan with an electric. For now, I just need a radiator. Thoughts on the Spectre branded one?

t.mcginley.jr

There's a whole poll thread going on now about this same topic:

https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f2/radiators-213581/

EZEARL

General consensus is an OEM replacement. It will do you fine IF the rest of your cooling system is 110%.
http://www.autozone.com/cooling-heat...66534_0_13752/


But lately there has been talk of one from Car Quest with trans. fittings already installed.

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Yeah, I know. Noticed it after I posted this one. Sorry! I was in pinch. Don't have a lot of time to browse the forum. Been on the go, ever since I posted the thread. Thanks for the heads up though. I just put a rebuilt motor in and now I'm having over heat issues; wasn't a problem before the motor. My aux fan isn't kicking on, I'm assuming the mechanical fan isn't up to par anymore. Replaced a lower radiator hose and its still leaking somewhere under that area... At the radiator side. New water pump. Installed a new thermostat that was 180°, but put the old 195 back in. So I'll be getting a new radiator, cap and thermostat, for sure. I still need to figure out the fan issue. Aux fan works if I apply power directly to it. Relay also works... Applied power and got a switching output. Mechanical fan? I don't know. I think it's time to rip it out.

BlueRidgeMark

Temp sensor, likely.



Why? It's needed, and if it's working properly, it does a good job. Did you replace the fan clutch?

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Fan clutch has not been replaced. I would like to replace it with and electric fan, if I can get that side to work right.

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I'm curious... Wouldn't a bad CTS give me a CEL? I know when I first bought it, I had no CEL. The PO said the CTS was brand new; it was the shiniest part under the hood. I got it home and started going over things... I found that there was no bulb in the CEL socket, so I put one in it. Imagine that, I now have a CEL code... Which turned out to be for the CTS. Turns out the wire was cut about three inches behind the CTS 'connector, so I took care of that and the CEL went away. It's only come on a few other times since then, for other reasons, and those issues have been resolved, cancelling out the CEL each time.

Bugout4x4

Mark makes a very good point here about removing the Mechanical fan, Why? having both really could be a matter of Life or Death someday.


One of the first things that appealed to me about these Jeeps was that they do have both Mechanical and Electric Fans. Several times I have been out slow wheeling 30 or 40 miles from civilization of any kind and had a Fan Clutch or an Electric Fan System fail. No Traffic, No Cell Service and absolutely no way a Towtruck can get to us.


Walking out was not an option and when it is dependent on just one System that has failed, wheeling at slow speeds can be a super time consuming chore to get it home without destroying it. You have to drive about a half mile to a mile then shut it down for about 45 minutes to an hour to let it cool for 30 to 40 miles! This could take you a day and a half or more to get out!


When you have both Systems like these and one System quits you still have the other! The driving and cooling down periods become very much farther apart if even needed at all depending on outside temps. Having been in this situation several times myself I recognize that this dual System feature could actually make the difference between Life or Death in the summer and not just in the Desert Southwest.

BlueRidgeMark

Not necessarily. IIRC, some years had two different sensors; one for the e-fan, one for the temp reading. I don't remember which years had that config, though.

EZEARL

My '96 does. The one for the gauge is at the back of the head. The one that transmits info to the computer is on the thermo housing.

Gauge

As does my '95

Bocefus

I recommend the Advance Auto "Tough One" radiator. Part number 432335.
Use online discount code TRT41 and get it for $62.99.
When installing it, reuse your stock upper and lower radiator support mounts for a perfect fit.

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There are no upper mounts on my current radiator; never have been since I've owned it. Only the lower pins that seat in the rubber bushings. I am looking forward to replacing it with something that willl mount the way it should.

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So, even though I do not have a constant on CEL, I went ahead and flipped the key today and got 35, 27 and 14. So one shows a faulty cooling fan circuit. I have not reset the ecm since I've put this motor in. But I did have a bad fuel injector at one point and have since replaced it. Also had a frayed fuel injector pigtail that I repaired with solder and heatshrink. Could the code still just be there because I haven't replaced it? And, the MAP sensor voltage failure... Could the fact that I have mass air mods (bored throttle body, gasket matched head, header and 99+ intake manifold) have anything to do with that?

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I topped off the radiator this evening and started it up, to let it get up to temp, so I can find out where the leak is. I let it idle for about 15 minutes and the temp stayed pretty stable at 198-ish. Of course the aux fan never kicked on and the clutch fan stayed idle. Meanwhile, I saw the fluid squirting out so I took a stab at finding where exactly. It's like a ghost leak or something. Because of its location, I cannot physically see it (under lower rad hose and above frame rail). I just replaced thelower radiator hose, because it was leaking at the water pump side. I didn't feel anything dripping out of the radiator per-se. It felt as if it was just running along the hose at the point it connects to the radiator. I don't know! I just hope and pray after I install the radiator, thermostat and gasket, temp sensor and radiator cap the leak goes away.