Was out wheeling today, and I was going through some mud/water for about a minute or so (not super deep). The temp gauge started to climb near the red so I parked the Jeep and noticed a significant amount of smoke pouring out of the hood. I found that the plastic radiator tank on the passenger side split open and drained all my coolant out.. Towed it to a small town where relatives live and left it there, got a ride home with my buddy.

The radiator, water pump, and thermostat are all less than 3 years old, what could have caused this to happen??

Im kind of hoping the head gasket didn't blow and push enough air into the system to explode the tank like that.

Thoughts/Opinions?

 

Can't imagine a properly functioning radiator cap not releasing pressure way before the pressure that would rupture hoses/radiator but that doesn't do u any good. Cold water splashed onto a really hot surface can cause rapid contraction/cracking.

 

I've also been having cooling troubles with the Jeep. Around town and on the highway it Never goes much over 1/4 temp on the gauge. But when driving through mud and putting lots of load on the motor it heats up really quickly and hits close to 3/4, sometimes close to the red.. Never been able to figure out why.

 

If the cooling system and temp gauge are functioning correctly, it shouldn't operate at +/- the 1/4 mark......that's +/-155F and that's not good but not quite as bad as overheating. Mud can easily clog the exterior of the rad and cause overheating.....so can a bad fan clutch.....the list goes on and on.....time to solve the problem as really hot weather is just around the corner.

 

Like I said though, around town on even the hottest days it runs cool as can be. But under heavy load aka offroading it runs twice as hot

 

sounds like you had some air in the cooling system with the temperature changes like that

 

Yeah I dont know.. This Jeep is very odd..

 

All I'm saying is, if it's running at/about the 1/4 mark, and that's accurate, that ain't right and that ain't good. Too cool is almost as bad as too hot. U need to verify what the gauge is telling u with another (known accurate) gauge....infrared temp gun maybe. Cooling system issues need prompt attention.

 

my old mustang had problems with the temperature going all crazy like this. after doing some research i found that i needed to burp the air outta the cooling system. after i did this it was normal but you very well could have been running warmer than your temp gauge was saying and because your coolant wasn't making contact with your sensor it was reading cooler. one easy way i've heard about removing the air in a cooling system is to drill a small hole in the top of your thermostat so air can escape.

 

T-stats do not seal air or water tight and '91 up open systems, with a properly function rad cap, bleed air out during the warm-up cycle and replace the air with coolant during the cool-down cycle. This all presuming the cooling system is not leaking anywhere.

 

ok, that makes sense. i wasn't sure. well not sure on your temp changes than.

 

 

Is it still under warranty?.....most of the chain parts stores have lifetime a warranty on the rads they sell.

 

Refrain from doing this. Bleeding air out can be done several ways.