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This closed system sucksss!!!!

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Old 09-24-2011, 08:13 PM
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Default This closed system sucksss!!!!

Today my jeep decide to spill all of its smelly green guts everywhere (coolant) for the 3 time since i've had it!!!!! I had the radiator boiled, replaced all the hoses and the coolant bottle, along with the cap, about a month and a half ago. Then today I drove up a somewhat long hill, while towing a small trailer with 2 dirtbikes on the back, and once i got to the top steam started coming out from the hood. I popped it and low and behold my coolant bottle had a crack in it and the coolant was squirting everywhere! What do I do now? I'm tired of spilling all my fluid everywhere. I want to convert it to an open system but i don't want to buy a new radiator. Is there some way i can add a radiator cap to my existing radiator? Any help is appreciated. Thanks.
Old 09-24-2011, 08:26 PM
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go to the bone yard and pull everything that hooks up to the cooling system... you can even look around and find a Jeep with good hoses if you are a cheap ***
Old 09-24-2011, 09:57 PM
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Whats the point of that cause i already have new hoses? I would just be swapping in hoses that are sketchy and probably have been sitting there a long time. Is there someway i can attach a radiator cap so it would pressurize that instead of the bottle?
Old 09-25-2011, 12:07 AM
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Have you replaced the water pump and the thermostat? Did you flush the heating system prior to installing the freshly cleaned radiator? Also, make sure that your fan clutch is working properly.
Old 09-25-2011, 01:02 AM
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cheapest way to do it is buy one of these:
Amazon.com: Dorman 902-305 Coolant Filler Neck: Automotive Amazon.com: Dorman 902-305 Coolant Filler Neck: Automotive
and a cap for it, put it in the upper hose. then scrap the pressure bottle and plumb your heater line directly to the heater core, use an overflow bottle of your choice.
Old 09-25-2011, 05:46 AM
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hate the bottle too but in a jam the hoses that connect to the bottle can be connected together (little one fits inside the bigger one clamp n pray) i have gotten home a few times like this its not a fix just a way to limp home
Old 09-25-2011, 06:01 AM
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ive never had a problem with this... am i doing something right? lol guess we'll find out when i travel to WV, all those mountains ..
Old 09-25-2011, 07:41 AM
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Originally Posted by biztyke
cheapest way to do it is buy one of these: Amazon.com: Dorman 902-305 Coolant Filler Neck: Automotive and a cap for it, put it in the upper hose. then scrap the pressure bottle and plumb your heater line directly to the heater core, use an overflow bottle of your choice.
that is a GREAT idea... I plan to do this to my buddies old RENIX rig
Old 09-25-2011, 08:18 AM
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Dropped open cooling system from a 92 into my wifes 89 Renix. Best thing I ever did to it.
Old 09-25-2011, 09:25 AM
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I got tired of replacing the plastic bottle in my 89 4.0 and bought this.
http://macsradiator.com/shop/surge-o...ill-tanks.html
Sure Its 130.00 but you'll never have to replace the bottle again. I just put a new rad in and the new bottles I put in would either not allow the cap to thread on right or would spring a leak at the seams.that was 4 years ago and stil have no complaints. I do like the closed system once everything is burped/bleed of the air.
Old 09-25-2011, 10:35 AM
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you need to eliminate the bottle. there is a a radiator filler tee (got mine from jegs) that you cut right inline of your upper rad hose. plug the heater hoses with something that fits in ther tight then clamp them .put small hose on overflow nipple and run it to a jug. or chang the radiator. i seen it on a youtube video. called (1987 jeep cherokee overheating problem cheap remedy ) cost 30 for the tee and took about 30 minutes to fix. i went through 7 bottles in the last three months before i finally did this.
Old 09-25-2011, 10:40 AM
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Originally Posted by crash02
I got tired of replacing the plastic bottle in my 89 4.0 and bought this.
http://macsradiator.com/shop/surge-o...ill-tanks.html
Sure Its 130.00 but you'll never have to replace the bottle again. I just put a new rad in and the new bottles I put in would either not allow the cap to thread on right or would spring a leak at the seams.that was 4 years ago and stil have no complaints. I do like the closed system once everything is burped/bleed of the air.
that is what i was looking for for a long time and couldnt find anything like it.
Old 09-25-2011, 10:46 AM
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I say do what I did. I've had that problem since I bought my jeep. Constant boiling. What I did is went to the JunkYard and snagged up an entire system out of a newer xj with an open system. Direct swap. Problem is gone. You'll need to get a new temperature switch for the aux fan if you don't want to wire up a switch. I wired mine to a switch in the kick board. I've never been happier with my cooling system.
Old 09-25-2011, 11:03 AM
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I put a pressure bottle from Macs Radiators in mine.It was the esiest thing to do at the time.Haven't had a problem sinse.Been 3 years now.
Old 09-26-2011, 08:29 PM
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Originally Posted by TigWiz
Have you replaced the water pump and the thermostat? Did you flush the heating system prior to installing the freshly cleaned radiator? Also, make sure that your fan clutch is working properly.
I replaced the thermostat and the housing along with all the hoses and flushed out the heater core. Its not the fact that my jeep overheated, cause it didn't. Its just the fact that my bottle that i just bought a month ago somehow cracked a hole in it that frustrates me.

Originally Posted by biztyke
cheapest way to do it is buy one of these: Amazon.com: Dorman 902-305 Coolant Filler Neck: Automotive and a cap for it, put it in the upper hose. then scrap the pressure bottle and plumb your heater line directly to the heater core, use an overflow bottle of your choice.
Thats what i plan on doing but with one from jegs since its aluminum

Originally Posted by crash02
I got tired of replacing the plastic bottle in my 89 4.0 and bought this.
http://macsradiator.com/shop/surge-o...ill-tanks.html
Sure Its 130.00 but you'll never have to replace the bottle again. I just put a new rad in and the new bottles I put in would either not allow the cap to thread on right or would spring a leak at the seams.that was 4 years ago and stil have no complaints. I do like the closed system once everything is burped/bleed of the air.
I looked at this, but i don't want to spend 130 on a bottle alone when i can convert to an open system for cheaper and just be done messing with it.

Originally Posted by 89cher40
you need to eliminate the bottle. there is a a radiator filler tee (got mine from jegs) that you cut right inline of your upper rad hose. plug the heater hoses with something that fits in ther tight then clamp them .put small hose on overflow nipple and run it to a jug. or chang the radiator. i seen it on a youtube video. called (1987 jeep cherokee overheating problem cheap remedy ) cost 30 for the tee and took about 30 minutes to fix. i went through 7 bottles in the last three months before i finally did this.
Exactly what i want to do thanks! I looked around and i read that you route the hose thats just below the rad cap to the bottom of the existing bottle, but other than this im pretty lost on how to route the hoses


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