A little over a year ago I was bored and installed a Wix bypass coolant filter in my 87. Before I installed it, I cleaned the hell out of the original system, added the filter and then changed it after 3 months. Quite a bit of gunk was in the filter when I cut it open.

It's been a year now on the new filter, and I will take it off, cut it open, and attempt to upload pictures this weekend. I haven't posted pictures yet, so if I have problems I'll let you know.

I think it will be interesting to see if there still remains crud in a "clean" system. At least to me

 

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Filter removed, going to pour in container




Bunch of sandy, gritty junk came out




This came from the filter can bottom




The can




The pleats were all covered with a paste like mud

So there you have it. I have owned this Jeep since new, and have always
maintained it per the factory maintenance schedule, basically a flush and fill every couple of years.

Before I added the coolant filter, I flushed and filled 4 times. This is the 3rd coolant filter to be replaced, and it was on one year. The other filters had similar gunk in them, but I swapped them out at about 3 months each.

I won't say you need a coolant filter, but since I am still on my original heater core and radiator, I feel it might be of some benefit. That grit seems like it would do a number on the water pump seals.

 

Pretty interesting to me. Is it just producing itself? I usually only use distilled water when topping off my systems.

 

Factory recommended interval for coolant change is 22,500 miles.

 

Or 22.5 months.

 

Whichever comes first.

 

 

have a picture of the setup? sounds like a great idea

 

That would be at least three years for mine, better go with months instead.

 

I got the idea from Naxja, "coolant filter install". Not sure how to post a link, but google will get you there. Basically, it is a Wix filter adapter that taps into your heater hose. I got mine from fleetfilter.com and mounted it below the radiator. Not a hard job. Let me know if you have any questions after you go to Naxja.

 

I just fixed a busted radiator and the several drains i had to do was clean but if i hadn't had to do that, I would be all over this mod

 

So if you have owned the XJ from new, where is the gunk coming from?

My 98 that I bought a year ago(100k on the 4.0) came with a severely neglected cooling system. Since I have flushed and refilled at least 4 times, replaced all hoses, water pump, tsat, and radiator. The coolant is no longer mud brown, but still nowhere near clean. Might have to install a filter to help further clean up the system.

 

im sure some is rust

 

I don't know what this stuff is. While I've owned the Jeep since new, I was not as fanatical about maintenance as I have been in the last 4 years or so. Due to the imploding economy, my Jeep became my daily driver. Maybe this is just granulated rust coming off the block? Any ideas?