Overheating/Leaking Issues

[AirWrangler]

For those of you who were at Choco this past weekend, you are aware that my radiator had a pretty bad leak.  Well I've replaced the radiator and the thermostat and the leaking has stopped from the radiator but is now coming from the thermostat and I am still overheating. Before I take the thermostat off and return it, I want to make sure if where it is leaking from is normal and see if there is another reason my engine is still overheating.

I will say that my radiator fan is not turning on. I watched the temp to my engine get over 210 degrees and it never kicked on once. However, TJ Todd heard my fan kick on at Choco when I was going down iRoc. I haven't heard it come on since. The radiator is full of coolant, there are no other leaks and everything hooked back up so I am not sure what could be causing my engine to continue to overheat. I have a feeling I may need to replace my water pump but I don't want to do that till I know for certain that is the issue because I can't imagine that is going to be easy.  Any help from anyone will be greatly appreciated.

I circled in red where the leak is coming from in the thermostat.

[Xtremdude]

Check the connector on the side of the fan. I had that issue and it was a loose connection... I tighten it up and It never overheated again. If the fan is not coming on.. that could be the reason you are overheating now. Combined with the other issues, one problem at a time and diagnose, don't throw parts at it.

[AirWrangler]

Thanks for the tip. I will go ahead and check that. I've already stopped the leaking and I am about to burp the system. After that, it should just leave the fan.

[TJ Nick]

What year is your Jeep? I don’t think 210 is hot enough for the fan to kick on, I may be wrong though. Hop on google and see what you can come up with, I’m not familiar with the electric fans as the TJs have an engine driven clutch fan. That being said if you have any clogs in your cooling system or a bad fan it will cause it to run hot. Also air in the system will cause it to run hot as well. Make sure you have the right mixture of coolant and water. If you just replaced the radiator and thermostat I hope you did an entire system flush.


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[AirWrangler]

It is a 2013. I have burped and flushed the system. I am able to run cooler now but I am still pushing over 200. Every now and then I get into the 220s mainly in stop and go traffic. I may try to do another flush though.  While I was burping it yesterday I saw some crap surface that I should try to flush out.

[TJ Nick]

Did you flush it yet? Don’t waste your money on the flush cleaner. Just drain 1 gallon of coolant/water from your system. Refill with 1 gallon of distilled white vinegar. Start your Jeep, let it get up to temp and run for a few minutes, let it cool. Once cooled, start Jeep again and let it get up to temp/run. Shut off and then let sit overnight. Drain the system the following day and you will see some nasty stuff come out. Refill with manufactures recommended coolant and water. Also if your ratio of coolant to water is off that can cause your vehicle to run hot.


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[John Woodington]

2013 JK's have a 203 degree thermostat so reaching 200 and 210 is going to be the norm.

I don't know what pressure the JK cooling system is designed to run at but your radiator cap has an 18psi relief so it'll be little less than that. We know distilled water boils at 212 and a mix of 50/50 coolant boils at 226. However, under 15psi of pressure, the boiling temperature of water goes up to 250. Now if you add in 50/50 coolant under the same pressure, your boiling point is 265 which isn't that much higher. Your coolant systems pressure is the primary defense against boiling over so if you're spewing fluid, you're loosing pressure.

The other thing to consider is the burping of your system. I burped my V8 over and over and it still would get too hot. I jacked up the front of the jeep a foot and managed to get another 1.5 gallons in.