XJ radiators, a review.

[kastein]

I'm actually still on the crummy aluminum and plastic OE equivalent I installed summer '21... bought it at CAP, no idea who made it. I was using the truck to shuttle moving boxes up the hill from my house to the shipping pod for a cross country move and it decided to overheat and blow the end tank out, and I needed the truck to be running again an hour ago, so I simply got what was available and figured I'd upgrade "later". Well, 3 whole years and a cross country move later, I still haven't, and it still cools well enough that I barely hit 180 in 100 degree temps because I've been far too lazy to replace my thermostat again. It gets into closed loop and has good-enough heat in the winter, so there is little to no motivation to do anything about that.

I have pretty much decided through inertia that I use whatever cheap crap radiator is available when I need one and they all seem to work fine so I probably will never "upgrade".

 

[maxbraketorque]

Kind of interesting to see an evolving view point that a quality single row may be the best option. If my Cold Case leaks, I'm definitely going to try a Spectra Premium next.

 

[algebraic429]

Kind of interesting to see an evolving view point that a quality single row may be the best option. If my Cold Case leaks, I'm definitely going to try a Spectra Premium next.

From my armchair novice perspective and from talking to my mechanic who has 20+ years working on mostly jeeps I believe the issue with the aluminum radiators is quality control, and air flow. In my example previous owner installed a 4row oversized radiator thats also thicker but is running the stock fan set up. With the AC on temps creep up and keep going up and the aux fan makes difference. Ive confirmed and replaced everything else it shouldn't do this but the cooling system is borderline so that on a hot day with the ac it pushes it over the edge. I think the extra rows, size and thickness reduces the effectiveness of the air flow just enough to do this. im going to swap in a stock radiator to confirm my thoughts but just my 2 cents.

 

[frijolee]

FWIW I bought a champion BC 1193. It's stout, but damn the cooling capacity is bad. Runs a full notch on the temp gauge higher than my stocker did on any hill. Overheated 6 times trying to drive up to ~14k feet. Rating the thing at 600 hp is a joke. I'm on mild bolt ons and can't make 150 hp. Bar and plate is not for things that care about cooling in any form of steady state. Thankfully, I realized this before 60 days and Champion let me return the BC1193. I was tempted give the Champion EC1193 a try as traditional tube and fin, but finally went with the general recommendation here:

Just got. Surprised they haven't solved the o-ring issue yet, but I was able to carve a relief under the big aluminum bolt head so the o-ring has a place to land.

 

[sberrett]

Is anyone actually running a Spectra or one of the plastic tank aluminum single cores that its based off?


My CSF 2760 only lasted 3 years and just started leaking from the side tank. I previously had the 3 core version of the CSF and will say it did better then this 2 core version, but both radiators are exceptionally hot running overall in my 94. Highway they are fine, but stop and go not so much. They always crept up to 224, trigger the efan, drop back to 208, rinse and repeat.


Wading through this whole post I see people stating that they live in hot environment's and they sit at 195-210 with the AC on. This is the cooling system I want, but just cant find the right radiator to do the job. I have replaced everything in the cooling system for my 94 and it just always runs hot, esp on inclines. Even in fair weather. Summer temps it's just always running hotter than i'd like.

I hear great things about the oem style plastic tank radiators, but am very wary of their durability. I've probably gone through this thread chain 3 times and am still undecided. Leaning towards a Champion right now, but for shits and giggle want to see if a Spectra can live up to its reviews.

 

[cal]

Is anyone actually running a Spectra or one of the plastic tank aluminum single cores that its based off?


My CSF 2760 only lasted 3 years and just started leaking from the side tank. I previously had the 3 core version of the CSF and will say it did better then this 2 core version, but both radiators are exceptionally hot running overall in my 94. Highway they are fine, but stop and go not so much. They always crept up to 224, trigger the efan, drop back to 208, rinse and repeat.


Wading through this whole post I see people stating that they live in hot environment's and they sit at 195-210 with the AC on. This is the cooling system I want, but just cant find the right radiator to do the job. I have replaced everything in the cooling system for my 94 and it just always runs hot, esp on inclines. Even in fair weather. Summer temps it's just always running hotter than i'd like.

I hear great things about the oem style plastic tank radiators, but am very wary of their durability. I've probably gone through this thread chain 3 times and am still undecided. Leaning towards a Champion right now, but for shits and giggle want to see if a Spectra can live up to its reviews.

No.

They don't get it done.

 

[dktool]

I have been using the single row, plastic tank "cheapy" in my '98 for YEARS, no issue with temp.

Stock engine, water pump etc.....

 

[JonnyCat63]

I've had the best luck with either the Champion BC1193, or the Spectra premium. I currently run both. The BC1193 is in my 99 trail rig, 4:56 on 33's. I run a Cold Case in my wife's 97, (4:11/32's), and a custom built one in my 95, (4:11/31's). The Spectra is in my son's bone stock 99.

I've posted on other threads here that I think I've read every thread on the internet about the XJ's radiator problems. My conclusion: the radiator setup on the XJ's is barely adequate for a stock rig, and no one really knows why they overheat and what the solution is. Everyone, myself included, throws parts at it and sees what happens. I have 4 XJ's, 3 trail rigs, and one bone stock. I've fucked around with each cooling system and changed every conceivable part related to the cooling system, including cats, and on every trail rig I still fight with temp creep. My solution for the 3 trail rigs has been to wire e-fan bypass switches and mitigate the temp creeps that way.

The BC1193 works the best out of the trail rigs, but honestly, the Spectra in my son's bone stock 99 works the best out of all of them. He never has any overheating issues. But, it's like comparing apples to oranges, as his XJ never sees off road. I don't know if the bigger tires, gearing, lifts, type of wheeling, all taxes the XJ's cooling system a bit too much.

Now the BC1193 is pricey. I'd be tempted to run the Spectra and see what happens. However, I don't have any experience with the Spectra off road.

Clear as mud?

 

[XJ_ranger]

I was baited by marketing and bought a cold case. it leaked in 6 months, warranty wanted another $50 for shipping. I tossed in an Amazon plastic tank unit to get by while I warrantied it. never warrantied it, been 1.5 years of good service from the amazon $100 unit.

33's, 3.55's, 2 car seats in the back seat.

 

[Anak]

I've posted on other threads here that I think I've read every thread on the internet about the XJ's radiator problems. My conclusion: the radiator setup on the XJ's is barely adequate for a stock rig, and no one really knows why they overheat and what the solution is.

I have not had overheating issues, and I have a manual.

I have seen others post suspicions that the automatic transmission is part of the overheating issue. Putting in a separate tranny cooler and capping off the in-radiator cooler might be worth testing.

 

[JonnyCat63]

I have not had overheating issues, and I have a manual.

I have seen others post suspicions that the automatic transmission is part of the overheating issue. Putting in a separate tranny cooler and capping off the in-radiator cooler might be worth testing.

Already done that on all 3 trail rigs. Sons stock rig still has trans lines running through radiator.

I've done just about everything you can imagine to get to the bottom of the overheating problem with no clear solution. I have a couple of theories, though. One is that a clogged heater core can cause flow issues. I've even bypassed the heater core on 2 of the XJ's.

Another is that one or more of the coolant passages in either the block or head become constricted with corrosion and restrict the flow of coolant. Yet another, and the most plausible is that the squatty design of the XJ radiator, due to the short nose of the grille, prevents the coolant from flowing over a larger area than most other taller radiators. I think the whole system is marginal at best, and is always on the edge of overheating. When one or more of the components stops functioning even a little bit, it throws the whole system into disarray.

I've discussed and explained this whole cooling dilemma with my chemist brother in law, who is a car guy and way smarter than I'll ever be, and he speculates, based on my symptoms, that it is an air flow issue relating to too low of a surface area. I can keep the temps down when running my e-fan with the over-ride switch. That's the only way I can do it on all 3 of my trail rigs. This points to an air flow issue, otherwise, that wouldn't work.

Other jeeps like CJ, YJ, Tj, etc, all have taller radiators and don't seem to have nearly the overheating problems that XJ's do. It just seems to be too widespread to be a coincidence that XJ's have overheating issues.

I just think the XJ radiator is too short and small and doesn't have enough surface area and flow to properly dissipate heat through the core of the radiator.

I could be wrong, but there is no one that I have found that can conclusively point to a fix. I've found no published information where some one has said, "this is the exact issue, and here is the fix." It seems to be always shooting a parts cannon at it, and seeing what happens.

 

[JonnyCat63]

I was baited by marketing and bought a cold case. it leaked in 6 months, warranty wanted another $50 for shipping. I tossed in an Amazon plastic tank unit to get by while I warrantied it. never warrantied it, been 1.5 years of good service from the amazon $100 unit.

33's, 3.55's, 2 car seats in the back seat.

I have a Cold Case on my 97, and it's just okay. It replaced an American Eagle one from LedFoot Racing. That American Eagle one was great. Never overheated, but unfortunately, it sprung a leak and they don't offer that model any more. I should have just had it repaired.

I'm thinking the Spectra Premium is the way to go. Cheaper and effective. I just can't figure out why those radiators work better than many others. It doesn't make any sense to me.

 

[Unclewolverine]

I've had the best luck with either the Champion BC1193, or the Spectra premium. I currently run both. The BC1193 is in my 99 trail rig, 4:56 on 33's. I run a Cold Case in my wife's 97, (4:11/32's), and a custom built one in my 95, (4:11/31's). The Spectra is in my son's bone stock 99.

I've posted on other threads here that I think I've read every thread on the internet about the XJ's radiator problems. My conclusion: the radiator setup on the XJ's is barely adequate for a stock rig, and no one really knows why they overheat and what the solution is. Everyone, myself included, throws parts at it and sees what happens. I have 4 XJ's, 3 trail rigs, and one bone stock. I've fucked around with each cooling system and changed every conceivable part related to the cooling system, including cats, and on every trail rig I still fight with temp creep. My solution for the 3 trail rigs has been to wire e-fan bypass switches and mitigate the temp creeps that way.

The BC1193 works the best out of the trail rigs, but honestly, the Spectra in my son's bone stock 99 works the best out of all of them. He never has any overheating issues. But, it's like comparing apples to oranges, as his XJ never sees off road. I don't know if the bigger tires, gearing, lifts, type of wheeling, all taxes the XJ's cooling system a bit too much.

Now the BC1193 is pricey. I'd be tempted to run the Spectra and see what happens. However, I don't have any experience with the Spectra off road.

Clear as mud?

I run a cheap spectra on my 96 mail jeep. 100 degrees, 100% humidity, stop and go covering 122 miles in 5 hours, ac running. Stays at 200-205 on the mechanical gauge I have. No mods, all stock. Without the ac running it will turn on the e fan a couple times in the very high density section.