My 2016 JKU Rubicon has some modifications, 35" tires, 2.5" lift, bumpers, minimal under carriage plating. Runs hot in the summer under load, uphill, at high speed, or on trail up steep grade. looking to install aftermarket aluminum radiator. Considering aFe Power Bladerunner or Flex-a-Lite. Any thoughts? Experience with aftermarket radiators improving the cooling?

 

What kind of temps are you seeing? The 3.6L tends to run a little on the warm side as it is. The aluminum rads def help keep things a bit cooler due to larger capacities, but they are not without their own issues as they tend form cracks and leak. If they were bullet proof, they'd probably be worth the money, but their cost just makes it that much more frustrating to deal with nagging issues. I think you'll find several bad reviews of the Mishimoto. I can't necessarily recall much about the Flex-a-lite. Not a ton installing them due to price. Someone else asked about the AFE Bladerunner not long ago it seems, and it looks pretty interesting and at a much more reasonable price tag. It seems since then a user on a different forum has posted what looks to be a pretty good review (well, more installation write-up than review) if you have yet to see it (I try to not post links to elsewhere, but this seems like good information) -

https://www.wranglerforum.com/f202/a...w-2345133.html

If you do go the AFE route, please follow-up on your thoughts! I've had a couple AFE products in the past, and currently have a y-pipe installed on my jeep. Always been happy with the quality of their items.

 

Thank you and will do on aFe if I move forward there. Temps: Goes up to 240 on steeps, short steeps....at 60mph or at trail speeds. All on hot days. Cool days, less weight or flat running no issues. Temps soars quickly and drops quickly once we level out. Have brought it in to Chrysler and been on Jeep blogs and this is not unusual. I personally hate going that hot but Jeep says its normal with the extra aftermarket weight and not to worry unless I get up north of 250 degrees at which point I'll overheat.

 

Y, I hear ya. I'm in Texas and run 5.13 gears with 37s on my 3.6L, so I'm ~3k rpm at highway speeds. This summer when temps got up over 100*, I'd have to watch my coolant temps carefully. There were a couple times I looked down and was close to 240* myself! Really only seemed when temps were well over 100* and I know my mods don't help with a stinger and winch blocking some air flow. I typically run about 218-220* on average, and that seems high to me. I do know my fan kicks on around 224*, and off around 210*. I don't see paying $1k or so for a rad in my future. The sub $400 Afe model seems interesting if it was a performance improvement, but that seems a bit slimmer than the GT model that guy installed as he mentioned down lower in that thread. It seems capacity is the big factor in reducing the temps, so wonder if the sub $400 model would be much different than factory.

 

Thank you! I hear the same from so many folks. Automatics run hot even with supplemental trans coolers to offload a bit from the radiator. Some have installed a "pusher fan" and that also appears to help. Will continue to evaluate and perhaps try one or both over time. The high heat is just too much. Others have done a computer mod to get the fan to turn on sooner while others claim the Jeep computer prevents that change. Some good ideas from fellow jeepers so trying to figure the best long term fix. With the radiators - yes capacity and fin/fin designs for heat dissipation seem to be the factors that can help.

 

Hey guys,

Just wanted to pop in and share some info since we were mentioned. We have made some updates to our JK radiator to improve reliability. Since making those updates (about a year ago) we have sold quite a few rads and replaced close to as many of the previous version with it and have seen 0 come back for warranty so far. My job isn't to sell you anything, so I'll just leave a link to a short post that outlines the updates to our rad and if you have any questions, you can feel free to PM us. We hope whatever rad you end up going with helps you enjoy your JK year-round!

Mishimoto 2007-2018 Jeep Wrangler Performance Radiator Update

Thanks,
-Steve

 

Thanks for that info and the review. Good review for the installation piece. Didn't see his post install comments related to whether it fixed the overheating issue. His challenge sounds identical to mine on the overheating.

 

I'm running 35s, with about 3in lift, and am pretty heavy, about 700-800 lbs above stock.

I had similar heating issues last summer, went through the entire cooling system, replacing all of it, ended up being the factory radiator was plugged up (flushing it twice didn't unplug it even with the dealer using their machine to flush it.) ended up replacing the radiator with a Mopar factory radiator, and now all is well, even on a heavily loaded 12 day road trip up to Moab and back.

I am running the 6 speed, and I know that helps, but from what I have seen, if something isn't messed up with the factory system, and the mods aren't outrageous, it can handle quite a bit of abuse from the engine. I know several people running super chargers with 37s/38s and 4in lifts on the factory system with no problems.

Mine runs around 213 at idle, and fully loaded down with the family/gear it sits around 224 - 226 under normal operation. Some long steep hill clubs on the highway going to Moab she got up to 229-230. When the fan kicked into the higher speed at 230, it always knocked it way back down.

How this helps.
Happy Jeeping!

 

Anything in front of your grill? (winch, modified grill, one of those flag inserts) That would contribute to this.

 

I'm looking at putting a new radiator and 180 degree thermostat in my '14 supercharged JKU to help cool it down a bit. I have a Griffin radiator that has been in my garage since my last JK (luckily it will fit this one) and I'll probably pick up the Ripp 180 degree thermostat. Hope this provides some results. Anyone elso done something similar and had results?