Help with over heating

[memo43]

as the title says, my chero is driving me nuts, as far as overheating
lately I have been running 230sh on the temp gauge.
this is what I have done.
need 3 core aluminum radiator
new water pump
new hoses
stock 195 t stat, the PO had a 165
all new coolant the red stuff
twin elec fans running off relays
just made a shroud for them, the fans are about an 1" from the fins.
replaced the sending unit twice.

Should I drain the fluid and try another brand the green stuff
switch t stats to a 165 again.

this is a DD an I live at 5500 and work at 7000
timing is 14 degrees running and edelbrock intake and carb.

thanks for any and all pointers

memo

[Tatsadasayago]

Have you confirmed the temp reading is accurate? 230-ish should boil over or at least puke coolant into the catch bottle once the engine is shut down.
I suppose grabbing an infrared temp gun and pointing it at the upper and lower hoses as well as several areas of the radiator might give you an indication of where the cause lies.
Personally, I'm not a fan (Pun) of electric fans on FSJs simply because I don't believe they move enough air as the OEM fan clutch and shroud do.
When they are off I believe they actually slow down the incoming air.
When you say stock thermostat, is it the original or a new 195? I'm a firm believer in the Stant 195 thermostat and have no overheating problems here in the low lands running around when it's 115 outside--this with a clutch fan, shroud and OEM replacement radiator.
Several studies have shown that the Red/Dexcool and old style green coolants perform very much the same so I doubt it is the cause unless it's not mixed 50/50 with water.
I hope you sort this out Sir.

[memo43]

thanks for the input Tatsadasayago,
its a new 195 T stat, I replaced it in March as well as the radiator (OEM replacement),
I'm not puking fluid once I stop unless I press the pressure relief on the radiator cap,
I never had this issue until I replaced the T Stat,
hopefully pulling it and verifying its opening will cure it

[BCRAWLER]

Are you running a single belt or a dual belt for the water pump. Just went through this on my old Chevy daily driver and had a similar issue with my Jeep before I parked it. First thing I would suggest is to take the rad cap off and check to make sure you have flow once the engine hits operating temperature. To help me troubleshoot my Chevy I removed the thermostat completely. I am running a single belt. What I found was the single belt was not tight enough even though it looked to be. Tightened up the belt and I had flow. Couple of days later it started it overheat again and checked the belt which was loose again. It loosened up again on me. The third time what I did was put a bolt through the adjusting slot with a fender washer that touched the adjusting Bolt in the alternator. That was over a month ago and I have not had a problem since. I too run electric fans and engine fan. I believe a lean running engine can also cause overheating.

[memo43]

dual belt at the pulley, just checked they are both tight with less that a 1/4" of play,
I have ran it with the rad cap off to check flow,
I think I am going to pop the t stat and check it, my luck its probably up side down. I will also get a new to switch it out.
I may even drill a 1/8 hole in case I have air trapped in the system
I don't think I'm running lean.
I used a dial back timing light and adjust the carb with a vacuum gauge.
ill keep at it and report back, but until then ill keep trying to dissect the issue.

[csuengr]

Ditch the electric fans. Find a factory fan and shroud, get a good fan clutch, and you are set.

[will e]

Can you describe the symptoms?

[letank]

As said by the others, check the accuracy of the temp gauge with infrared thermometer, the thermostat housing area should be in the 195-200 range, and so will the top of the radiator. check inlet and outlet radiator hoses to make sure that the coolant is being cooled, about 50 to 70 temp differential depending on outside temp.

Double check at oil pan which will be 20 F higher.

ditch the e Fan, Increase the timing to about 17

be sure that the EGR is not partially opened

If you turn the heater to full heat and full fan does the temp gauge go down.

For the quick and dirty approach, drain and use pure water with water wetter or max cool, the water is a better heat transfer when the cooling system has issues, of course it will boil at a lower point but we want to see if the cooling is optimal.

For the little story after I installed the homebrewed CVR in the dash to replace the OEM CVR in the temp gauge, my temp is running at mid range, it was always a 1/4 above cold, but the infrared reads 195ish.

And last, when is the temp in the 230F, stop and go or freeway speed or going up from 5500 to 7000, in the latter case probably too much advance when flooring, you need to dial back the max advance

[memo43]

Thanks for the tips
Letank I'll adjust the timing
The egr is blocked off.

Will e
The temps raise during normal driving an can get up to 210 within normal driving
I have the heater lever set to hot am turn the fans on
It does little to lower the temps.
I might even bypass the heater core to see if that helps

[letank]

Thanks for the tips
Letank I'll adjust the timing
The egr is blocked off.

Will e
The temps raise during normal driving an can get up to 210 within normal driving
I have the heater lever set to hot am turn the fans on
It does little to lower the temps.
I might even bypass the heater core to see if that helps

Keep the heater core, it is a good heat sink.

As for the edelbrock carb.... I am no expert, so not too sure about setting it up for high altitude, but lets focus on the real temp reading

[will e]

If your thermostat was in backwards it would heat up pretty quick.

[Nikkormat]

Check the accuracy with a infrared thermometer as others have said. 230 should run like crap and my Cherokee would boil the fuel out of my Edelbrock carb if my coolant strayed above 210°.

[ShagWagon]

Could be the wrong spark plugs.

Happened to me once when they looked it up wrong and sold me some that were too long. I upgraded to their top line plugs and installed them not knowing they were for a different engine because I assumed the parts guy would look them up right.

I couldn't figure out why it was overheating till I pulled some plugs and they were disintegrated on the ends.

It was the last thing you could think of that caused the overheating.

[memo43]

Shagwagon
I'm running ngk 4054 plugs since they are 3/4 drive
What plugs are you using

[ShagWagon]

This happened to me 20+ years ago on a different 2.8 Jeep. I don't recall which ones they were. Just that I went through my whole cooling system trying to figure it out and never would have suspected that the spark plugs were too long and that was the cause.

I'm just helping you grasp at straws, because it seems you've checked all the usual culprits.

[letank]

Shagwagon
I'm running ngk 4054 plugs since they are 3/4 drive
What plugs are you using

running the champion 404 (recommended oem part here), and the X ref is different

http://www.sparkplug-crossreference.com ... AMP_PN/404

Anyone with another reference?

[memo43]

Thanks to all for the input,
well I finally solved the overheating issue.
the replacement t stat was stuck shut, popped the housing and inspected for obstruction in the intake
boiled the t stat (literally water boiling over) an nada
took a heat gun to it an still nada finally got it to open although it never really fully opened
replaced it with a 180 t stat made sure to boil it an drill two 1/8 holes to help with "Burping"
ran the engine with the cap off to allow and watch for coolant flow, verifying the water pump is working.
let it idle for 5 min to check for leaks, all is well
later I will take it on a shake down run.
Morale of the story always verify T Stat to ensure they function,
thanks to all for the pointers and not letting me do something really crazy

[will e]

Good news! One year at ouray my theromstat stuck. Someone picked up a replacement for me at Montrose and I did just what you said. I tested it. I also tested the old one. One of the guys gave me a ton of grief over double checking but I side with you on this one...

[memo43]

just wish we didn't have to check NEW parts,
but I guess the extra minute or so is what gives us the piece of mind,
now to do a complete system flush and figure out what coolant to use, currently have Dexcool the red stuff.
then to enjoy the drive

[will e]

Why flush and replace? If it is working I say leave well enough alone!