2003 Jeep Wrangler Overheats after 1-hour of driving at 60+

ARTIZON

MEMBER
2003 JEEP WRANGLER
6 CYL
4WD
MANUAL
78,000 MILES

The car runs a little bit hot to begin with - just a little over the midpoint on my gauge. When driving on the freeway at 65+ mph for about an hour, on a warm (65+ degrees fahrenheit), the gauge begins to climb towards the red. I have to turn the heater on at full blast in order to cool it down or pull over, turn the engine off for a few minutes. I just had the 3,000 mile oil-change and fluid checkups a month ago and wad was told that all's well. The jeep does not overheat when just driving city streets at 35-50 mph...

My mechanic told me that there is no way to know what the problem is unless the overheating event is somehow duplicated when in the shop.

What the heck could it be???

3 Replies

BLACKOP555

MECHANIC
10,371 POSTS

Whatever it is it is gradual. Try taking a air compressor and blowing out the radiator and conensor and make sure the fins arnt bent over.

Aside from that is the vehicle running lean or ignition timing off. Your mechanic can check for that unless you have access to a scan tool

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Friday, June 4th, 2010 AT 7:11 PM

CJ MEDEVAC

MECHANIC
11,005 POSTS

See my profile, I do not know your rig well, I'm a CJ guy. What about checking the following:

Squishy old, lower radiator hose, sucking flat (no spring inside, due to waterpump suction)?

Thermostat?

Fan Clutch (if yours is mechanical, belt driven), defective and freewheeling?

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The Medic

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Friday, June 11th, 2010 AT 10:53 PM

ARTIZON

MEMBER
2 POSTS

Thanks to both of you for your very helpful tips. Because of them, I was able to speak with mechanics about my vehicle's issues without sounding like a complete moron (which I am, by the way, when it comes to auto mechanics).

My mechanic replaced the thermostat and the fan clutch.

The problem seems to have gone away. We'll see when I go on a road trip next weekend.

Thanks again!

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Monday, June 28th, 2010 AT 12:32 PM