The plastic ended radiators on JKs are known to crack and leak over time. I'd rather not wait for stuff break especially since this is my wife's truck so I had SJF Performance put in some preventative upgrades for me so I wouldn't have to worry about anything later. The radiator was replaced with a more efficient Mishimoto all aluminum radiator. New Mishimoto silicon radiator hoses and a new 203F thermostat was also put in while it was out. Unfortunately, this radiator doesn't have all the same brackets as factory so it's not quite a direct replacement but it does, otherwise, fit in quite well.
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| New coolant getting vacuum filled in |
The heater core failure is also fairly common on these Jeeps and I definitely don't want to have to replace that later. Regular coolant flushes seem to be the recommended preventative maintenance for that. Of course, a new radiator means new coolant going in anyway so getting that maintenance out of the way worked out nicely too. I just went with standard Mopar OAT purple coolant here which is what they recommend for 2013+ Jeeps. SJF noted that he pressure tested the coolant system prior to filling and it held vacuum extremely well (no movement in the needle whatsoever) so I know everything is sealed nicely.
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| New thermostat, radiator and hoses installed |
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| New thermostat, radiator and hoses installed |
One of the things we notice every time the Jeep is on the lift is that there seems to be quite a lot of tension on the brake lines with the wheels hanging down. This is no good for when we take the car off road since at maximum articulation, even at stock height, having something pull on a brake line is the last thing you want. My initial plan was to replace them with stainless braided lines but everyone that makes stainless lines for the Jeep designs them for a lifted setup. It was clear that those were going to be too long since we're sticking with stock height so we just put in fresh OEM style brake lines and got relocation brackets to move the line further down a few inches to give the necessary slack needed to avoid turning the brake line into a musical instrument.
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| Brake line relocation |
The Jeep now runs a bit cooler and we're ready for some off road fun in May without any further brake concerns.
Maintenance Update:
Mileage: 70,463
- New Mishimoto Radiator
- New Mishimoto upper and lower silicon radiator hoses
- New 203F thermostat
- Approximately 2.5 Gallons of Mopar OAT purple coolant
- New OEM style rubber brake lines
- Brake fluid flush with Bosch ESI6-32N DOT 5.1 Brake Fluid
- Diff fluid change front and rear with Royal Purple MaxGear 75W-90 (1 qt front, 2 quarts rear)
