PEAK PUTTERS

i'm on my second radiator in my TJ, the first being an aluminum HD rad that cracked twice my the lower output in between the fins. i now have an HD copper/brass radiator that is leaking the same way.

i'm thinking that the front end of my jeep flexes too much and is cracking the radiator.

has anyone else had this problem?

i think i'm going to have to come up with some rubber mounts for the radiator...

I don't have much experience with jeep radiators but I can tell you that good rubber mounts really help out on a tractor - so I can't see anything wrong with going that way.

I know that my dads bronco uses rubber mounts for the radiator. Or will soon have rubber mounts, we're in the process of building it still....

jeepin4life wrote:I know that my dads bronco uses rubber mounts for the radiator. Or will soon have rubber mounts, we're in the process of building it still....

I've taken radiators out of a couple dodge pickups and one out of a minivan. They all had rubber mounts - I find it surprising that the jeep does not. I'm gonna have to take a closer look at mine now.

mattawajeep wrote:

jeepin4life wrote:I know that my dads bronco uses rubber mounts for the radiator. Or will soon have rubber mounts, we're in the process of building it still....

I've taken radiators out of a couple dodge pickups and one out of a minivan. They all had rubber mounts - I find it surprising that the jeep does not. I'm gonna have to take a closer look at mine now.

When the core support is mounted on rubber mounts there is no point to having the radiator mounted on rubber too. Some rigs like older gm trucks had the lower rubber mount on the frame and the upper mount on the core support. Under sever use the radiator would be crushed when the frame twisted.

White trash wrote:
When the core support is mounted on rubber mounts there is no point to having the radiator mounted on rubber too. Some rigs like older gm trucks had the lower rubber mount on the frame and the upper mount on the core support. Under sever use the radiator would be crushed when the frame twisted.

And now that I'm not posting on my phone I'll go into better detail..




Jeeps have a rubber isolated body and core support so they can get away with a solid mounted radiator just fine. Most imports are the same way but fixing that issue isn't very hard at all. It is very easy to drill the mounting bolt holes out in the radiator and remount it with stud type shock bushings and longer bolts. That's exactly what I did on my truck when I tossed the stock core support and built a new one out of tube and 10 gauge plate. Wheeled it for a year like that and no issues to date.

Those rubber studs are a good idea.

I have no Idea why I keep going through radiators but I had the previous aluminum rad fixed twice and now this one for the same problem and leaking in the same place. It does seem like it always starts after I get it real crossed up out wheelin, part of what makes me think that the grille flexes too much

jeepin4life wrote:It does seem like it always starts after I get it real crossed up out wheelin, part of what makes me think that the grille flexes too much

Do you have a body lift on it? Are the rubber bumpstops still in place on the corners of the core support/grill shell?

White trash wrote:

jeepin4life wrote:It does seem like it always starts after I get it real crossed up out wheelin, part of what makes me think that the grille flexes too much

Do you have a body lift on it? Are the rubber bumpstops still in place on the corners of the core support/grill shell?

yeah I have a BL. And all the parts are still there

jeepin4life wrote:

White trash wrote:

jeepin4life wrote:It does seem like it always starts after I get it real crossed up out wheelin, part of what makes me think that the grille flexes too much

Do you have a body lift on it? Are the rubber bumpstops still in place on the corners of the core support/grill shell?

yeah I have a BL. And all the parts are still there

Did it come with spacers for the rubber snubbers to stay in contact with or?


Jeep frames are pretty stiff when combined with the tub body and if those front pieces are missing that would allow the core support to flop around a lot more than it should. If it's all in place I got nothing...

White trash wrote:

jeepin4life wrote:

White trash wrote:

jeepin4life wrote:It does seem like it always starts after I get it real crossed up out wheelin, part of what makes me think that the grille flexes too much

Do you have a body lift on it? Are the rubber bumpstops still in place on the corners of the core support/grill shell?

yeah I have a BL. And all the parts are still there

Did it come with spacers for the rubber snubbers to stay in contact with or?


Jeep frames are pretty stiff when combined with the tub body and if those front pieces are missing that would allow the core support to flop around a lot more than it should. If it's all in place I got nothing...

What brand is the BL?

its a prothane 1" BL and its all polyurethane

jeepin4life wrote:its a prothane 1" BL and its all polyurethane

JKS you think... or know. The snubbers under the core support can be a bear (ask me how I know.)
If you did not do the work yourself, check that the snubbers are in contact with the frame. If they are I could be chasing an untamed ornithoid. Otherwise that is probably where your problem lies.

iaccocca wrote:

jeepin4life wrote:its a prothane 1" BL and its all polyurethane

JKS you think... or know. The snubbers under the core support can be a bear (ask me how I know.)
If you did not do the work yourself, check that the snubbers are in contact with the frame. If they are I could be chasing an untamed ornithoid. Otherwise that is probably where your problem lies.

yeah I know they are there, I put them there myself. I do all of my own work.

The BL is the one that is all polyurethane and replaces all of the body mounts.

White trash wrote:If it's all in place I got nothing...

This is me quoting WT and agreeing with him. A bit rare to be honest, so even though we can't help you should feel lucky.