Utah J. well you kind of blew my mind since I am not tech savvy but I did read your post over and over and did what you instructed. The transmission fluid level was way below the min mark. I checked it last night but not by your instructions. Learn something new everyday. The dipstick states use dextron II or something else. Which do you recommend? And thanks, but I think I still have a T-stat issue, the upper hose is slightly warm while the smaller hose was fairly hot. Yeah, I know, my terminology sucks, but thanks again! KJ
Hopefully you did check the fluid while the jeep was running and in neutral, any other method will give you a false reading. As to what fluid to add, Dextron II is fine, there are several manufactures and its ok to mix MFG's when topping off.
It was 22 degrees last night and when we went to dinner it took about 5 miles or so to warm my 01 TJ up to 210 degrees normal operating temp.
I am not sure what year your wrangler is but it shouldn't matter, your local parts store can help you with the recommended type of antifreeze. My 01 uses the red type, I would have to venture out to the garage to find out the type.
If your jeep takes longer than 5-10 minutes to warm up, its most likely your thermostat, there designed to fail in the open position, thus not giving you the proper pressure to heat the anti-freeze at start up, then open to cool the motor after it reaches operating tempature.
If you think this might be the problem, I recommend that you buy a thermostat, and radiator cap at the same time. The seals in the cap can degrade over time to slowly let pressure out, a white spotting around the cap and or radiator neck is a sure sign that you need to replace it.
Not knowing how long its been since you changed/flushed your radiator. I do mine every other year because of the limited miles I drive her, 56,000 so far.
When I do change the fluid I also use a chemical flushing agent, at half the recommended strength. Its very caustic and can burn its way through the freeze plugs when at full strength and done improperly. When mixing the anti-freeze, use distilled water only. The minerals in tap water are not good for your jeep.
If your not comfortable with replacing the t-stat and flushing it I would take it to a local radiator shop, not one of those quickie lube places. Ask there salesman/mechanic tough questions like how they flush the system, do the open the drain plug on the engine block? Do they use a chemical agent to strip the mineral build up? Do they regularly check there replacement mixture for the right mixture levels? Do they have a replacment pep-cock if it gets accidently broken off?
You have to be comfortable with your mechanic or service place. Once you find a place like that try to use them often and recoment them to all your friends. Good mechanics are hard to find.
I have a jeeping buddy who is a grad from Wyo tech, AA cert with 6 billion certs from just about every where, including Betty crocker school of cooking and auto mechanic(ok that was a joke). Scott (white XJ on my home page Pritchett canyon run) is my source for mostof my stupid and complex questions I have, he works at a local Big O tire, If I don't have the time, energy, or feel comfortable do something, Big O is where my jeep goes for all the work. Now I have to admit I dont pay alot there because the owner and Scott are also my trap shooting buds, but I always insist that I pay for any chemicals. And I constantly feed Scott and his wife dinners to pay for his time.
If you have one local, I recommend Big O just because I like there service practices.
local service shop I use when I don't have time to do things puts dexron II in transmission and Transfer box. just as good for the jeep and a whole lot cheaper.
