Found A Leak In My Jeep Radiator

[shanez]

I was a little confused when I was looking for the leak when I was on the side of the road. I didn't realize I was looking for too small of a hole:



Shiney new all aluminum replacement is installed:

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I really like the looks of those new jeep trucks, but I don’t want to constantly be working on it. It seems like replacing parts is a big part of the Jeep appeal.

 

[shanez]

I have 139K miles on mine and have really enjoyed abusing the heck out of it. The only real problem with newer Jeeps is all of the electronics.

 

[RL Bucktails]

I had a wrangler in the early nineties with an inline 6 that was indestructible. No AC, no power windows, stick shift. Sadly I killed that car in an accident.

 

[HawkeyeLinus]

I really like the looks of those new jeep trucks, but I don’t want to constantly be working on it. It seems like replacing parts is a big part of the Jeep appeal.

Got my first Wrangler 2 door in 2015, now on my second. Based on everything I'd read and still read I guess I've been really lucky. One windshield, one minor recall repair on the first one, nothing on the one I'm driving now a little over two years in - I'm almost afraid to type this, lol. Now the used Jeep Liberty I bought my daughter in HS? The gift I paid for twice over in stuff that broke down, but found a very motivated buyer who didn't flinch at all the provided repair records - must have figured there was nothing left to fix, haha.

 

[Elric]

I really like the looks of those new jeep trucks, but I don’t want to constantly be working on it. It seems like replacing parts is a big part of the Jeep appeal.

A lot of folks do that for a hobby. I have 230k on a 4dr Sahara (now my daughter's) and 77k on a 4dr Rubicon. Never did anything to the high mileage one except replace a starter. Nothing at all to the newer one. I like the improved towing on the Gladiator so that may be next.

 

[Elric]

Got my first Wrangler 2 door in 2015, now on my second. Based on everything I'd read and still read I guess I've been really lucky. One windshield, one minor recall repair on the first one, nothing on the one I'm driving now a little over two years in - I'm almost afraid to type this, lol. Now the used Jeep Liberty I bought my daughter in HS? The gift I paid for twice over in stuff that broke down, but found a very motivated buyer who didn't flinch at all the provided repair records - must have figured there was nothing left to fix, haha.

Amen, my son has a Liberty and that thing must be babied or something breaks.

 

[Briar Lee]

I was a little confused when I was looking for the leak when I was on the side of the road. I didn't realize I was looking for too small of a hole:

View attachment 369799

Shiney new all aluminum replacement is installed:

View attachment 369800

Twenty years ago my oldest son needed a new radiator for his twenty year old Olds Cutlass, and the replacement was ridiculously cheap.

They are ridiculously cheaper today.



When my son needed a hundred dollar radiator twenty years ago I looked around for a radiator shop, and they were all closed, long ago—-then.

I looked at it, and there were only a few of those dad blasted metric bolts, which are a gubbermint conspiracy to allow them there tool makers to sell us all more socket wrenches and tools.

So we changed it over in the driveway, in thirty minutes. It would take half that time if we did it again.

Raise your hand if you’ve ever needed a new heater core.

Aren’t you glad you were skinny enough to contort yourself under the dashboard.

We live, in the good old days.

And today is not as good as tomorrow will be.

I’ve been taught that all my life, and so far they understated it.

 

[carlomarx]

I put well over two hundred thousand miles on a CJ-5 with a 258 CI 6 cyl. Never leaked a drop of oil, replaced the water pump and a warped exhaust manifold and the heater core, that's about it for repairs. Wonderful engines. Jeeps have been coasting on a reputation for years. I think Jeeps peaked with the TJ series.

 

[Chasing Embers]

I had a CJ when I was a kid. My International Scout kicked its ass in mud holes and durability.

 

[Ahi Ka]

I owned a late 90s Toyota Land Cruiser prado for a bit last year. I swear driving it reversed my vasectomy. I’ve never really cared for cars beyond as a way to get from A to B, but driving that thing somehow made me feel manly. My kids still occasionally ask when we are going to get a cool truck again

 

[sablebrush52]

I really like the looks of those new jeep trucks, but I don’t want to constantly be working on it. It seems like replacing parts is a big part of the Jeep appeal.

It's a little bit akin to the FIAT (Fix It Again Tony) experience.

 

[Briar Lee]

I just love the AI Google in my iPhone 16:

(Google How Many Parts in a new car)

Xxxx
The average new car has over 30,000 parts, including nuts and bolts. The number of parts can vary, but the complexity of modern car design is evident in the many parts that make up a car.

Explanation

• Number of parts
  The number of parts in a car can vary, but the average is over 30,000. This includes all the parts, from the engine to the headlights.
  
  
• Engine complexity
  The engine alone has thousands of parts.
  
  
• Assembly time
  It takes automakers about 18 to 35 hours to produce a mass-market vehicle, from welding to painting.
  
  
• Number of chips
  A modern automobile typically has anywhere from 1,000 to 3,000 semiconductor chips.
  
  
• Supplier involvement
  Many parts are made by the vehicle manufacturer, but other parts are made by suppliers.

Xxxxx

Now, while we all bide our time, until all the new cars are electric and take half the time to assemble about half the parts, if you own a car that cost $30,000 new and weighs 3,000 pounds, each part averaged a dollar and your car cost $10 a pound.

And the labor to make it, cost one tenth of the price if labor was $100 an hour.

That $30,000 car will run about 15 years and 300,000 miles until the transmission starts slipping and it’s recycled to make new cars.

Now, while it’s entirely possible to buy a new car for thirty grand people option them out to almost fifty:

Xxx

In January 2025, the average price for a new car in the United States was $49,740. This is close to the record high of $49,958 set in December 2022.

Explanation

• New car prices have been near record highs since 2022.
  
  
• December is usually a time when new car prices increase, as luxury vehicle sales increase.
  
  
• • In December 2024, the average price of an electric vehicle was $55,544, which was higher than the average price of a gas-powered vehicle.

Xxxxx

Electric cars, have no radiators. No heater cores. No water pumps. No starters. No transmissions (that we are used to). And the electric motor usually outlasts the chassis, and can be rebuilt.

The best news is, an electric motor connected directly to the axle uses a third less energy than the best gasoline engine.

So in a few years, the energy cost for an electric car that will last a million miles will be the same as we spend in 300,000 miles.

If they can only provide a V8 soundtrack.

 

[PaulRVA]

I’m on my 5th Wrangler currently.
I never had a radiator go. I did tear out 4 low in my last one getting out of a ditch in a snow storm on a hunting trip. This was self inflicted and besides this never any issues other than normal wear like brakes, tires etc.
Was it a rock, corrosion or a seam weld ?

 

[tfdickson]

If they can only provide a V8 soundtrack.

Ford already addressed that on the (turbo V6) F-150 Raptor years ago by piping it in through the speakers. I wish I was kidding.

 

[Briar Lee]

Ford already addressed that on the (turbo V6) F-150 Raptor years ago by piping it in through the speakers. I wish I was kidding.

Forty years ago there was a sign in a local Ford dealer that read your new car has over 10,000 parts at an average cost of under a dollar a part.

That’s still true forty years later and three times inflation factor, except it’s over 30,000 parts.

And every one of those parts is better, way better, than 40 years ago and they were excellent then.

We are progressing towards the Wonderful One Hoss Shay:

(Thanks to my teachers and preachers and mother dear, that introduced me to this and other poems about life)

Poem: The Deacon's Masterpiece, or, the Wonderful One-hoss Shay: A Logical Story

Poem: The Deacon's Masterpiece, or, the Wonderful One-hoss Shay: A Logical Story; by Oliver Wendell Holmes

holyjoe.org

Little of all we value here
Wakes on the morn of its hundreth year
Without both feeling and looking queer.
In fact, there’s nothing that keeps its youth,
So far as I know, but a tree and truth.
(This is a moral that runs at large;
Take it. — You’re welcome. — No extra charge.)

 

[lraisch]

I just love the AI Google in my iPhone 16:

(Google How Many Parts in a new car)

Xxxx
The average new car has over 30,000 parts, including nuts and bolts. The number of parts can vary, but the complexity of modern car design is evident in the many parts that make up a car.

Explanation

• Number of parts
  The number of parts in a car can vary, but the average is over 30,000. This includes all the parts, from the engine to the headlights.
  
  
• Engine complexity
  The engine alone has thousands of parts.
  
  
• Assembly time
  It takes automakers about 18 to 35 hours to produce a mass-market vehicle, from welding to painting.
  
  
• Number of chips
  A modern automobile typically has anywhere from 1,000 to 3,000 semiconductor chips.
  
  
• Supplier involvement
  Many parts are made by the vehicle manufacturer, but other parts are made by suppliers.

Xxxxx

Now, while we all bide our time, until all the new cars are electric and take half the time to assemble about half the parts, if you own a car that cost $30,000 new and weighs 3,000 pounds, each part averaged a dollar and your car cost $10 a pound.

And the labor to make it, cost one tenth of the price if labor was $100 an hour.

That $30,000 car will run about 15 years and 300,000 miles until the transmission starts slipping and it’s recycled to make new cars.

Now, while it’s entirely possible to buy a new car for thirty grand people option them out to almost fifty:

Xxx

In January 2025, the average price for a new car in the United States was $49,740. This is close to the record high of $49,958 set in December 2022.

Explanation

• New car prices have been near record highs since 2022.
  
  
• December is usually a time when new car prices increase, as luxury vehicle sales increase.
  
  
• • In December 2024, the average price of an electric vehicle was $55,544, which was higher than the average price of a gas-powered vehicle.

Xxxxx

Electric cars, have no radiators. No heater cores. No water pumps. No starters. No transmissions (that we are used to). And the electric motor usually outlasts the chassis, and can be rebuilt.

The best news is, an electric motor connected directly to the axle uses a third less energy than the best gasoline engine.

So in a few years, the energy cost for an electric car that will last a million miles will be the same as we spend in 300,000 miles.

If they can only provide a V8 soundtrack.

The new Dodge Challenger gives you a choice of engine sounds and includes a speaker mounted under the diffuser.

 

[mawnansmiff]

The only real problem with newer Jeeps is all of the electronics.

I think that applies to pretty much any modern car.

Gone are the days when you could lift the bonnet/hood and reach inside and replace any broken component.

Now there are acres of plastic covering pretty much everything and even if you manage to remove all of those you are confronted with all those mysterious black boxes, most of which are sealed with resin and not repairable by your average home mechanic. As for cleaning/replacing sparkplugs, forget it, you'll never find them.

I despaired when I bought my first car with electric windows (a used Nissan Sunny LX) as I feared a failure would not only be an inconvenience but very costly. About 3 years into ownership the electric sunroof refused to close. Cost me an arm and a leg to get fixed.

Jay.

 

[Briar Lee]

P

I think that applies to pretty much any modern car.

Gone are the days when you could lift the bonnet/hood and reach inside and replace any broken component.

Now there are acres of plastic covering pretty much everything and even if you manage to remove all of those you are confronted with all those mysterious black boxes, most of which are sealed with resin and not repairable by your average home mechanic. As for cleaning/replacing sparkplugs, forget it, you'll never find them.

I despaired when I bought my first car with electric windows (a used Nissan Sunny LX) as I feared a failure would not only be an inconvenience but very costly. About 3 years into ownership the electric sunroof refused to close. Cost me an arm and a leg to get fixed.

Jay.

The newer cars might have three thousand computer chips, and they never have one extra like a piece of chrome. They all are designed to have a function.

The reason your sunroof failed was likely because it was optional,,,,an add on.

As my hair turns from gray to silver, I appreciate my teachers at Humanansville more and more.

They let us go to the American Royal, but only if the ag teacher had us visit the GM assembly plant in Fairfax.

Thirty little hillbilly boys and three girls never cussed an American car again.

They were miraculous in 1973 and magical in 2025, no doubt.

They make one a minute.

Every part on one has a function. If just one breaks the owner isn’t happy and if he’s not happy the bank isn’t happy and the dealer isn’t happy and Mama ain’t happy, and if Mama ain’t happy ain’t nobody happy.

 

[Flatfish]

Jeep
Just Enough Essential Parts