Novak Conversions Jeep Wrangler YJ radiators

Fan Clutch And Cooling Issues

When I eventually change the radiator again I'll go with a Mopar. Been running a Napa for 6 years no issue though. Granted only 3-4 years were actually in service.

For water pump you can still get legit mopar so I would recommend those. I believe the Hesco is just a cheap pump with a fancy impeller put on. They used to use Mopar pumps and install their impeller on them, but then the good Mopars were discontinued. Good mopars were brought back in a new part number. You might ask if Hesco is now using them or not.
 
I ordered 52079880AA for the radiator cap a few years ago which is 16 psi like it's supposed to be. I haven't ran it yet though, so not 100% sure it works on the radiator. I was waiting until I got a new radiator to use it. You could always just get a napa cap though. I ran a cheap O'Reilly cap for a long time. It was fine. Mainly just need it to seal and the spring to hold proper spring rate.

Water pump is 68382489AA.
 
I got that radiator part number from Crown since they usually copy Mopar part numbers. I bought the Mopar version. Amazon says it will not fit my Jeep but it looks just like my old stock cap and I believe I screwed it on a few years ago to see if it fit, and it did. still haven't ran it though but I think it will work. As long as it seals and is the proper 16 psi, not much else to consider.
 
Looks like the one I need is 52080183. That is what Crown shows and that it should work with either manual or automatic. At least in the picture it looks like it has the transmission cooler. When I search Mopar 52080183, what comes up is Mopar 52080183AC. None of these sites specify if it has the transmission cooler.

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Sorry, I forgot about the radiator part. Yeah you're going to have a tough time on the radiator for an automatic YJ. You're probably better off getting something from the parts store. The automatic Mopar TJ radiators are dwindling and I don't even know if the threads and stuff for the trans lines would even thread up.

Let me see what a 97 TJ came with and maybe I can get that part number.
 
SirDoopYJ said:
Looks like the one I need is 52080183. That is what Crown shows and that it should work with either manual or automatic. At least in the picture it looks like it has the transmission cooler. When I search Mopar 52080183, what comes up is Mopar 52080183AC. None of these sites specify if it has the transmission cooler.

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I'm seeing that 52080183 is the manual trans version from Mopar (looking at parts manuals). The 97 came with it on 4.0 manuals and then by 1999 it was 52080183AB. The letters indicate newer versions, but since the part number is the same it works.

So you would want to try and find a 52080814AB or AC (whatever is most current).

The reason the crown number works for you is because when crown built the radiator, they numbered it off the manual version. Auto radiators work in manuals, so crown built an auto radiator, copied the mopar part number for manuals, and marketed it to all Jeeps.

And holy moly the 52080184 is expensive so maybe don't do that anyways.

The one I will get is 55037652AA which is for later manuals, but that won't work for you, or at least not until you swap.
 

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Here is the part from a 2002 auto which is still the 32RH. $300. Might be the way to go, unless you do the swap and do the manual one I listed above (55037652AA)
 
The manual one I listed came factory on 2005-2006 manuals but is backwards compatible to all other manuals which is why I would use it. It's the most recent version and the cheapest and easiest to find.

I wish they wouldn't make a million different part numbers. Makes it really hard to figure out and cross reference what will work for you. Especially someone with a YJ who wants to figure out what good options they have when everything is discontinued.
 
machoheadgames said:
I ordered 52079880AA for the radiator cap a few years ago which is 16 psi like it's supposed to be. I haven't ran it yet though, so not 100% sure it works on the radiator. I was waiting until I got a new radiator to use it. You could always just get a napa cap though. I ran a cheap O'Reilly cap for a long time. It was fine. Mainly just need it to seal and the spring to hold proper spring rate.

Water pump is 68382489AA.
Click to expand...

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Here it is showing 2001 to 2006 Jeeps.
 
SirDoopYJ said:

68382492AA - Water Pump Package 2001-2006 Jeep | Mopar Factory Parts

Get Your OEM Water Pump Package (68382492aa) Delivered Right To Your Door For Your 2001-2006 Jeep Vehicle At AN Affordable Price With Nationwide Shipping!
www.moparfactoryparts.com www.moparfactoryparts.com

Here it is showing 2001 to 2006 Jeeps.
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You linked a different part number. Yours is 2001+ or actually a bit earlier, the block changed around 2000. 1991-1999 use their own pump and it is the number I listed, ending in 2489AA.
 
Jeep is still running at around 220F

I pulled thermostat and ran the Jeep without it. The coolant in the radiator was moving no problem so that rules out the waterpump.

I tested the 195F thermostat (which is a brand new Premium NAPA thermostat, but says MOTORAD on the side) on a burner and it opened, so that rules out the thermostat. I even went ahead and re-installed the 195F the PO originally had in there. That one said MOTORAD on the side as well. Also opened on burner.

Fan clutch is brand new.

This leaves me left with either the radiator, or the Crown temp gauge. (Original was broken when I bought the Jeep.) Which with my temperature meter my temps are pretty close to what the gauge is saying. I will quadruple check this. But for the shits and gigs, I went ahead and bought me a used gauge cluster from a seller on FB marketplace. $100 for Tach, Speedo, Fuel, Temp, Oil, Volts. So just for the OEM temp gauge I have replacements for all the others. I thought it was a good deal.

If the OEM gauge reads the same. F it. I am buying a radiator. I am getting aggravated with this cooling nonsense.

Thank you for joining my TED Talk.
 
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SirDoopYJ said:
Jeep is still running at around 220F

I pulled thermostat and ran the Jeep without it. The coolant in the radiator was moving no problem so that rules out the waterpump.

I tested the 195F thermostat (which is a brand new Premium NAPA thermostat, but says MOTORAD on the side) on a burner and it opened, so that rules out the thermostat. I even went ahead and re-installed the 195F the PO originally had in there. That one said MOTORAD on the side as well. Also opened on burner.

Fan clutch is brand new.

This leaves me left with either the radiator, or the Crown temp gauge. (Original was broken when I bought the Jeep.) Which with my temperature meter my temps are pretty close to what the gauge is saying. I will quadruple check this. But for the shits and gigs, I went ahead and bought me a used gauge cluster from a seller on FB marketplace. $100 for Tach, Speedo, Fuel, Temp, Oil, Volts. So just for the OEM temp gauge I have replacements for all the others. I thought it was a good deal.

If the OEM gauge reads the same. F it. I am buying a radiator. I am getting aggravated with this cooling nonsense.

Thank you for joining my TED Talk.
Click to expand...
What a process. Hopefully the OEM gauges help. Wonder if OEM gauges and OEM sender might be a good combo. I forget, did you ever try a Mopar sender or did you go with Napa first, and then Omix or crown?
 
I went with a NAPA, accidently tore it with a deep socket, I put some loctite on it and the son of a gun worked. However, this was before I changed fan clutch and it was heating up towards red line at idle. So I said maybe loctite isn't doing it.

I bought another NAPA, used a regular ole wrench to turn it. This tool a while as there is absolutly no room to intsall the damn thing with a wrench. When I had it installed, for some reason my gauge would ping red very quickly after warming up. Sigh..

I then bought a Crown and it is what I currently have installed.

I do have a Mopar 5602 7012 I bought on Amazon after getting the Crown one. It has thread locker on it that I need to remove.
 
SirDoopYJ said:
I went with a NAPA, accidently tore it with a deep socket, I put some loctite on it and the son of a gun worked. However, this was before I changed fan clutch and it was heating up towards red line at idle. So I said maybe loctite isn't doing it.

I bought another NAPA, used a regular ole wrench to turn it. This tool a while as there is absolutly no room to intsall the damn thing with a wrench. When I had it installed, for some reason my gauge would ping red very quickly after warming up. Sigh..

I then bought a Crown and it is what I currently have installed.

I do have a Mopar 5602 7012 I bought on Amazon after getting the Crown one. It has thread locker on it that I need to remove.
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Gotcha. Guess we wait and see what happens with the new gauges.
 
I did recommend someone on Reddit to try the NAPA, and he said the NAPA worked and solved his gauge issue.

I think what happened the 2nd time with me installing it is I that warped the head a bit when trying to use the wrench at an angle. I don't believe it was making a good contact with the head as there was still a tiny tiny gap when tightened down. The last thing I wanted to do was rip it in half by the threads and it falls in the head.
 
Sounds like trauma during installation killed the two Napas then. I was really surprised to see you have problems with 2 Echlins in a row, so probably was an issue with the install. So yeah I guess try the crown sender on the OE gauge, evaluate, maybe change to mopar with the teflon removed, and/or change the radiator if you have an actual cooling issue.
 
I did a radiator flush with the Prestone product before I rebuilt my engine and it's never gone over 185 now. I added the flush and drove around for a while then got distracted for a a few days so the flush remained in the engine. Another quick drive and found a ton of rust and mud when draining it. I ended up pulling out the radiator and running a garden hose through it in both direction to get all the junk out then also ran the garden hose through the block via the hoses to get a bunch more mud out.
 
Novak Conversions Jeep Wrangler YJ radiators
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