Running hot

[elevatorman]

Ok I have an 87yj 4.2 that overheats daily.
since I began my resoration,I have replaced the thermostat,water pump,fan clutch,All hoses and vacuum lines,verified timing more than once,verified no cracked block or,water flow restrictions,I dont lose water,and I am not running lean.However it will get to 230-240 at times while driving down the frwy.It was getting hot and then would cool back down to 195 or so.Installed 2 other Thermostats one higher rated to hold the coolant in the radiator longer f and then one lower rated to open and let it flow sooner---No change
Can my winch and A/C condenser be blocking the air flow,Is this common and is the electric fan conversion the way to go?
I dont mind dropping the $ I just want it right.
I have a brand new radiator and coolant going in today and hope it solves the problem.
I have 3 cars,1 truck and my jeep my preferred cruiser so I need to fix her!

 

[69jeepcj]

what core radiator did you get? 3, or 4 core will be much better than the two core. Not sure what they put in wranglers stock but my cj,s with the 258 always had 2-core. If you still have problems with it, you could run an electric fan along with your engine fan. put the electric fan in front of the radiator to help draw air in. Most electric fans can be run as push or pull. I would flush your heater core out as well.

 

[0III0forlife]

could be your cat converter plugging up that is causing it to run hot. Happened to me. I have an '87 YJ with the 258 4.2L. Overheated all the time, couldnt do any rock crawlin' cause it would start steaming soon after putting it in low range. Checked everything, flushed everything, ran without a thermostat. Ended up being a clogged cat.

 

[Jester32]

I run at 210 since I installed my winch. Used to run at 180. I don't worry about it. 230 is pretty warm though. Did you paint the rad anything other than black?

 

[69jeepcj]

The 258 I used to have would run around 200-210 also, but I wouldn't want to see the 230-240 you are seeing.

 

[elevatorman]

As for the cat,I put a whole new exhaust system less the y pipe just prior to my teardown and repaint. The New radiator did the trick.Walker 4 row.Stays at 180.
Took a drive up the infamous Grapevine pushing her to the floor to 4500 ft with the a/c going and she never went over 200
Also found alot of dirt in the A/C condensor that was not helping at all.
Thanks for the advice everyone!