Engine running warm

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wintedarin

New member
I have a '12 JK that I bought in November with about 39k miles. Any time I would drive it for any length of time I would notice that the electric fan would be running at high speed and was very loud and the temperature gauge was running just a little right of middle. At first I just thought this was normal, but this last week while driving home I had the check engine light come on and I looked down and saw the temp gauge was high, but it went back down pretty quickly to just right of middle. In driving it in the next few days it would warm up to straight up middle and hang out there for a little bit before heading high and would fluctuate up and down and wouldn't really matter if I was driving or idling. Once the temp gets right of top center the fan goes to high speed. I have checked the coolant level and it seems full, but did appear to see some type of flake looking things in the coolant. There are no signs of any leaks on the ground. The heater works great and will drive you out of the vehicle it puts out so much heat and have not heard any gurgling. I am thinking it may be the thermostat, but wanted to get any other opinions as to what may be going on. Maybe need to flush the coolant? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
wintedarin said:
I have a '12 JK that I bought in November with about 39k miles. Any time I would drive it for any length of time I would notice that the electric fan would be running at high speed and was very loud and the temperature gauge was running just a little right of middle. At first I just thought this was normal, but this last week while driving home I had the check engine light come on and I looked down and saw the temp gauge was high, but it went back down pretty quickly to just right of middle. In driving it in the next few days it would warm up to straight up middle and hang out there for a little bit before heading high and would fluctuate up and down and wouldn't really matter if I was driving or idling. Once the temp gets right of top center the fan goes to high speed. I have checked the coolant level and it seems full, but did appear to see some type of flake looking things in the coolant. There are no signs of any leaks on the ground. The heater works great and will drive you out of the vehicle it puts out so much heat and have not heard any gurgling. I am thinking it may be the thermostat, but wanted to get any other opinions as to what may be going on. Maybe need to flush the coolant? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...

Keeping it simple - have you checked to see if the radiator fins are clogged with dirt/mud?
It builds up behind the fan where you wouldn't see it.
 
JKDream said:
Keeping it simple - have you checked to see if the radiator fins are clogged with dirt/mud?
It builds up behind the fan where you wouldn't see it.
Click to expand...

X2. Between the ac condenser, tranny cooler, radiator, and fan, there's a lot of places for mud to hide. If u pull off the plastic piece between the grille and radiator up top, u can check better for airflow obstructions.


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When I bought the Jeep it was completely stock and didn't appear that it had been off road much, if at all...and I have not have had it off road yet. The radiator is clean...front and back.
 
I'd take it to the dealer, the radiator may have some casting sand in it.

It should be covered under warranty
 
Someone could have topped it off with the wrong coolant and there may be some gelling going on.

Typically when a thermostat breaks or gets stuck it is in the open position and that keeps the engine cooler, I would probably rule that out initially.


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Today I replaced the thermostat and flushed the coolant...seems to have fixed the issue. The temperature gauge runs straight in the middle like it should and the fan doesn't come on. The coolant I took out looked fine so assuming it was the thermostat.
 
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