First time Jeep Owner

[B Yates]

Purchased a 1962 C J 5 and was running well, but the radiator hoses are getting hot. Is there a radiator fan on this model of jeep or do you think it is the thermostat.

[LarrBeard]

Purchased a 1962 C J 5 and was running well, but the radiator hoses are getting hot. Is there a radiator fan on this model of jeep or do you think it is the thermostat.

Radiator hoses will get hot once the water pump starts to circulate water through the system. Normally the top hose will be fairly cold until the thermostat opens, then it gets warm as hot water circulates through the cooling system. If both hoses are about equally warm - you probably do not have a thermostat issue.

There was just the usual fan on the water pump, no electric fan or anything like that. If it is a '62 with the original F-134 engine, it simply isn't needed!

Is it steaming or blowing coolant? What does your Temp gauge tell you is happening? It is not uncommon for the temp gauge to go to about 20-degrees above the thermostat temperature just before the thermostat opens, but it should drop back pretty quickly once the system opens up. I suspect a 62 CJ-5 would normally have a 180-degree thermostat in it - the older trucks and CJ-2A/3A's might have a 160-degree unit.

Let us know what's going on ...

And, we need a picture!

[okiemark]

Yeah, you need to be confident that you have a temp gauge that is telling you how it is running. A thermostat isn't hard or expensive to change.