FlowKooler in San Luis Obispo,...
FlowKooler in San Luis Obispo, California, has many high-flow water pumps available for a huge variety of makes and models, including most Jeep models and Ford Broncos and Chevy Blazers. The all-new pump housing includes a high-flow impeller to address low-speed heating issues. The unit is also said to double the water-flow rate at low rpm and idle and then return to normal at 3,500 rpm to limit water flow at high speed.
When your cooling system starts to go, you're usually lucky enough to get a few warning signs before it completely craps out. Overheating is typically the first sign and could be caused by many different things. Although the cooling system in our '97 Jeep Cherokee hadn't been too finicky, we could see from the corroded steel fittings and lines on the plastic radiator side tanks, the multiple missing sections of cooling fins in the radiator core, and the quickly spiking thermostat gauge in the dash cluster soon after engine start-up, that it was just about on its last leg. The final blow came on a typical drive home from the office when more than half of the radiator's fluid bubbled over. Thankfully, we were able to limp the rig home and even drove it for another 150 miles after topping off the radiator with some hose water, but the time had finally come to replace and upgrade our cooling system's major components.
Among the the new cooling parts we'll install in this article are an aluminum-core McCulloch Fab radiator, a FlowKooler water pump, a Turbo City high-flow thermostat housing and 180-degree F thermostat, and new hoses and serpentine belt from Summit Racing.
 We refreshed our cooling system...  We refreshed our cooling system with a new aluminum-core radiator from McCulloch Fabricating, a FlowKooler high-flow water pump, and a Turbo City high-flow thermostat housing, 180-degree thermostat, and fan switch kit. Also, Summit Racing supplied a handful of cooling-related products that helped complete our cooling system upgrades. Parts included a set of Goodyear radiator hoses, a Goodyear Gatorback Poly-V serpentine belt, and a Mr. Gasket ThermoCap radiator cap. |  With the old radiator cap...  With the old radiator cap removed, we see the condition of the fluid is a mix of old and new. The fresh coolant was added by us after a recent overheating incident, which led to this article. The remnants of old coolant are marked with a dark yellow fluid that coated much of the interior. |  Don-A-Vee technician Gary...  Don-A-Vee technician Gary Grinkivich began removing the stock cooling components. Gary also drained the radiator before removal. |
 The new aluminum-core radiator...  The new aluminum-core radiator offers much better construction than our stock unit. The sturdy lower positioning pins and crossbraces are much stouter, creating a more stable mount. In addition to the Jeep Cherokee unit, McCulloch Fabricating produces radiators for Jeep Wrangler (4.0L) and CJ models and Wrangler/CJ Chevy V-8 conversions, as well as units for Chevy and Ford applications. |  With the mechanical fan shroud...  With the mechanical fan shroud and electric fan removed, Gary removed the radiator. The automatic transmission cooler was left in place. |  The hoses were removed from...  The hoses were removed from the thermostat housing, and the corrosion within the system was apparent. Here, the very gritty factory thermostat housing is unbolted from the front of the block. |