robsjeep

I am looking to buy a replacement pressure tank for my 1990 Renix jeep cooling system. These are different brands.

Any recommendations? Any brands or vendors to avoid?

thanks!

lawsoncl

How's the radiator these days? If it's marginal, consider swapping to the later "open" setup and eliminating the tank. The aftermarket tanks aren't that bad but the caps suck and leak pressure. There is a volvo cap that fits and it far more robust. Google, but I think from a Volvo 770?

cruiser54

They're all junk anymore. lawsoncl^^ offers good advice.

Saudade

I still running an aftermarket tank (I think it's a Dorman) but as lawsoncl suggested I'm using the Volvo cap.

robsjeep

ok, that is good info, aftermarket tanks are holding up, but the caps are not, solution is use my older caps, I have several spares.

I will pick up a new aftermarket tank. This is a critical must not fail item I need to carry a spare for when out far away on multiday four wheel trips.

I know VW water cooled vans back in the 80s had a simular cooling system, real fun to bleed the air out of as the fill port in back, down low at the flat four motor, just a few inches above the bumper height, well you had to burp it up in front, on top of the radiator, just below windshield. So you had to open a bleeder valve on the thermostat, rev motor to 2000 rpm, with nose of van lifted in air with a jack, keep filling filler in back, then close radiator bleeder in front when fluid pours out. but you also need to be in back keeping the filler topped off. all this while on the throttle. If you allow rpm to drop back to idle during this time with front valve open, all the added fluid will gush back out the much lower filler. oh what fun. Of course it is real easy if you got three people doing the job at once. One on filler, another on throttle, and a third on the radiator. That's what I need, a pit crew!

Anyway they (the Van people) had a huge problem a while ago with aftermarket plastic tanks failing within months of use. A certain brand flooded the market with junk. I assume they got it sorted out, I heard vendors stopped selling them, they got so many returns, complaints. A cheap poorly engineered copy. I am glad that is not the case with our jeeps.

I need to find an adaptor for a pressure tester for our caps. Is there a name for our style of caps that I may use for a cross reference to find a cap adaptor for a pressure tester? My buddy has a regular radiator cap pressure test, but it wont fit to the Renix cap. What do I need to look for? I got a few caps, and ought to test them to make sure they is good or not.


Thanks!

Oswalla

Seriously consider the radiator swap. I had nothing but trouble with that damn bottle/cap setup for years. I yanked the bottle and radiator and zip tied a 91 overflow bottle where the old bottle sat and a new 91 radiator. That was the last time my jeep ever had an overheat problem.

BUT.... Their is another alternative.... https://macsradiatorshop.com/product...-coolant-tank/ . I have never used one but I looked at these hard about 10 years ago before I swapped radiator to a 91. A bit more pricey than I remember though, a new radiator is about the same price unfortunately.

Saudade

In 20 years of owning my '88, it's the aftermarket cap that's the problem. Mopar caps worked great for me initially until my bottle blew (don't know who made it). I changed the bottle and cap. The new caps down tighten down well but eventually come loose. Once loose,the system looses pressure. They never seem to tighten as well again. I used to put a screw type hose clamp around the cap to allow me to tighten them down more. That worked for a time. Then I was in a salvage yard picking parts for one of my other cars, and came across a Volvo (I think it was a 240) that has a similar bottle (the return port is smaller. My plan was to use the Volvo bottle and cap (the bottle is way beefier). Since my existing bottle was fairly new, I simply bought a new Volvo cap. Been working like that for 10 years now.

robsjeep

yeah, I will stick with the renix style system, until the radiator goes, then If I replace the radiator that might be the time to consider a change to the other cooling system. until then I am good with a spare tank for the trail.

lawsoncl

I can tell you from experience that when the bottle splits open whiles it's -10*F that it makes one hell of a steam cloud. Had one person stop and ask if he should call the fire dept. I never could get the aftermarket cap and bottle to stay screwed on tight. It would boil over every time the cap cap loose, and I ended up converting over because I wasn't convinced the radiator wasn't part of the overheating problem.

xxEuroBabexx

The thing is that the renix radiator is at least twice the price as the new style. The Spectra cherokee radiator is actually plumbed to fit all cherokee styles and I paid 70$, plus 30 in other bits to do the full conversion.

xxEuroBabexx