03 Rubicon overheating when plowing

[Water Dog]

Hi. I just added a plow to my 03 Rubicon, and she steams from the radiator cap when I plow. It only takes a couple minutes for this to happen. I checked the coolant and lines, which seem OK. I installed the plow myself and made sure I didn't interfere with the coolant line to the reservoir. Any ideas? Am I using it wrong? Thanks!

[Dave S]

Are you sure the steam isn't from snow coming into contact with the hot radiator?

Otherwise, thermostat could be bad, radiator cap is bad, radiator clogged, not enough air passing through the radiator or the cooling fan not working?

[Water Dog]

It's definitely not snow. It smells like coolant and I'm only plowing a little bit of snow slowly. It doesn't happen without the plow on it. Radiator is clean. There's only 300 miles on the thing.

[Dozer]

Is your fan working? Most of the time when plowing you arnt moving fast enough to get air through the radiator without a the fan. I know my fan runs alot when I plow.

[Water Dog]

I dunno. I'll go check, and check the fuse. I should mention that the overheating light does NOT come on, but the steaming concerns me.

[Dozer]

I dont know about a honda but on my Grizzly that light is a joke. I thought I had an overheating problem too a couple years ago till I put a temp gauge on it and found out the light comes on at 200 degrees.

[Water Dog]

Well, the fuse is good. The fan isn't running but I assume it's temperature activated. I'll have to put the plow back on and see what happens. Considering the light plowing and cold temps, and the condition of the machine, I'll bet the fan is the problem. It turns freely, so I'll check the wiring. There is a fluid line to the fan...is that what activates it?

[ChuckN]

Is the radiator cap on correctly? I've seen them leak steam and fluid when they aren't seated properly. Maybe need a new cap?

I had a fan issue on my Foreman, but the overheat dummy light was illuminated on the dash. My problem was the fan control unit.

My engine runs a long time before the fan kicks on.

The "fluid line" to the fan may be the oil line going to the oil cooler in front of the fan. Nothing to do with the operation of the fan.

[Water Dog]

You guys are great! It looks to me like the radiator cap is leaking. There is coolant in the little "trough" along the top. I'll try re-seating it and if that doesn't wotk I guess I'll try replacing the cap.

Thanks a bunch! What a great resource this site is for guys like me!

[Dave S]

You guys are great! It looks to me like the radiator cap is leaking. There is coolant in the little "trough" along the top. I'll try re-seating it and if that doesn't wotk I guess I'll try replacing the cap.

Thanks a bunch! What a great resource this site is for guys like me!

Thanks for the compliments Water Dog. There's lots of great people here in FM. Welcome to the FM Family.

[Dozer]

BTW: the hose from the fan is the vent for the fan moter.

[coonchaser]

I've ridden five or six differnt rubies that all smelled like coolant at sometime or another and its usually the cap and i've lost a few caps out riding enough that i carry a spare, i'm not sure why but it happens