Ok so I've heard all the jeep jokes but Fire away anyways it's too easy a target not too..

Seriously car forums to technical seabreeZe simple. Hopefully someone's got a good tip..

Xj 99 jeep Cherokee sport. 260km on clock bought 3k at auctions 2 years ago never spent a cent on it. Temp gauge goes to 125, has always sat just below 100, in traffic tips over 100.

Overheated once after a long day country side driving ( should of check fluids before left didn't and she got thirsty in the middle of no where) filled up good to go. 12 months since then she's always run hot but never over heated. Until 3 weeks ago in heavy traffic. Dropped new radiator in by mechanic. Sweet temp dropped back to like 70-75, 85 in traffic. Feels like a new car

Less than 9 days later again in traffic steaming and fluid pouring out. Off to mechanic again. New water pump and themo stat. Did show me both parts and both looked completely rat **** worn out. Drive off from mechanic today and within 5 mins she's jumped right up to 95 degrees and just sat there steady even in traffic. Then after work straight up again within 5 mins and sat there only creeping up to 100 but not over in traffic. Doesn't feel right though

So what am I missing after new radiator it dropped solid 15 degrees normal operating but since replacing water pump and themo stat gone back to running hot not over heating but running hot.

Anyone got any experience with this or tips.
I've spent $1600 in two visits in 9 days that's half the value of the car I don't want to keep spending unless it's going to resolve the issue

Welcome real advice and smart ass comments to brighten my weekend considering that money was for a new Board

You bought a jeep

Maybe when it got hot the first time it has warped the head or something like that? Any water in the oil?

Here, this might help: www.4wd.com/general-info/content.jsp?childEventId=jeepsunlimited

This might help too: www.metric-conversions.org/temperature/fahrenheit-to-celsius.htm

Maybe try replacing the viscous hub as well.

Just Empty Every Pocket.

Well what is the correct operating temp for this vehicle? Could be the t-stat was stuck open after the new radiator and it was running too cool? Only thing left is fan issues. Maybe it's full of rust and needs to be flushed, the rust has clogged up the new radiator.

Around the 95c is what you should be running at. As long as the thermo fan kicks in before it starts boiling everything is going fine.

Thanks guys good info. It's had two power flushes no rust old rad was just really blocked up. No water in oil,

Really 95 degrees is normal after only 5 minutes of driving? The needle climbs to that within a couple of minutes of operating. Is this specific to jeep?

Fan does kick in though does seem late, is there any benefit of putting in an extra fan that is set to run all the time would this keep it that little bit cooler?
My biggest issue is I drive highway for 30 minutes then hit 25mins of CBD traffic to get to work by the time I'm arriving in the CBD in peak hour traffic I feel Its really struggling.

What the aircon myth people say leave it on the fan helps cool. But mechanic says turn it off less stress on the engine ?
Clearly I know little about cars so keep the smart ass comments coming but a couple bits of solid info will be good too.

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samokta said...
Maybe when it got hot the first time it has warped the head or something like that? Any water in the oil?

It's what I keep thinking but no water in oil, car isn't sluggish when putting foot down. No water out exhaust and mechanic says pressure tests fine so all those signs say no but maybe a small crack in the head only shows signs when after reaching a certain temp??

did you get a pressure test done on the hoses?
check your radiator cap too, may not be holding pressure
also change thermostat, all up you should be able to get that done for 150 or so ( less if you know a good mechanic) cheapest things to eliminate first up without spending big

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AndyR said..
Thanks guys good info. It's had two power flushes no rust old rad was just really blocked up. No water in oil,

Really 95 degrees is normal after only 5 minutes of driving? The needle climbs to that within a couple of minutes of operating. Is this specific to jeep?

Fan does kick in though does seem late, is there any benefit of putting in an extra fan that is set to run all the time would this keep it that little bit cooler?
My biggest issue is I drive highway for 30 minutes then hit 25mins of CBD traffic to get to work by the time I'm arriving in the CBD in peak hour traffic I feel Its really struggling.

What the aircon myth people say leave it on the fan helps cool. But mechanic says turn it off less stress on the engine ?
Clearly I know little about cars so keep the smart ass comments coming but a couple bits of solid info will be good too.

Andy, Wife's 2004 Jeep V8 runs 95-100 on the gauge all the time, no issue. Be careful with reading gauges from the instrument panel, as these are termed "driver comfort gauges" and can be wildly inaccurate.
Engines like to run hot, this allows all working parts to expand to operating temperature. Running too cold, and you have oil bypass, fuel/oil dilution and so on.
Thermostat I guess was the problem, they get tired Realistically a change every 12 months, along with a coolant kicker or change. Don't listen to hogwash about "Oh it must run coolant, otherwise it wont cool" That's a load of crap. Use a good coolant, and top up with de-mineral water (the stuff you use in the clothes iron ) Dont mix coolants brands, if you can help it, some don't like each other Change the belts, as some when get got, slip over 20% and wont drive the fan at rated speed.

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Razzonater said...
did you get a pressure test done on the hoses?
check your radiator cap too, may not be holding pressure
also change thermostat, all up you should be able to get that done for 150 or so ( less if you know a good mechanic) cheapest things to eliminate first up without spending big

Pressure tested fine. Did replace t-stat. Think I will replace radiator cap for piece of mind.

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mineral1 said...

AndyR said..
Thanks guys good info. It's had two power flushes no rust old rad was just really blocked up. No water in oil,

Really 95 degrees is normal after only 5 minutes of driving? The needle climbs to that within a couple of minutes of operating. Is this specific to jeep?

Fan does kick in though does seem late, is there any benefit of putting in an extra fan that is set to run all the time would this keep it that little bit cooler?
My biggest issue is I drive highway for 30 minutes then hit 25mins of CBD traffic to get to work by the time I'm arriving in the CBD in peak hour traffic I feel Its really struggling.

What the aircon myth people say leave it on the fan helps cool. But mechanic says turn it off less stress on the engine ?
Clearly I know little about cars so keep the smart ass comments coming but a couple bits of solid info will be good too.

Andy, Wife's 2004 Jeep V8 runs 95-100 on the gauge all the time, no issue. Be careful with reading gauges from the instrument panel, as these are termed "driver comfort gauges" and can be wildly inaccurate.
Engines like to run hot, this allows all working parts to expand to operating temperature. Running too cold, and you have oil bypass, fuel/oil dilution and so on.
Thermostat I guess was the problem, they get tired Realistically a change every 12 months, along with a coolant kicker or change. Don't listen to hogwash about "Oh it must run coolant, otherwise it wont cool" That's a load of crap. Use a good coolant, and top up with de-mineral water (the stuff you use in the clothes iron ) Dont mix coolants brands, if you can help it, some don't like each other Change the belts, as some when get got, slip over 20% and wont drive the fan at rated speed.

Thanks mate much appreciated info. I'll stop stressing and stop watching the gauge so much. Will run it over the next few days in different traffic situations if it sits steady at 95 in traffic and you say it's normal I'll be ok with that just previous experience once in traffic that's when it's overheated and died. Hopefully with new themo new pump and new rad that's solved it going past the point of boil.

Am keen on the idea of an extra fan running to help it maintain the temp and not see it cook so to speak as father in law has a few dif fans in the shed I'm sure auto elec could wire for cheap

One of the big issues with them is the restricted/torturous path the water takes through the thermostat housing
Most jeep forums recommend replacing it with an after market type or modifying the original one.
Be careful if you choose the latter method as you can weaken the walls and shorten then lifespan of the housing.

wow

you're clearly reading it in Fahrenheit

change units to Celsius and you're engine will be cooler

I wish was reading it wrong

Really good off-road , however off-road with a jeep means it's at the garage, great rear window heater, keeps your mates hands warm when pushing car to garage

Perhaps look at getting an Engine Watchdog. It will give you a much more accurate figure of what temperature your engine runs at.

Looks like I get to be the doom monger.....

Get rid of it quick as you can. take a loss yeah, but your wallet and peace of mind will thank you in the long run.
Some motors are just bad ones... bit of a lottery really...

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AndyR said...
What the aircon myth people say leave it on the fan helps cool. But mechanic says turn it off less stress on the engine ?
Clearly I know little about cars so keep the smart ass comments coming but a couple bits of solid info will be good too.

Mechanic is right air-con will put more stress on the engine.
Turning the heater on will help bring the temp down. As the coolant will then run through the heater core with air blowing over it.
Not so comfortable for you if it's a hot day.

Be careful changing to hi flow thermostats as they can cause the coolant system to flow too quickly and the coolant doesn't spend long enough in the radiator to cool.
Lastly have you added spotlights recently these could be effecting airflow also check all the plastic guards are in place in the wheel arches and under the radiator etc... As these help keep a low pressure area behind the radiator helping airflow.

I second Mobydiscs suggestion of an engine watchdog they do work very well and and are far mor accurate than the stock gauges

Fan clutch.
Everything else has been changed. As you say it's fine on the highway but when you hit stop and go traffic it starts getting hot. On the highway the fan will normally not be engaged as enough air is passing by the radiator but as you slow down the the fan should engage, if the radio is off you can usually hear it engage, there will be a fan sound.
Your fan is mechanically driven by the engine, when it gets hot enough the fan clutch locks up and the fan starts spinning.

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Seacht said...
Looks like I get to be the doom monger.....

Get rid of it quick as you can. take a loss yeah, but your wallet and peace of mind will thank you in the long run.
Some motors are just bad ones... bit of a lottery really...

I wouldn't say this is a bad one it's got 260k on the clock had original radiator in it until last week. Has full log books and besides the work I've done last week it hasn't had any issues in it life's.

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Beaglebuddy said...
Fan clutch.
Everything else has been changed. As you say it's fine on the highway but when you hit stop and go traffic it starts getting hot. On the highway the fan will normally not be engaged as enough air is passing by the radiator but as you slow down the the fan should engage, if the radio is off you can usually hear it engage, there will be a fan sound.
Your fan is mechanically driven by the engine, when it gets hot enough the fan clutch locks up and the fan starts spinning.

Fan does engage I do hear it working.. Though Maybe not well enough think I will def replace the fan clutch next week.
Engine watch dog sounds good I googled them up. Worth the money in my case I think cheers guys.

Seriously thought there would of been more piss take comments than helpful ones haha thanks breeze

with the engine OFF, give the fan blade a spin by hand.........it should stop in less than one revolution, if it's still good, keeps spinning if bad. A viscous fan clutch is never locked.......if it is, that's bad.

As for the suggestion to unload this vehicle I think you have passed that point. The time to unload would have been before you poured this money into these repairs, at this point you need to ride it out unless something drastic happens $$$
In my experience these are decently reliable vehicles.

Thanks for the tip champ I'll do that come day light.
Yeah for sure paid 3k couple years ago only spent general maintenance on it but after unloading $1600 last fortnight I'm best to get it running right and keep it going.
Plus if anyone gets a new car it would be the boss which would leave me driving her chick car and that ant got roof racks haha

www.exploroz.com/forum/99855/toyota-hzj75-troopy-aisin-viscous-fan-hub-part-number

went through similar thing with my troopy. Replacing everything.
As beagle says it 'should' stop.... but mine did that... only way to test is to take it off and see what it does when it gets hot.

The silicon fluid is about $15 from Toyota dealer. The one I filled and locked I gave to my mechanic to use as a diagnostic tool.

If your jeep is an automatic, consider fitting a decent sized trans cooler. gives better cooling and more capacity to share the load.

Jeeps auto's kinda have a reputation of overheating under load [especially low speed towing over sand] causing trans fluid to spit out the dipstick tube and onto the exhaust.
This almost always results in "extreme thermal trauma"

http://www.viralnova.com/wrangler-explodes/




And - like Rod said - Replacing the silicon fluid in the hub of your fan is dead easy, and worthwhile too.

stephen

Okay, might be able to add here.I've owned a 97 jeep xj for 3 years now as my secondary weekend hack vehicle. See's a lot of off road, and surprisingly good. I've snatched a late model landrover and a 2012 hilux so far. Just the other week I watched a flash navara sink to the diffs on the beach, while I cruised past still running 40psi. More to do with experience than anything mostly.As for the overheating, they are famous for it. Mine always used to get hot, so I researched the hell out of it, and as it is only a hack, just did cheapo backyard jobs.First, I wasn't sure wether my thermo was kicking in or out......So I wired it direct into the cab with a switch....so I know its on.My air con wasn't working, so I pulled the condenser out in front of the radiator...opened up more air flow for the radiator..definitely helped.
Few months later I worked out I could squeeze 2 10 inch thermo fans in the now empty space, and also wired them into the cab with switches. Problem solved.Mine is always good on the highway, just gets hot offroad ( or stop/start driving if your in the city I'd assume). Though a while back I did notice temps climbing more than usual on the highway. Researched again, read about the viscous fan clutch and checked it. When you check it, car must be hot when you turn it off to try and spin it, so that you know its supposed to be engaged. I could spin mine, so I was pretty sure that was it. The other way to test it is to use a rolled up newspaper, and try gently stop the fan when its hot. Wouldn't recommend it really, although I tried it anyway, and it definitely proved the clutch wasn't working.I replaced it with one of ebay (about $80) and temps dropped back. All good. For about 2 months, then started rising again. I couldn't believe that I did the tests again, and sure enough, the fan clutch was gone. I couldn't be bothered with trying to get a refund through ebay with all the postage etc. Bugger it I though, and I welded my original solid, so its always engaged...permantly. I simply figured if the fan makes that much of a difference to temps when its not engaging, it must be engaged MOST of the time. Did that a fair while ago now, and so far so good, no problems....other than a bit more fuel usage :/

I also put to decent sized scoops in the bonnet to for more airflow, it gets super hot under there. You can also get slightly longer bolts for the bonnet and add some washers so the rear of the bonnet has a 5-10mm opening, apparently also makes a big difference.Just tonight, I was looking at GO JEEP website, on how he removed the viscous fan all together, and replaced it with a quality electric one. Has to be a pretty good one that moves around 2500-3000cfm of air, not some ebay spec chinese crap. Seemed to work extremely well for him, and also gained power and better fuel economy from ditching the viscous fan.Last 2 tips are : I found at standstill, if you put it in neutral and hold the revs on slightly, temps drop, and if all else fails...heaters on full bore fixes it everytime, however unpleasant for the occupants.Wealth of information I found mostly within these 2 sites...

I've linked it straight to the XJ section...ask away there or use the search function...theres a decent thread stickied to the first page about overheating.www.ausjeepoffroad.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=123

Any go jeep, a man who knows his xj's very well, and spent wayyyy too much on his. Awesome ideas in there though, and good reading about the overheating and various solutions as well as install guides...jeep-xj.info/ They may not be the ducks nuts, and also cop a bit of a hammering, but mine has served me well, got me to some good places, and for $2500, I can get a dent here or there, drill holes through the roof to mount lights and still not care to much.Its not about the car...Its about the journey!

I am surprised any car manufacturer is(was) sticking with viscous fans. I thought everyone had switched to thermo fans.

Is there room in the engine bay to mount thermos? AU falcons came with pretty good twin thermo fans and apparently are used for conversions into other cars. You can run them in series for low speed or in parallel for a huge amount of airflow. They are or should be cheap from a wreckers, just make sure you get the connector and wiring as well.

Just watch the wiring sizes though. Years ago I fitted a big Davies Craig thermo to a V8 commodore. It was on one night for a slow trip home and melted the wiring and the fuse holder. They replaced it without any hesitation, so I suspect that they know the wiring was a bit light for that size fan.