Overheating
- Thread starter bigtruck
- Start date
Milner
formerly "rckcrlr"
- Location
- Hiding behind a camera
bigtruck said:
First guess would be a stuck thermostat. Cheap and easy to change....
Jeremy
total tacoma points: 162
- Location
- MAGNA, land of chewy brown water
i had the same problem with mine a few years ago. i ended up replacing the radiator and the thermostat and the problem is gone. now it wont heat up enough.i didnt buy any fancy after market radiator. just a stock replacement. at first i had a 180* t-stat, but froze my but off all winter so i put a 190*t-stat. witch didnt realy help with the cold problem. but it doesnt over heat any more.
Sounds like a possible block passageway. Go buy 2-bottles of the strongest Prestone Radiator flush and 2 bottles of the NAPA radiator cleaner. The NAPA stuff is like rock salt. Mix them all together in a empty 1- gallon jug. Fill with hot water and stir. Read the instructions on the NAPA bottle, it needs to dissolve BEFORE you put it in the XJ. Drain you XJ, flush every friggin orifice on the XJ with a hose. Run water till clear. Then close it up and dump you gallon of Super Duper Clean it all Flush into the radiator. Fill w/water, start it up and add some more water as needed. Run for at least 3-4 hours. Run your heater! Yes you drive it. Drain it, flush the whole system again with water till clear. Now close it up and refill with 50/50 coolant water. Distilled water is better. Good luck.
Jeremy
total tacoma points: 162
- Location
- MAGNA, land of chewy brown water
JeepinJoe said:
did that finaly fix your problem?
RockMonkey
Suddenly Enthusiastic
I did that once. Ended up cleaning out all the crap that was plugging up the holes in the radiator! 
Jeremy
total tacoma points: 162
- Location
- MAGNA, land of chewy brown water
i cant get mine to run at 210* in august in the middle of the desert, at idle for 3 hours. it wont run over 180-190. in the winter it never gets over 160*.
Devel
Just an Outlaw....
- Location
- North Salt Lake
ya i had the same problem, but my radiater was so bad that the radiator shop couldn't even flush the dam thing. i ended up buying a new radiater and a 180 degree thermostat. since then overheating was never a problem
Maybe this will help: Open system swap for about $100.
Parts List
1- $15.99 Jaz Coolant Catch Bottle-Jeg's Part # 547-600-025-01
1- $22.99 Moroso Radiator Filler Neck- Jeg's Part# 710-63745
1- $34.00 Heater Control Unit from Local Dealer (1996 XJ works)
1 - $25.00 Coolant, hose clamps, Radiator cap for a 1996 XJ
Installation
Step1: Grind down the lip on both ends of the Moroso Filler Neck. This will make slipping the stock upper radiator hose on possible. I grinded mine flat even with the rest of the tube.
Step2: Cut the upper radaitor hose as seen in the picture. Install your Filler Neck, use a light grease to make it easier. Slide the hose to where it's almost to the neck.Clamp it down.
Step3: Install the 3/8" hose to the overflow port off the neck. I installed mine under the core support bracket. Run the hose over to the airbox/fender area.
Step4: I switched the catch bottles hose connectors around for better use. My coolant bottle just sits there with nothing holding it in. I plugged the hose from the filler neck into the bottom of the bottle. Then I attached another hose to the other end and ran it out the bottom for the overflow.
Step5: Remove old heater valve and your old coolant expansion tank. Then install the new one as in the pic below. They do not install the same way! See pic!
Step6: Add coolant and go! I would check the coolant level after you have warmed the engine up.
Do it even cheapier! You can use a overflow bottle from a Eclipse and a used heater valve from your local junkyard.
Some people have retained their old expansion tanks to increase the coolant volume. They patched the tank in after the heater core. You can do this several ways. I have yet to do this since my tank was toast. Good luck! I would definetly do a radiator flush first! I used 4x times the normal amount of radiator cleaner/flush than normal.
Parts List
1- $15.99 Jaz Coolant Catch Bottle-Jeg's Part # 547-600-025-01
1- $22.99 Moroso Radiator Filler Neck- Jeg's Part# 710-63745
1- $34.00 Heater Control Unit from Local Dealer (1996 XJ works)
1 - $25.00 Coolant, hose clamps, Radiator cap for a 1996 XJ
Installation
Step1: Grind down the lip on both ends of the Moroso Filler Neck. This will make slipping the stock upper radiator hose on possible. I grinded mine flat even with the rest of the tube.
Step2: Cut the upper radaitor hose as seen in the picture. Install your Filler Neck, use a light grease to make it easier. Slide the hose to where it's almost to the neck.Clamp it down.
Step3: Install the 3/8" hose to the overflow port off the neck. I installed mine under the core support bracket. Run the hose over to the airbox/fender area.
Step4: I switched the catch bottles hose connectors around for better use. My coolant bottle just sits there with nothing holding it in. I plugged the hose from the filler neck into the bottom of the bottle. Then I attached another hose to the other end and ran it out the bottom for the overflow.
Step5: Remove old heater valve and your old coolant expansion tank. Then install the new one as in the pic below. They do not install the same way! See pic!
Step6: Add coolant and go! I would check the coolant level after you have warmed the engine up.
Do it even cheapier! You can use a overflow bottle from a Eclipse and a used heater valve from your local junkyard.
Some people have retained their old expansion tanks to increase the coolant volume. They patched the tank in after the heater core. You can do this several ways. I have yet to do this since my tank was toast. Good luck! I would definetly do a radiator flush first! I used 4x times the normal amount of radiator cleaner/flush than normal.
waynehartwig
www.jeeperman.com
- Location
- Mead, WA
It sounds to me like your thermostat is stuck open....Or fell out of the block when you put the thing to gether.EKSJAE said:
waynehartwig
www.jeeperman.com
- Location
- Mead, WA
Does your radiator get hot? Can you feel warm air flowing through it? Does your heater work?bigtruck said:
All of these are flow issues.... Bad water pump or stuck thermostat kind of thing. If your heater doesn't work, then your water pump is gone. If your heater does work, turn it all the way up and see if that will cool off your rig. If it does, then your thermostat is stuck closed.
Jeremy
total tacoma points: 162
- Location
- MAGNA, land of chewy brown water
waynehartwig said:
correct me if i am wrong but, if the t-stat was stuck open it would over heat in the summer. the thermostat needs to be able to close off the coolent in the radiator so that it can cool some before being sent back to the block. if there is no thermostat or it is stuck open there is not enough time in the radiator for the coolent to cool before it goes back to the engine and it just keeps building heat.
waynehartwig
www.jeeperman.com
- Location
- Mead, WA
Not true... If your cooling system (water pump, fan, radiator) is functioning properly (effeciently), there is more than enough time for the coolant to cool in the radiator before going back into the engine.EKSJAE said:
The only way a gasoline engine can run at 160* with a 190* thermostat in it, is if the water is continuously flowing, bringing cold water back in all the time.