JakeWI

OK. i have a 1996 jeep cherokee sport. i have a belt driven fan and a electric fan running for the radiator.

it has been heating up, almost into the red. not all the time but it does get close to the last white dashed line on the gage before the red.

at first i thought it was my electrical fan not kicking in, but i double checked that theory today and it does work. i dont think the water pump is going. i do need to replace my serpentine belt soon but its not that bad. i replaced the thermostat a couple months ago, maybe two. all the top hoses are fairly new, no dry rot or anything. i still want to put hood vents in but there has to be more i could do.

is there anything i should check or do to figure this out? im lost and need help. someone said something about when i did the thermostat, did i get the air bubbles out? i didnt do anything special to get them out. i dont even know how. idk, anything you guys can think of or suggest would be great because i want to tackle this once and for all.

CodeXJ

I really hate to say it, but have you checked the coolant level?

marvinsc

I have had new Thermostats stick at least Twice. Not on a Jeep though.

JakeWI

no its ok. but yes i have checked the level. it is perfect. thats one of the things i was thinking that maybe it was low or leaking but it def. isnt. thats another reason im lost.

c-loss

jack up the rear end of the vehicle so it is higher than the front and pull the temp sensor out of the back of the cylinder head its a 1 wire sensor that is screwed into the top of the head on the driver side. start the jeep and add coolant radiator until it comes out of that hole in the back of the head. its about the easiest way i now to get the air out because all of it will run to the back of the head ( highest spot).

xjjeepthing

I have seen the impellors on the water pump rust and fall apart, not enough circulation when this happens.

96 XJ Sport

Have you checked the fan clutch? It took me awhile to figure it out, but that was the problem on my 96. Mine was still spinning, but not fast enough. Look about 3/4 of the way down the first page of this thread where I describe how I determined mine was bad.

https://www.cherokeeforum.com/showth...ghlight=clutch

JakeWI

thanks guys. i will have to try these things. i will let you know.

JakeWI

i also forgot. it helps out a lot when i turn on my vents. when i open the vents and turn on the heat the temp goes down a lot. i know that will happen anyway because of better air flow. but could this mean anything else to the scenario?

BlueXJ

You may have a partial clog in the radiator. The heater core is acting like a secondary radiator thus dropping your temperature. You may be able to flush it but if not it is time to find a new radiator Jake.

BlueXJ

Sorry to tell you this but that only works on a Renix or a closed system. You and I have that system slowfreefall but a 96 does not, and that is what Jake has.

c-loss

oops didnt thiink about that thanks for clearing that up blue. my bad

JakeWI

thanks guys. and thanks blue. i will have to get to it next weekend. i hope its not a new radiator but if it is, o well. if it is that, im glad it happened now because im not as money tight as i always him due to some wheeling cancelations.

BlueXJ

I am just glad to see that you know how to bleed the Renix cooling system.

okcjeeper

Yeah on my open system we just burped it through the fill spout and had no issues..just filled it up till could fill anymore then let it run and it would cycle and air bubbles would come to the top and eventually filled it at the max and no more air bubbles. Haven't had an issue since..