This is ridiculous. Your trans is not overheating, your engine is. You could melt your trans and it would still not cause the engine to stall out. When the trans does overheat it will lock into 3rd gear and/or puke it's fluid all over the place. Also, nothing on your jeep will ever get hot enough to warp an ~1/8" thick piece of metal.

Either you're not paying attention to the coolant temp, or the gauge is lying to you. I would put a new sender in it if I were you. 96 and down is in the back of the head, 97 and up is in the tstat housing.

 

Thanks Roler, that's one answer I was looking for.

 

Coolant temp is fine even when it stalls... Already replaced the entire cooling system outside the engine plus sensors. The engine itself is not overheating... the heat is coming from somewhere else but I'll find temp gun or something to point at different locations.

Thanks.

 

You're right, I have not replaced the fan clutch yet but the engine itself is not overheating.

 

I'll look at the exhaust Roler but there is no exhaust smell under the hood... thanks.

 

I'll find a temp gun, thanks everyone.

Found one at HF for $20
http://www.harborfreight.com/infrare...ter-93984.html




.

 

Keep us posted

 

Okay, just forced the issue and here are the temp gun numbers immediately after it died just shooting different visible locations (I didn't shoot fluid numbers because it doesn't seem necessary given the numbers):

189 Bellhousing
180 Radiator
161 Transmission pan
176 Oil pan
206 Water pump
190 Engine block near pan (passenger side)
205 Engine block near head (passenger side)
176 Catalytic converter
274 Exhaust pipe before converter
124 Starter
202 Intake manifold
165 Disctributor housing
178 Coil
244 Exhaust manifold
202 Intake manifold
225 Head front (passenger side)
215 Head rear (passenger side)

So I was wrong about the transmission.

Are the head temps getting too high?

Maybe the valve seals start to leak enough for the engine lose compression until it cools down again?

Also, there is no appearance of water sludge in the oil on the dipstick.

Thanks!

 

Replace the crank position sensor. I'd go dealer on this part. They tend to fail when "hot". Your temps seem fine to me. Depending on ambient temperatures and paint color your hood may very well be hot. Usually the "most straightforward fix" is the right fix. In other words dont overthink an XJ.

 

Ha "don't overthink"

I actually already have a new dealer CPS for a few months now but have not put it on yet... I didn't want to possibly ruin the new one if something else was causing the issue (they're expensive ouch).

 

Put it in an report back. IF you don't have a 3 foot extension go buy one at Auto Zone for $20. It makes the job much easier. Or buy a 2 foot and use a one foot to make it 3. You'd be surprised how handy a 2 foot extension can be for rear shocks, belt tensioner and motor mounts. The 3 is really only good for this job and bell housing bolts if you're pulling transsmission.

 

Okay, got the Crank Position Sensor installed and all seems good. I let it idle in Drive for over 30 minutes sitting still with no issues and then drove it around and it starts right back up. So (hopefully) the problem is finally solved.

An additional note is that my old plastic "guard" or dirt cover or whatever it is that comes with the cps was pretty warped and I wonder if, when the bellhousing got hot, the plastic piece deformed enough to pushed the old sensor just far enough so it couldn't sense the flywheel anymore until it cooled down.

Anyway, for anyone reading this later, I did find a potentially helpful suggestion on youtube... remove the upper bolt first and replace the upper bolt last... that way you have less chance of the upper bolt falling into the bellhousing.

Before the change my XJ would die around 112-115 degrees but now after the 30 minutes of idling the coolant temp goes up to 117-122 degrees max. Then when I drive it goes down to around 200 or lower until stopped and sitting in traffic again and goes back up but does not die.

I'm using a odb2 bluetooth adapter I got off ebay for $20 and then you need the Torque app for your smartphone for a few $. The app will talk to the odb2 adapter and you can see tons of info about your vehicle including error codes, rpm, coolant temp, 02 sensor info... most everything your vehicle computer is saying and you can use them on multiple vehicles.

Thanks for the input everyone and in the meantime I picked up some Grizzly wheels and 31" tires for only $180 off Craigslist.



My '98 Cherokee with Grizzly wheels from a late 90's Wrangler.

 

Looks good, all the sensors are great, just don't obsess over them. The dash gauges are all you need most of the time. Spend time enjoying the ride and the scenery.

 

Hello Guys, thanks for this trend…my XJ 98 is reflecting exactly the same issue…engine stalls, after very heavy traffic or steep Sierras (on road) in Brazil, it fells like engine overheating, but the gauges shows normal Temp, and come back on after 40 min or so….it is now getting a trans repair at the shop for solenoid codes and torque conversor…not cheap…many other issues came along….but i will get in to the CPS…all other sensors are new and Mopar…not cheap..piece