Hey, so my cherokee has a new water pump, radiator, and thermostat. It's been running a little hotter than normal, at about halfway on the gauge and its cooling down outside, so it shouldn't be to hot. For the second time now I got home, parked the jeep than returned a little later with coolant all over the ground. What should I do?

 

Sounds like the infamous cracked 0331 head to me.

Remove the oil filler cap and look underneath for milky residue. Take a strong flashlight and look under the valve cover towards # 3 and #4 valve areas and see if you see residue or a crack. These heads have a casting flaw in that area and seem to crack quite frequently.

You can also pull your dipstick and look for milky residue or water droplets on it.

Lack of residue doesn't rule out a cracked head, however. In your case, it sounds like it is cracked into the water jacket, which is over-pressurizing the system and causing it to run hot and dump on the ground after shut-off.

 

The new stat may open a few degrees higher than the old stat, thus the gauge may register a little higher than with the old stat. About halfway (a little +/-) on the gauge IS normal. Borrow a point-n-shoot infrared temp gun and point it at the stat cover to verify the dash gauge reading.

What should u do about coolant on the ground?......1st thing would be to raise the hood, then with a good flashlight, start looking for the source of the leak. Easier for u to look than us.

 

I don't know, It seemed to run cooler in summer than right now. I live in Arizona.

 

U don't know what?

Is the new stat a higher temp rating than the old stat?

 

It's not the thermostat.

 

Halfway (210) is normal for one of these vehicles. If yours used to run cooler, then you had a lower temp thermostat in there and replaced it with the proper one when you swapped it out. That is not a concern...mine runs 210 regardless of whether it is 105 or 15 degrees outside.

Coolant on the ground is a concern. Maybe you spilled some when you were swapping stuff out and it pooled up somewhere and is running off? Check hose connections, your overflow bottle (for a crack), the overflow hose, the radiator drain valve...it's coming from somewhere.

Edit to remove some comments that were cleared up by going back to read...

 

Maybe not......and it may not be running hot either since the gauge is at halfway.

So far the only thing confirmed in this thread is, coolant all over the ground, it seemed to run cooler in the summer (how much, we don't know) and he lives in Arizona.

 

if the needle is straight up and down, thats fine. i live in arizona too. engines are designed to run at a certain temperature, regardless of outside temperature. so really it shouldnt run any colder during winter.

 

When an accurate aftermarket temp gauge or even better, a digital scan tool are used (vs the dash gauge), u would see that coolant temp does run cooler in cold ambient temps vs hot ambient temps.....and substantially cooler than when ambient temps r 3 digits.

 

No, I changed the thermostat and all the other stuff about 5 months ago, sorry didn't make that clear. It just seems to run a little warmer ever since the coolant eruption on the ground.

 

check your heater control valve. May be broken or clogged. Also, use an accurate temp gun and moniter the thermostat housing. It should be around 210 degrees when at temp.

 

^^^ that too if you have an older model with the separate hcv

Did you replace the coolant that leaked out? Because if not then that could be why. Maybe your new water pump is failing? Was it a new one or a reman? Do you have coolant flung on everything in the engine bay?

 

i did keep track of mine after i replaced the thermostat with the torque app, it uses a bluetooth obd2 dongle for its info.

 

97+ don't have heater control valves. another form of verification on the actual coolant temp is needed. I'm assuming there is no air in the system after 5 months and you have not let the engine get hot. the coolant on the ground is most likely the result of something leaking between the radiator and overflow tank. this should be an obvious investigation: drive vehicle, pop hood, wait for leak, repair.