vegas cherokee

Hi folks, I'm brand new here so forgive the question. I have a 90 XJ with 212K miles on it. Here in Vegas, it gets HOT, and thus the cherokee started to act up and overheat (240-260 degrees) starting in June. I parked it, replaced the radiator with a 2 row silla, the thermostat, coolant temp sensor and even the electric fan. It is a bit better now, but...

1. I noticed that when I flushed the engine out, that rust colored fluid is constantly coming out, is this bad or normal (I'd assume) being the jeep is 20 years old.
2. It seems the electric fan turns on as soon as I turn the A/C on, but will shut off when I switch the A/C off, and will not turn on again, even if the car goes over 260ish degrees unless the A/C is on.
3. The overflow resevoir bubbles and I lose fluid anytime the car is over 210 degrees. Now, with all the changes to the cooling system, it doesn't overheat, but I lose enough fluid each time that I have to refill the coolant system about once a week, or it gets too low, and I overheat

Thanks guys for any input you all can give me on my issues.

littleredXJ

Sounds like your over flow tank is cracked. The 90s used a closed coolant system and the tank is a pressurized part of the system. If i were you i would convert it to a later style open system ( it's easy do a search in the forum). At the very least i would replace the plastic reservoir.

vegas cherokee

Thanks for the advice, I replaced the overflow tank. Doing that in conjunction with checking my engine oil level (it was low) and filling that up solved the problem.

That said, once I got in the car and had it running for a while, I smelled something that smelled like a small electric fire. Low and behold, I can't shift out of park now, and the headlights/taillights wont work. From what folks seem to be saying is it most likely is a brake light switch that is blown. Does this sound right? Second, is it located above the steering column or somewhere else on a 90 XJ? I seem to be getting conflicting info.