So I am digging into this '88 XJ. It's running hot in our 103 deg. weather here so flush/new reservoir & cap/new fan clutch is underway. The old fan clutch seems pretty loose, so I bet that's a large part of the problem. Anyway, this truck does not have an electric auxiliary fan, just a good-sized area of open radiator.

I can't help thinking that the non-fan area of radiator can't work as efficiently. If this truck didn't come with an aux fan when new, wouldn't there have been a different shroud on the back to get some air movement through the entire radiator?

I am seriously considering installing an aux fan. Would an aftermarket fan be good enough, or should I try to find a complete setup in a junkyard and replace the motor in that? And is it worth trying to replicate the OEM setup, or should I just put it all on a dash switch and call it good?

TIA.

 

Try OEM first and use a newer xj aux fan because these are supposed to have an electric fan from factory. Im unsure of the connectors but there should be one dangling around the open area near the radiator. Also you said yours doesnt have a fan? That might be your problem right there lol. Im gonna give you a few links first being what is supposed to be in there then the fan that the newer xj jeeps use. Should cost around 50 dollars and they cost about the same at the junkyard but why pay that for used when you can get new? Anyways http://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo....179839&jsn=392 This is the oem fan yours would have had then here is the new fan style thats more efficient and better i guess. http://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo....431776&jsn=483

This is all from Rock Auto. also use this video as reference for the wire location. And pray to god the fan kicks on lol. I dont know how to find it out on older jeeps.
But this should get you on track with these as these fans pull quite a bit of air it should be fine if you arent doing heavy wheeling. Also check your fan shroud if its broken replace it as that dramatically affects cooling. But if the whole oem system doesnt work you can trouble shoot quite easily to broken or corroded wires and if all else fails hard wire it.

 

Sounds like a good plan. Yes, the entire auxiliary fan assembly is missing. Whoever removed it actually put the screws back into the holes that held on the shroud, so hopefully I'm not having to buy a bunch of screws, lol.

I'd rather use new, so if the setup is that reasonable I'm down with it. Rockauto is a good source, and I can use the part numbers to check a few other sources, too. (I tend to use autohausaz.com a lot). I'm fine with using the later style if that is an improvement and won't cause me any problems with mismatched connectors and so on.

 

New style fan has different conector than older style. Gotta source a pigtail for it.

 

Well, that shouldn't be too hard. Pull-a-Part if nothing else. Is the newer fan that much better? Or should I just put in the old fan and be done? I did find the connector for it off to the side.

I think the cooling system is definitely gunked up some. I flushed it clean, then filled it and put in some radiator cleaner and filled it up. Or thought I did. Ran it a bit and got a heat spike. Shut it down and messed with it a bit more, finally ran it a bit and looked at the hose coming to the top of the reservoir - it was barely trickling water. I raised the throttle a bit and it trickled more, then surged a few times, getting a good stream off and on. I guess I'll let it sit and work a bit, then run it a bit more later. Really hoping I don't have to put a new water pump in this thing...

 

New fan way better. As for plug change the fan end to fit factory harness. I try never to cut into the factory wiring.

 

If you end up doing a radiator its very advised to upgrade to newer 92 open cooling system well worth getting rid of pressure bottle setup.

 

"Way better" is good enough for me, new setup it is. Wish I had the old one to make a pigtail from, but then if I did we wouldn't be having this discussion. Can probably get one from Pull-a-Part for a few bucks.

 

Lets hope your system will survive. Was there any rust in the system?

 

Very little, actually. It is pretty clean. I've left the cleaning solution in there overnight, and I''ll try flushing it again tomorrow night.

 

The radiator itself looks pretty new. The new-style drain petcock is a right PITA - the ears on the plug hit the bottom of the headlight bucket when you turn it. :P I actually trimmed the ears a bit so it'd clear better.

Heh, wish I'd read this before I bought and installed a new pressure reservoir.

 

doesnt that suck? Anyways with that electric fan it shouldnt overheat *fingers crossed*. Plus if you have ac it shouldnt go above 210. I cant live without ac in florida sucks so much with the heat. I can only begin to imagine how you would fare without ac.

 

Some of us recommend never touching that petcock. They can decide to let you open them, and then refuse to go back to the closed position. I have heard of people having to replace radiators just for that reason. I have personally spent an hour fiddling with one after my son opened it.

Much better to leave it alone, and just disconnect the lower radiator hose to drain when needed.

 

Probably a good idea, since the stupid thing shoots straight into the side marker light bucket. That can't be good for it.

 

Hey Freegdr (or anyone else), do you happen to know what year they switched to the newer fan style? I think I'm going to order a new fan, but I'll swing by the local pull-a-part and get an old-style fan to salvage the pigtail.