byekryam

I have been reading for two days now trying to learn as much as possible and will jump into this today and see what I can find.

I have been working on my 94 Cherokee Sport with the inline 6 cylinder for a month now tearing it apart, cutting out all rust, and piecing it back together and finishing it off. Have to get it back on the road as it's my daily driver. Everything has been going well.

Now the previous owner stated I needed to change a "switch" on the auxillary fan. Said I needed to do this because in really hot weather it will go up, not over heat, but the guage will go up. Stated that he once saw the gauge go up but was able to drive to his shop and change out the water pump and thermostat before it overheated.

On the way to work the other day on it's maiden voyage since I started all this, it was cool out and I didn't think I would have a problem. But as I got in stop and go traffic, it started to go up. Traffic wasn't that bad and I was able to get to work without it getting more then just a little higher then should be.

Last night on the way to work (another cool night), it was a different story. (Only reason I haven't dealt with this till now is because he said it wouldn't be a problem, I was rebuilding the whole thing, and the last week has been rain). So traffic was a little heavier then normal. The guage started going up farther then I was comfortable with. I put it in neutral at first, then started to put on the heat, and then finally actually shut the truck down when actually stopped. But then at one point I went to put the heat back on and it wouldn't work. The blinkers also went out. All in all I got to work and the truck was just at the beginning of the red on the heat guage. It never steamed or overflowed as I've seen other vehicles do during an overheating.

After some quick prayer as I was leaving from work to start my way home, I spun the fan. It felt easy to spin. Upon reaching home, when the engine was warm, I spun the fan again and it spun easily. Supposedly it should have been harder to spin when warm. I'm thinking clutch fan. But also, my heater and blinkers were working again. That's the confusing part. Why did they temporarily stop working? Something was close to the hot engine/radiator and was temperature sensitive? I've read about the potential of the ignition switch going bad and things like this happening, but would it be sporadic?

Today I'm going to check out turning on the AC/defrosters and see if electric fan comes on/test the fan with a jumper, feel the top water hose to feel if feels like water/hot, take off radiator cap and let apotential air out of system, check for coolant leaks and sides of block, maybe replace fan relay/temperature switch on radiator/side of block, etc.

The truck stays in acceptable temperature riding on the highway and I checked there's no white stuff in oil on dipstick. Has anyone experienced this same scenario or does anyone have any input on this one other then what I've been reading on here?

Thanks so much,
Woody

98xxxj

I've had the blinker and heater issue. I found that when it does that if I turn my key counter clockwise just a little everything starts working again. Not enough to shut it off just roll it back a hair. On your over heat problem I'm not sure. If the po replaced water pump recently you should be able to tell by looking at it. Only reason I say that is because I've bought cars in the past where people claimed to have changed parts but hadn't. As for your fan if its any help mine kicks on at 210. If everything seems to be working I would try "burping" it. Mine heated up after I changed my pump and that's what it turned out to be. They are one of the bigger pita vehicles that I've had to burp lol. Good luck with it.

byekryam

Thanks for the response. I will try the backwards ket thing if this happens again. I do notice that I've been having a little more problem with turning the key since this has happened, so I might have to change the ignition switch sometime in the near future.

The water pump did not look new from the outside, especially for the time frame that he said he had recently changed it. Inside though, it did look pretty decent so I don't know. I ended up changing that, the thermostat, the clutch fan, the temp switch on the thermostat, and the relay in the box in the engine compartment. I haven't completed all of it yet because they gave me the wrong gasket for the thermostat, but hopefully tomorrow I will get that complete.

I did jump out the electric fan and it does work, so I'm hoping that tomorrow when I get this all together, that it will work once all of this is up and running again.

Quick question, when I go and put the silicone on the thermostat tomorrow, how long do I have to wait till I can fill the system and try it out? The silicone on the water pump will have all night to dry.

Thanks

98xxxj

I didn't put any sealant on the tstat. I honestly don't think your supposed to. I may be wrong. haven't had any issues on mine. they have a rubber gasket on the t-stat and any sealant gets in the way of it.

byekryam

Oh, the gasket they gave me was like a cork board type material with sticky glue on one side. Supposedly you're supposed to use the sticky glue on one side and put the silicone on the other. Maybe the rubber gasket is a much better one.

Either way the one they gave me had the wrong holes in it for the little flow slot on the side. I could have butchered it to make it work, but I didn't think it had enough meat on it left over to give me a good seal.

98xxxj

I just saw yours is a 94. Mine is a 98 so they may be different in the newer ones. I don't have a lot of experience in the older ones.

salad

Aside from the blinker stuff, your main problem is a classic failed fan clutch. Make sure the shroud's still on there, too.

byekryam

Will do!