so things are a bit tough as of late (gotta love this economy).

anyhoo, a buddy gave me a FREE xj (95 sport 4dr/5MT) to bang around in until i can fix both the mj and the gti. this is how my night went (maybe you xj guys can chime in and tell me wtf is going on):

2:30pm: get to kyle's house (that's my buddy).
3:00pm: start on the radiator replacement
4:30pm: done, front bumper pulled, car running
5:15pm: head home
6:15pm: car starts losing power on highway (bogging down). also notice a trail of smoke.
6:19pm: car stalls on an UPHILL, will not restart.
6:20pm: go into oh snap mode, i just overheated and killed the truck.
6:25pm: notice there's a puddle under the car, left front.
6:26pm: rad cap cold, both hoses hot.
6:27pm: open oil cap, steam comes out.
7:10pm: finally try to restart again, battery dead. wtf.
7:45pm: a NICE cop gives me 500' of room to roll back and pop start, success.
7:46pm: off the highway, enter gas station.
7:56pm: car stalls in my driveway.
8:06pm: see 6:25-6:27PM.
8:09pm: add coolant.
8:10pm: as i add coolant, it fills the rad and then gushes out the fill hole, like i had just opened up the cap and it was hot. weird.
8:11pm: car topped off, she starts right back up.
8:12pm: i get her straightened out and marvel that i potentially overheated this thing TWICE and she still runs hard and strong.

what did i do/is going on? i'm a vw guy (will FULLY admit), but man, if this is how a jeep takes this sort of situation, i'm amazed.

 

I think you had a air pocket maybe all is well now? Time will tell, no temp. guage?

 

temp gauge yes, working not so much.

this truck has 246,000 miles on her. also has a 3" lift with 31" muds but i think 3.07s. doing 1600 at 65 in 5th.

 

One time I towed a boat 100 miles with the temp gauge (that works) pinned over on hot. I know it was a very stupid move, but the jeep still runs to this day.

Since then I have replaced every cooling part in it.

They are very hard to kill.

 

The Inline 6 4.0 can take a beating. Maintaining it properly is key!

 

Im gonna have to guess you had a major air pocket in the system. get the gauge/sender fixed, and keep an eye on things for a while.

 

Ya sounds like an air pocket. I don't know if this will help you but I rock the **** out of my vw or Jeep whenever I think air pockets are possibility, before I screw on the cap tight.... seems to sort of work. VW and Jeep are probably on level playing field for durability. I also own both, and I've run my VW with gelled up anti-freeze back home from the next province. there was no where to fix it in between and it overheated 4 times.... I'm glad to know Jeep can do the same, some insurance for anyone traveling in huge minus temps! Funny how you gotta worry about overheating when it's seriously cold out...

 

I learned several years ago on my camaros that after draining the cooling system and putting new hoses, thermostat and antifreeze in them I had to start it up and let it idle till it got hot. Then shut it off and let it sit till cool enough to open the radiator cap. You could hear it hissing, burping gurgling as it cooled down. Then when the cap came off I could add more antifreeze as it had worked the "hot air" past the thermostat by that time.

Glad yours came out alright. This is a good reminder for me since I hope to get mine (2000 Cherokee Sport) drained, flushed, new hoses/thermostat installed and new antifreeze in it sometime this weekend.

 

get one of these....http://www.handsontools.com/Lisle-24...it_p_5079.html

one of the most useful tools I've ever owned. It does all the work while you just let your vehicle run. I've even used it on my dirt bike! haha.

 

Hey do you know of any good VW forums? I have some questions I'd like to ask... thanks!

 

proof that the cherokee cannot be killed

 

yeah most volkswagens motors are made of plastic where if you get it over 210 degrees, they melt and warp.

whenever you do coolant work, you cant just fill it up and drive, fill it up, let it run with the cap off and keep the fluid in the radiator topped off and just let it run until it gets to running temp, the electric fans come on (if applicable) and youve got heat blowing out the dash... if all thats working, your cooling system is bled.

 

HA that's so funny I was just going to post that exact same video!
I almost wish I could do that... but I'd feel bad for ruining the Jeep...

 

attacked a couple other things last night while i had the old man over the pad. got the rear wheel cylinders replaced and hydraulic system bled out. also, i installed the t-stat and gasket, but i was fast running out of time and daylight. i'll top her off shortly, yank the radio out and plug the hvac stuff back in so i can get the heater core involved in this shindig too.

the gauge sender is the one off the water outlet up top, correct? again, fairly new to daily driving this stuff (i have an 87 mj i use pretty much for dump runs, but that has had the 4.0 ripped out and a vr6 stuffed in (ducks and runs)).

i would love to daily the mj, but it's in the midst of MASSIVE bodywork right now (floors, cab corners, bed repair) and isn't together enough to put my kid in.

will report later tonight and see if she runs and doesn't overheat.

 

vr6 in an mj? pics?