I just bought a 94 cherokee sport. Its average running temp. is about 220F. Is this too hot? What can I do to bring it down a bit? I was also wondering what some of you other guys rigs run at b/c I heard that xj's run hot anyways.

 

Idle, highway, in-town.. dows it get hotter? Does the e-fan kick on at 220f?

 

220 is good, dont start to worry till you hit 240, as long as your aux fan works then you should not have a problem

 

This is at running temp. in town after driving around for about a half hr or less. No stop and go traffic yet. I did do some light off roading in it today and the temp started rising a bit past 220.

 

Now that I think about it I've never heard the fan kick on. Anyway to check to make sure it works besides running it and waiting for it to kick in?

 

you could test the fan yes but it is the sensor that goes bad more often then the fan, so just start it and wait for it to click on, idle about 10 min should do it

 

Test the wires running to it

 

Ya, but how would I do that? Can you use a volt meter to test just wires?
Sorry for the stupid questions. I just started diving in to auto mechanics a few months ago and still havent gotten it all down yet. I'm getting the hang of it though.

 

Turn the A/C on, the electric fan should kick on. Check the fan clutch on the mechanical fan and make sure it is functioning.

 

With your low ambient temps, I would think 220F is on the toasty side, presuming the gauge is accurate. That's 25 degrees above the factory t-stat (195F) and in cool weather to boot. Maybe 220F in 90+ ambient temps but not where u live, IMHO. Cooling issues could be caused by a stuck t-stat, weak water pump, restricted radiator, weak fan clutch, etc., etc., all of which are maintenance items. Any maintenance records?