jj1562

Well, my '96 classic has been running smooth, (knock on wood) this past week I thought I smelt antifreeze burning off, it went away then 2 days later it came back, I'm in NY and it's been pretty cool outside, today, after driving for about 20 minutes the check eng light came on, no spitting or hesitation, brought it to my friends shop and scanned it, turned out to be the temp sensor high, I need to install a new plug but it's been staying out for a long time now, after I reconnected the plug and drove home, about 15 min's, the light came back on and the plug was still attached, and now I notice a small amount of coolant escaping what seems to be from the radiator cap, my question is: would low coolant cause throw the code for coolant temp sensor high? '96 cherokee classic 4.0 with 150,000ilea, Thanks for a u help

jj1562

I let it cool down and checked the coolant level which seemed to be ok, when I opened the cap, there was a little thickness to the Coolant inside the radiator neck, I'm guessing oil is getting into the coolant and I have a cracked head and the gunk is possibly clogging the sensor?

belvedere

Pull the dipstick and look at the oil. Also, look under the oil fill cap. See if you find any "milky-looking" oil.

jj1562

Done that, oil looks clean

tjwalker

I don't think that the coolant condition would trigger this code.

You may have two problems.

1. Need to flush/fill with fresh coolant; inspect all cooling system components. When was last time coolant was changed?
2. Faulty coolant temp sensor; replace it

jj1562

I'm replacing the sensor in the am, I've inly owned it for a year and haven't changed the coolant, guess I should lol

jj1562

thx for the help/tips

jj1562

Changed out the sensor, so far so good! Thanks again for the help

tjwalker

Glad I could help; when you are performing the flush, be sure that you replace ALL cooling system components that require it.......that may include thermostat, hoses, etc.

Cooling system maintenance is extremely important. It's pay me now or pay me more later (with overheats, towing, engine damage, etc.)

jj1562

The PO replaced water pump, looks like he just did that and replaced whatever coolant was lost, I'll do the flush next w/e