quast

hi guys. i have searched on this topic but havent seen anything on it yet. My girlfriend has a 2000 jeep cherokee and recently the rad blew on it. i didnt have time to do the work myself so i just let a mechanic do it. got it fixed and all was fine. now the "check guages" light pops up and it shows the heat all the way in the red. she of course didnt know what it meant and just let it be for 2 days without telling me but thankfully she only drives for 2 mins to work. so last night i took it out for a drive and nothing. i drove it for about 15 mins at hwy speeds and nothing it showed normal temps untill i parked at the gas station then it jumpped to the red. also there isnt any heat coming out either dont know if this could be related.

-any thoughts about what the problem might be?

jakbob

Water pump or mechanical fan clutch. Take a rolled up newspaper and try to slow down the mechanical fan down while the motor is warmed up and running. If there is no heat while you are idling, but heat pumps out of the dash while you are driving, its the water pump.

djb383

Fan clutch bad, heater core plugged, heater control valve bad. With motor COLD remove rad cap and make sure it's full of coolant as well as the bottle. Please don't stick anything into a spinning/rotating fan.....it's not safe and that's not how the fan clutch is tested.

Zack92MJ

Take it back to the shop they effed something up. Just my. 02

quast

there is no heat at idle or running it just blows ice cold.

jakbob

Rolled up newspaper is fine. Its not going to hurt anything. Instead of shooting down the idea, why not tell the OP the correct way to test it?

quast

ill have to check the coolant level in a bit when its cooled down. when u say the bottle you mean the overflow? lol im new to jeeps i drive and work on a dmax so please bare with my stupidity aha

jakbob

Then it is the water pump. Easy fix. 40 dollars for the pump, maybe an hour to change out. Just buy lots of coolant, gray gasket maker and anything else you want to replace (for example, coolant hoses, heater hoses, thermostat, etc) since it will be drained anyway.

stev-o

X2

quast

so if i understand correctly by doing the waterpump and thermostat this will fix the check guages light caused by overheating?

stev-o

If u reset the computer after possibly

quast

yeah thats the easy part but i just want to make sure i get the overheating fixed. i dont need a blown head. thanks for all the help by the way really appreciate it everyone.

djb383

Try a new fan clutch ($35)......don't have to drain/refill coolant. If that doesn't work, then change the water pump and t-stat. All 4 main cooling system components will then be new. Plugged heater core/malfunctioning heater control valve could be your heater problem.

Turbo X_J

Keep it simple, check the coolant level first. If the vechicle was driven for any length of time after the radiators' demise, check the cylinder head for cracks that's how they fail from excessive heat.

nickxj94

sounds like there is not enough water and antifreeze in it, double check it???after the shop worked on it?