Hey Guys,

I noticed the other day my heat was, well....not exactly heat. It blows just fine, but is luke warm at best.

I did some research and found out that I can backflush the heater core pretty easily, but I also noticed that my coolant reservoir is VERY dirty. I wanted to do this the right way and be thorough about cleaning the WHOLE system and replace some old worn out parts. Here is my plan:

1. Drain the system out via the lower radiator hose (heard that the petcock valve can be compromised easily if not careful)
2. Backflush the heater core and flush the cooling system
3. Replace the old 5/8" outlet and 3/4" inlet hoses. They have seen better days.
4. Replace old thermostat.
5. Bake in my new heat (hopefully)

My question is about the order in which to do this. Logically, it makes sense to me, but I am just learning. Does this look right to you guys? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

Not sure why you would change the diameter of the hose from something different than stock.

Be sure to use factory 195 C thermostat.

If the system seems that it has been neglected, you probably want to inspect the water pump...or maybe just replace.

Since you have a 2000, you have a 0331 head....and you cannot be too careful when it comes to cooling system maintenance.

 

Thanks for the info!

I wasn't planning to change the diameter of the hoses from stock. On my XJ the heater hose that attaches to the t-stat housing is 3/4" while the other is 5/8". Was just gonna replace them with newer hoses of the same diameter.

I will definitely be checking and most likely be replacing the water pump - system looks beat!

 

If the heater core is trashed the radiator can't be much better. Save yourself some time, money and future headaches now, just replace everything.