89xj

i have a 89 xj 4x4 that is overheating very quickly when driving.. at idle it will sit about 210-220 after ten minutes or so coolant will start leakign out of the overflow can cant pinpoint the problem.. i flushed the radiator ? didnt help .any ideas? thanks

ktmracer419

is your electric fan turning on and off?

do you have the original fan clutch?

if it overheats at idle more often than not its a fan problem, not sucking enough air through the radiator fins.

89xj

the fans spins freely when motor is off i was told this is bad.... but yes its the original fan... and 170thousand miles on it.... and i have the elctric fan hooked up to a switch so i can turn it on manually.... but it over heats with and without it

ktmracer419

when its running and you give it gas you should hear a big "whoosh" of air.

spinning freely is bad.

89xj

k thnx man... how hard is it to change a fan clutch? will i have to pull the radiator?

Kyle

should just be 4 bolts to take the whole thing out. its a pretty tight fit but otherwise should be a pretty easy fix.

-Kyle

ktmracer419

its just 4 nuts i believe.

i got mine from either advance auto or autozone (dont remember) and paid $35.

mehoff_400

yea i had the same problem to but here in washington it doesnt get that hot to worrie about it to much i hear its a common problem with the cherokee lol well thats a long list tho

89xj

well since im working on the cooling system im going to go ahead and take the radiator in for a cleaning at the rad shop. better safe than sorry... i checked the thermostat today it works good. thanks for the advice everyone!!

89xj

i ened up not doing he fan clutch... i had the radiator cleaned out and put it back on with the water wetter stuff from the auto store.. it runs great now. during a 90 degree day it stayed in the 185-195 range the entire time. never got to the 210 mark ... so if anyone want to know the water wetter works great but u have to drain you cooling system to use it it doesnt mix with propelyne glycol antifreeze. only ethenol glycol

ted939

I wonder if a bad fan clutch is my problem, too.

I have an '88 Cherokee, since 2002, and I've overheated many times, and have had the coolant bottle and cap crack on me at least 6 times. Each time I buy a new one, the price goes up notably. Then the inconvenience and cost of time and breakdown every time it overheats and spills out all the coolant!

I'm not good mechanically, don't really have the tools & know-how, don't have much money to throw at this, but I can't go on with overheating every few months. Any suggestions/solutions?

Anyone know of a good honest, not too expensive place in San Diego to check out my Jeep?

Thanks,
Ted

Kyle

to fix your problem i would switch to a closed cooling system like the newer XJ's have. here is a pretty good writeup for what you need/how to do it.

-Kyle

ted939

Thanks Kyle, for your reply.

You wrote, "here is a pretty good writeup for what you need/how to do it", but I don't see any writeup or link to writeup.

Ted

Kyle

im an idiot, here is the link
http://jeep.off-road.com/jeep/articl....jsp?id=257864

-Kyle

iquois

Kyle, that write up is going to a 92 or newer open radiator. Is that what you were wanting to link to?