DeluxeCrusader

Patient:
2 door 1991 XJ ("Project Zombie, Keeping the Dead Alive.")
171,*** miles.
4.0L I6 H/O

Symptoms:
no heat
engine overheating while idle.
spitting antifreeze on the engine.

Ruled out: (sort of)
Thermostat
Hoses

Everything ruled out, was NOT ruled out by me. They were ruled out by my mechanic, merely by looking at it. No diagnostic tests done.

My theories:
Radiator.
Head Gasket.
Thermostat.
Cant be the hoses, I'd be spitting a lot more antifreeze then I currently am.

I will be replacing these in order of price (lowest to highest) until the problem is fixed.
But I thought I'd get an opinion from people who live Jeep.
I hate paying someone 300$ to diagnose a 5$ problem I can fix myself.
Plus I know you all love a good puzzle.

itsanxjthing

Spitting antifreeze from where? What colour exhaust you blow?

DeluxeCrusader

considering its -10c most the time out here, the exhaust is hard to tell the color of. seems normal, doesn't smell any different then normal, not that i stuck my nose in there and took a big whiff.

spill seems to be originating from the radiator cap.

firstime00XJ

Where on the motor is the antifreeze being noticed or sprayed?

DeluxeCrusader

3-5" radius from the radiator cap, is the majority,
there are splatters further away, including on the engine block resulting in the wonderful smell of burning anti freeze.

dyte2004

if you dont have heat in the cab it might be as simple as a air lock but i would be tempted to try the water pump squeez the top hose untill the stat opens as it opens you will feel if its pumping get right under the car with a flash light and look at the bottom of the waterpump for fluid at the weep hole could be stat also if you replace this use a good quality one also check your bottom hose to check if its colasping when hot if all else fails have a sniff test done on the collant for co2