gingerkid

hey guys i really need your help i bough a 1995 jeep cherokee 4 door 2 months back and it was runing alright until a week ago it started running really hot ... so i drained all the dirty old collant and replaced the theromstat cause thats what every one said it was... but after i did that it still runs really hot and now when im driving it.. everytime im not on the throttle the rpms drop to abbout 400 and it stalls out.. i have no idea what it is... any idea what the problem might be

countryboy215

First off, these motors all run pretty hot when compared to others. Make sure your cooling system isnt leaking anywhere. Make sure the water pump is working right. Both my cherokees overheated bad at some point. Once it was the water pump and the other time there was a slow leak. If all else fails, try throwing some stop leak in the radiator cause it cleans it out and is supposed to seal any leaks anywhere.

HCCAFan

I disagree on the stop leak.

Check your oil for coolant and coolant for oil first off. Make sure the head gasket isn't blown.

Then see if your mechanical fan is working. Then see if the electric fan is coming on by 210 degrees.

Also, check your cooling system for air.

SeriousOffroad

Why not try an inexpensive Flush Kit from your autoparts store first. Doing so will flush a lot of crud out of the cooling system.

Spoonman

I'm not trying to pick on countryboy215's suggestion but I have to say that the stop leak additives in my personal opinion are the worst option and should only ever be used as a very last resort (stranded) temp fix.
I have never heard that that stuff cleans anything and to me that just don't make any sense that a product that is supposed to plug leaks would clean anything out.It is made to clog stuff up not clean.
Please don't take me wrong I am not trying to troll this thread I just hear people all the time suggesting that stuff for coolant systems and they even make it for head gaskets and like I said I believe it is really the worst thing you could do.
If you have to use it then make sure to fix the faulty parts asap and do a complete flush of your coolant system as well as a new thermostat and pull the water pump and clean that.

For the OP,I would start with the other recommendations first.With the known cracked head and or blown head gasket issues of these jeeps I would personally look in that direction first and hopefully eliminate that as the cause of your problems.

gingerkid

so i took your guys advise and did the cheap things first like replace he thermostat and flush it but, would over heating have something to do with the rpms dropping and it stalling out or could that be another faulty part as well..?

SeriousOffroad

Overheating can lead to all kinds of nasty behavior.

Is the rig still overheating?

If so:

What happens when the engine is hot and you turn the heat on full blast?

gingerkid

yah its still over heating its in the shop at the moment just cause im not sure what my next step should be but even when the engine was over heating the heat ran about outside temp..

tjwalker

Cooling system consists of water pump, radiator, radiator cap, stat, fan clutch, serpentine belt.

Your problem could be any of the above. Or something like a head gasket issue (a compression test can normally rule a head gasket issue in or out)

What temp does the coolant reach? Do you have a coolant temp gauge? Does it overheat at idle, at highway speeds, or both?

With cooling system problems, the devil is in the details.

Mountainelk

is your electric fan working?

Bustedback

The stalling issue could be caused by a bad idle air control motor, the electric fan should come on at 217 degrees, or when the A/C is on. If the coolant you flushed out was ugly and crappy, you may have a partcialy clogged radiator. You could also have a bunch of crap stuck between the condensor and radiator that is blocking the air flow through the radiator, stuff like grass, feathers, bugs, dirt, small animal, ect. 210 is not too hot for a Cherokee, and do not put a colder t-stat in thinking it will help run cooler. That will only screw things up further.

HCCAFan

Did the shop fix it yet?

ARC 4.0

have to agree on that one, mine needed a new water pump worthy investment, and wasnt particularly easy to spot at first, as for the stop leak ive had some in mine since the Rad sprung a leak ages ago and she looses no fluid at all now and runs fine, however we dont get past 80*F in the UK so radiator efficiency seems to be less of a problem!

Spiesxj

yeah dont use the stop leak. i did a while back and it ended up messing more stuff up. it cloged my water pump and i ended up blowing a head gasket. make sure there arent any holes in your radiator from the fan too. iv done that a few times.

kojoff

That sounds like you either have air in the system and the heater core is not full of coolant, or you have a leak and therefore the heater core is not full of coolant. If the engine is warm you should always get warm air from the heater. Sounds like a simple coolant issue to me.