junior1023

So I picked up a 1990 Jeep Cherokee Loredo for $850 from a middle aged woman who was just wanting to dump it (needed cash). I needed something 4x4 for the winter so I jumped on it. Unfortunatly it didnt seem like she took the best car of it, although it did run. So Im sorry if this is a semi-long read but I had a few questions so I can get to the repairs. Im a learn by doing mechanic, lol (built a 2002 WRX and am currently building a 1994 Integra LS/VTEC).

PROBLEM 1:
During my test drive of the car it started perfectally fine everytime except once. We had been driving it for about an hour and when I went to start it it would crank and crank but wouldnt turn over. The woman told me that something under the hood gets overheated sometimes and needs to cool down. We popped the hood and she pointed out these 4 little black squares on the passenger side of the engine bay. She just pressed down on them and it started the next try. A friend of mine told me they are some sort of relays and you use a special tool to pull out a fuse type peice and replace them. What are these, would they have been causing my problem and how to fix?

PROBLEM 2:
She claims to have put in a new radiator about 6 months ago. I was driving it to my parents house the other day and when I got there, I parked and got out and as I was walking away I smelled coolant. So I looked back and it was pissing it out EVERYWHERE. There was no sign of it behind the car, so it wasnt leaking until I stopped all the way. Lost a ton. So my dad and I searched everywhere for the leak, all coolant hoses, water pump, etc.. We didnt find anything so I just refilled it and went home. Fast forward 3 days and I drove back to there house again and sure enough, as soon as I turned it off and got out I smelled it again. This time I IMMEDIATELY popped the hood and saw that it was leaking heavily from the overflow tank (where the hoses hooks into the bottom of the tank). Is there a particular reason why it only leaks after Ive been driving and turn the car off?

PROBLEM 3:
On the gauge cluster, the tach and speedo are the only gauges that work. The fuel tank semi works (apperantly when it gets to the half way mark, its empty). Could it be that several sensors are bad? Or is it more than likely that the cluster is fried?

PROBLEM 4:
And this is the biggest problem. I went and got new tires on today at firestone and during their "saftey check" they noticed my rear axles were loose. One "drastically" more than the other. When the car is on the ground, if you put your foot on the top front face of the tire and push in you can feel it push in and make a clunk/click noise. What could be causing this, how much is it gonna cost me and is it gonna be a PITA to do myself?

mphilleo

Since I can only guess at the last two problems, I'll give you my $0.02 on the first two you listed based on my own experience.

The relay you're referring to is probably the fuel pump relay. As they get older, the heat from a running engine will cause degradation of the internals. Eventually, the combination of heat and age will cause an interruption in the power supply and the fuel pump won't work. That's why people can have problems with vehicles not starting after they're warmed up. It should be a cheap and easy replacement unless the Cherokee is different from other vehicles.

In regard to your coolant loss problem, I would suggest attempting to flush your cooling system. Your radiator could be filled with blockages and buildup, causing insufficient cooling in spots. This can lead to a myriad of problems, like the ones you're experience. If a thorough flush and fill doesn't help, you may want to change out the radiator altogether. It's cheap insurance and well worth the money. Other folks have chosen to bypass the coolant reservoir on these Jeeps, or at least I've read that much. There's probably FAQs out there on how to do it.

As for the rest of your problems, hopefully someone more knowledgeable on this forum can help you out.

junior1023

I spent 30 mins looking for the radiator cap before finally looking online and seeing my year has a "sealed system" so there is no cap, lol. Everything I done with the overflow correct?

mphilleo

You might want to fill and burp your cooling system after you flush and fill it. If you search on this forum or Google, you can find a handful of posts that discuss the best way to burp/bleed your cooling system to remove the air. That's vital on these systems as far as I've read.

Firestorm500

Get out of here.

Firestorm500

Leaking out of the bottom...either your tank is cracked or your hose is busted or the clamp is loose.

Pressure builds upon shutoff because no coolant or air is circulating.

The RENIX closed cooling system works fine if all components are in good shape. I didn't convert mine.

James P

Is there a metal or aluminium reservoir for the closed system?

Firestorm500

Plastic. As of a couple years ago, you could still get them from Jeep.

James P

I think I may have worded that question incorrectly. Is there an aftermarket metal or aluminium reservoir? Thank you...

Modrod

Actually the plastic cap is a radiator cap. It gets old and loose and won't hold pressure. "If it is leaking out there" It needs to hold the pressure. Get a hose clamp and put around it and tighten it down to make the cap snug again and it should be fine. Just make sure you get the air out of the engine if you lost a lot of coolant. The axles may have bad bearings or the "C" clip is broken inside the diff. You might be Able to just replace the relay and fix the hard start problem. The gauges could be a connector in the back of the cluster "bad connection" Or the sending unit in the tank is bad. The cluster has a ribbon cable type connection in the back and someone might have farged it up. It sounds like she was not the first owner. These things are pretty tough and I don't think an old lady could have caused some of the things that are wrong with it. Maybe her son or grandson beat the crap out of it. ie axles being loose.

Modrod

Just get the Dodge Durango filler neck from O'Reilly's or Advanced Auto and eliminate the coolant bottle all together if you can. You can look up the mod for it.

Firestorm500

IDK, check with QuadraTech. They would probably know.

The Jeep plastic bottle is good for 20 years. Most metal radiators won't last that long.

cpnwrench

Hey,

as to your axle problem..........

seems like the hubs are shot.

go to junkyard buy entire rear end axle. 90-93 are pretty much same if they are 8.5 chrysler rear ends.....
take the just bought rear end to the shop,
have your shop replace the components, unless you wish to do this yourself. (you'll save a lot of money)

just my two cents....

good luck

cpnwrench

Programbo

I agree. It is a lot easier to simply replace the entire rear from end to end in one shot with one from the junkyard than it is to take that stuff apart. Since you bought a 1990 XJ junkyards will be your best friend. Since you seem to like to learn by doing Jeeps are fun and you will find a bunch in any junkyards near you to experiement on and get good cheap parts off of.

Slick761

The hubs? On the rear end? Anyhow its not hard to pull the inspection plate and take a peek inside. There is a steel cross pin in the center of the diff you need to pull out (car on jackstands wheels and brake drums off) the push the axles toward the center and the c-clips will come off. Something is going on there if the axles can be pushed in. This is potentially dangerous because if you lose a c-clip you lose an axle. Sounds like the cross pin is worn or wrong.... happened on a friend of mines 94... strange to me but the Dana 35 is not known for its ruggedness... dunno its worth pulling the diff cover cause it may be a very cheap fix.... or if you have a welder go get yourself an explorer 8.8. Could be bearings too... another easy fix... if your gonna pull the pin and clips pull the axle and change the bearings. They're cheap. I don't think thy put non c-clip axles in any 90s but if they did then its definitely the outer bearing. Then you just have to take it in and have the old bearing pressed off and a new one pressed on. Still cheap and easy. If you have a shop press oh can do it yourself (hey some people do :-) )