Hey guys, Im new to the board as I just purchased an '95 Cherokee. Got it at an awesome price of $800 with only 131,XXX miles on it. Interior is perfect but mechanically it needs some work. I bought it knowing the end links need replacing, needs a new muffler, and there is a crack in the exhaust manifold (header). But I just discovered an antifreeze leak as well. Where the top line for the transmission cooler goes into the radiator there is a small leak running out from the edge of the large flat nut. I tried to google the issue and I didn't really see anyone saying exactly how to fix it so I figured I would just ask.

Thanks for any help.

 

You could try radiator stop leak but that crap usually causes way more problems than it fixes. I would just get a new radiator. And while you're buying/replacing I would get a dual core radiator to solve the over heating problem that I'm sure you'll have

 

What happens if I try to tighten that large flat nut? Will it break? I am just trying to figure a way to fix it without spending hundreds on it. I currently have another vehicle, my weekend fun car, that is requiring 2k in work so i got the Jeep to only drive daily while I fix my other car. I just dont want both to become money pits. If I have to replace the radiator I will but I want that to be the last resort if possible bc I am certain that when i go to do that I will also need to replace the upper and lower hoses and probably both the lines for the transmission cooler. It looks like the bare minimum was done by the previous person. Just enough to keep it on the road and driving. EVERYTHING under the hood is britle or rusted. Not to mention I have the CCV leaking oil and soaking the valve cover. Hoping I didn't buy a money pit......

 

NO, NO, NO! Don't ever even mention Stop-Leak. That stuff should be illegal. Never use that crap, under any circumstance.

Hate to be the one to tell ya, but it's a Jeep. Definitely going to be a money pit most likely. You can get a radiator for about 130 bucks at Napa, and they are not hard to install. If it's just leaking at the nut, you might be able to JB-weld around it, but make sure you don't screw it up to the point you can't remove it in the future. A pic would be helpful here.

 

You can get one for like $85 from advance auto if you buy it online and use the code "a124" during checkout.

Replace the water pump while you're in there. It's like $25 and a good preventive maintenance.

No need for a dual stage radiator. If you need that to maintain the cooling system it just means another part of the cooling system is working incorrectly.

 

I tried to snap a few pics on lunch:





It is a VERY small stream out the bottom side of that larger flat nut.

From the looks of it, that bottom hose is about done too

 

Have you tried tightening the nut any?

 

I have not. When I googled it last night a couple things I found on other sites mentioned it possibly breaking or making things worse so I wanted to join a legit board and as opinions. If you think it won't hurt it, I will give it a try.

 

It could be worth a shot, as long as you're careful. If it seems pretty tight already it might not be best to tighten it any further.

 

Ill give it a shot this weekend and see what happens. I guess if worst comes to worst it will result in a new radiator.

 

I just wonder if it has always done this and my brother in law that owned it never knew or what. He is 100% not a car person, lawyer instead, and he just drove this as his work horse on the weekends. The dripping is so little that I would assume that he never even knew. I just happened to be under the hood checking everything out and happen to smell it and then saw it. Its dripping so little that I have only seen one drop on the floor and I bought the car on Wed.

 

Maybe if you undo the nut you can see which part it's actually leaking from. It might not be too hard to seal up, and save yourself the hassle with the new radiator if the rest of your current one is in good shape.

 

Ill give that a try. Ill just try to be careful because everything either seems rusted or brittle.

 

If it's the actual nut that is leaking, instead of tightening it more, just take it all the way out, put some thread sealer on the threads and tighten it back in and give it a few hours to set.

Might not be the "right" way to fix it, but it would defiantly work.