Ok, a few months ago I bought a 1993 Jeep Cherokee XJ with 35,000 miles on it. I haven't done any rough driving, but on my way back from Philly last week, it overheated. I pulled over immediately and realized my coolant was all but gone. Let it rest, overheated again 5 minutes into driving. Repeated the stop and rest a few times, with no luck. Then I turned the engine on and the hose going from the radiator to the engine was all sucked in, so I squeezed it which I think unstuck my thermostat, curing the problem. Then it did it again a few days ago, so I took out the thermostat. I did not replace the gasket, like I should have. It's steaming from somewhere in the lower part of the block. I'm supposed to drive it from NY to CA on Thursday, can anyone help me?

 

Did you say 35,000 miles? Wow. So how is the temp doing when running without a t-stat? I would go and get a stock 195 degree t-stat and a new gasket and fix it right before heading cross country. Where is the steam coming from exactly? Is it just leaking around the t-stat housing and burning off of the block?

 

Next Step
Thermostat - replaced
Gasket - replaced
Bottom radiator hose - spring included
Water pump - perfect condition
Fan clutch - operational

Any thoughts as to why it's still giving my so much ****? Also, there is no gauge, only an idiot light, something I plan to remedy shortly.

 

Is it still leaking or just overheating? Need some more details on exactly how it is behaving...gives folks something to go on.

 

A caved-in hose usually means the check-valve in the rad cap isn't working.

When the cooling system draws a vacuum during cooling, the system is supposed to draw coolant from the bottle to replace what was lost during temp-expansion.

If the valve in the cap doesn't work, coolant comes out but is never drawn back in.

SJ