dogkatcher

1993 4.0 Ho, automatic

seller had just replaced thermo, water pump & rad hoses .. coolant looks ok, but he recently flushed it .. heater valve I replaced, old 1 looked ok but sprang a leak thru valve actuator arm hole.. the vacuum works on new 1 fine / heat works ok ..but heater hoses had some brown tint to the inner walls .. makes me wonder about heater core condition, it will be flushed

not sure how good previous owners were on PMs

thinkin radiator toasted also because of clog or bad coolant also



i was quoted repair by a good / consumer minded shop .. I used them before .. were great .. he flushed a clogged core on my last xj & drilled / retapped a thermo housing bolt that broke off .. excellent job, price was great


new quote: radiator w/ lifetime warranty (forgot what brand but he swears by them) + labor & heater core flush = $280

Ive only owned stick shift xjs before .. never had trans cooling lines

can he flush that too? .. theres def a leak on the rubber tube for trans to radiator, looks like adapter

radiator has random seep right side midway .. wanna replace asap .. and make sure this shop can do everything possible w/ cooling

djb383

Local auto parts store rad will probably run $100-$120, ours did. A garden hose will flush the heater core. I'd bet u can change the rad yourself.

dogkatcher

no garage .. live in a condo .. not even a hose to use .. I think block & cores need a serious flush

HOA rules dictate this repair, i just squeak by on some repairs regarding that

if this was stickshift .. no trans coolers .. Rad would be done in street, last xj, did it myself quick

i trust this shop .. just wondering what all i should have them do since fluid will be drained

lifetime warranty sounds good too

djb383

Sounds like u don't have much choice, just hope they give it a good flush. Have the shop replace the tranny fluid hose. Might want to let them drop the tranny pan, remove old filter, install filter and fill with fresh tranny fluid. See if the shop will throw in the tranny hose and tranny drain/fill.

dogkatcher

I think I'm going to buy a closeby auto store rad .. install myself, save some labor $ .. not going to invest in high end Rad until everything else is in check .. after rad is in .. gonna have that shop do a major flush .. block & core .. the brown-ness residue from heater valve replace is scaring me

since a new water pump went awol so quick on it .. thinkin previous owners before my seller .. never flushed it installing a new h2o pump, thus he had to replace it again .. he swears he flushed it good, fluid is green but finding residues all over

.. this rad def has some seepage on approx 4 rows of aluminum, all directly under upper rad hose

a couple q's

ready-rad or murray ? is what is available .. close .. approx $100 .. want to make it last as long as possible (or forever) while I tackle other things

how much fluid can I expect to lose:

on radiator petcock drain? & a good trick to harness all that comes out, into a sealable container?? i cannot make a mess, lots of dog walkers around too

and trans cooler ?

any tips on a temp plug for trans cooler line ? from reading up, seems the transmission pumps send oil that way ?

seriously do not want a blown head gasket on this motor .. I can see why it was rebuilt ... they neglected it a bit .. maybe neglected it more on rebuild

I'm trying to save this motor from certain death .. it sounds good .. but brown remnants have me worried

thanks for help so far

djb383

The cooling system really needs to be thoroughly flushed before the new rad is installed....don't want any crud circulating into a new rad. Check coolant level frequently motor COLD. At the 1st sign of coolant color changing, flush and refill with fresh.

cruiser54

And only use a Mopar 83501426 thermostat.

djb383

.....that's made by Stant.....just kidding.

dogkatcher

how worried should I be with residual brown walled tubes ? should I buy new heater tubes too? rad cap interior was brown also, 1st thing I cleaned up

fluid is seeping green .. where it seeps .. heater valve leak was mostly green, some brown liquid trace



I dont plan on driving it this weekend, maybe 7-10 miles to that shop on monday AM .. that wld be right after the new rad install

or shld I just wait ? .. pay em $280 .. focus on tie rod boot, inspect left front chasis good, cleaning grounds, and other stuff on list .. got alot on my hands with this purchase .. glad I knocked price down alot, Im in $2k purchase price .. close to 3k now .. not too bad, she looks good .. Im placing ALOT of faith that motor lasts

djb383

If u want the XJ to be a reliable daily driver, then u can't spend a better +/-$250 for parts than on a total cooling system replacement. If u do it all at one time, u only have to drain/refill coolant one time. Got a friend with a driveway?....buy him a six-pac.

Radiator
Water Pump
Fan Clutch
T-stat
All hoses (rad & heater)
New Coolant

dogkatcher

why the Fan Clutch ? looks like its working good



takin it to said shop on monday AM .. I researched parts & coolant $, almost did it myself today .. labor will be about $100 (beats me spending all day today tryin not to make a mess) .. wont have to deal w/ coolant leftovers either .. theyre gonna flush it good

maybe swap in a new heater core too .. seems the brand new heater valve may have started a leak thru the same vacuum pivot arm entrance, thinkin core is really bad .. full of nasty brown-ness .. heater valve had a slight brown wet spot on that area .. where the last valve sprung a leak

he may be able to just flush core .. we'll see

he did great job on my '90 .. since going there w/ that jeep, all problems were solved with that renix closed setup .. i trust their work

doing what i can asap .. to keep motor gaskets from failing

djb383

Do u know how old the fan clutch is?.....they slowly degrade in performance with age/miles. The fan clutch can't be visually inspected. It's a +/-$35 part. The entire dash must be removed to replace the heater core....labor on that alone is probably $500 +. Replacing the heater hoses is the perfect time to eliminate the heater control valve. The factory eliminated it on '97 up XJs.

dogkatcher

eliminate control valve ? all together ? heater hoses have brown inner walls .. so what then ? just a junction piece?



hopin heater core flush goes ok, theyre good


supposadly 127k on rebuilt engine, I assume fan has same .. fan clutch picks up right after throttle .. throttled by hand

dogkatcher

got her done 2day .. the Royal Flush ! shop owner said rad hoses felt too pressurized when i got there

shop installed a new rad, replaced a crappy thermostat job, new thermo & gasket there too, fixed what looked to be a leak started on heater metal hose to water pump housing, looks better .. thinkin those 2 small seaps were from a partially blocked rad (thermo/heat hose fitting)

a super flush on heater core .. and flushed motor

heater core was fairly clogged w/ brown matter, heat works 100% times better

didnt bypass heater valve, thinkin the new one had a drip started because pivot hole was the weak link ,, coolant was backed up .. that may be replaced though

when I picked it up .. he said he flushed system a 2nd time, just in case .. I was advised to get another flush in 500-1000 miles .. somebody didnt do their PMs correctly on coolant .. previous rad was pretty bad he said

praying heater core doesnt start a leak & that smell goes away .. engine already smells better .. think I was smelling "roasting" brown gunk

all said & done w/ lifetime warranty on rad .. $363 .. I had $500 in pocket, ready for the worst .. great small shop .. theyre pros !

luckily I have barely drove it like that .. may have been the best thing this motor has ever experienced ... so glad I took it to them, stimulate their biz a bit Gold Radiator, Denver, CO .. recommended, Ive been there twice .. price is the best i could find close to work .. since close, their driver took me to work after drop-off .. on time

happy motor !! paid a bit more than doing myself, but no way could I have flushed it that good, 1 big gremlin tackled today ! happy me

djb383

New rad cap?