Hey everyone im new. So I have been freezing for a few weeks now because my heats not working even in the slightest in my 1998 Jeep Cherokee Sport I6 4.0L 5-spd. I've replaced the thermostat and topped off the radiator, Flushed the hoses (there was a nice block in there), and I have checked the blend doors and it looks to be working. I have noticed that the cold air doesn't come out of any of the vents besides the defrosters. I think it has something to do with the positioning on the controller and I think its stuck in A/C settings. Only the max setting fan works and it blows cold air and in the summer only blows hot air. The heat did work for a very short time when the first cold came in and it was warm not hot. Any clue as to what I could be missing?

 

This morning I used my jeep. Actually in the heat position the air reaches the feet and the windshield, so it's as you say, it works. I believed that in heat position the air would be warmer and that it would arrive in the same vents as in vent position. For this reason I thought I had a problem. Probably it is the thermostat that causes the air temperature not so high, since in use I do not go beyond 70 ° C

 

I suspect your blend door cable is broken. Have a look at this thread for pictures, and where to look to see if it's working.
https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f2/eas...ailure-225063/

 

Awesome link,

 

I tried looking in my xj but couldn't find what i saw in the link photos.
Maybe because mine is from '90 and the one in the photos is from '98?

 

Yeah, the early XJs work by a cable to control the blend door and the later ones use a stepper motor to move it. The temperature of the heat is controlled by the blend door mixing outside air with that coming thru the heater core. The mode control is vacuum operated and controls where the heat is directed. On the older ones the mode control may even be cable operated. It was in my 79 GMC truck and Jeep used a lot of GM parts in the XJ in the early days. Did you know the AW4 throttle trans shift cable is a GM part?

 

As for you getting only only defrost, this is the problem I had but mine was stuck on face vents with no defrost. This vent is directly behind your stereo. You can get a visual on the actuator fairly easy.

Well this was for the OP and just saw it was dug up from a year ago. Maybe it’ll help someone else.

 

No matter WHERE the air comes out, if the heater is working there should be plenty of heat. My XJs get hot enough to be uncomfortable when the outside temp is around freezing, or a bit below.

If yours isn't that hot, your heater core is probably still partially plugged.