Hello all! My 96 4.0 is running too hot and Ive flushed the coolant out, flushed the heater matrix and replaced the t-stat; so I was wondering before I replace the pump and fan clutch (which seem to be ok) could the catalytic converter cause the engine to run hot if its partially blocked? I know that Im going to need one soon; its looking rather ropey and rattles!
Any advice/ideas much apreciated!

 

Do you have an electric cooling fan in addition to the belt driven one?

 

yes; it kicks in when the engine has got really hot

 

No it is not likely that a broken catalytic converter is causing your engine to get hot. More than likely, the problem lies elsewhere. It is a good idea to do the water pump and fan clutch. I'd also do the radiator at the same time since you will already have the coolant drained.

 

ok thanks! just thought I'd check; I'll probably do the fan clutch next

 

Any idea how old the rad is? Almost bet u'll be asking yourself why didn't I replace the rad while it was drained and apart.

 

I hate to bring this up, but a bad head and/or head gasket will cause overheating too.

 

is the exhaust flowing freely with norestriction ?

 

Was it tj that recently said "the devil's in the details"......it's almost like 20 questions without details.

 

well i am having the same problem, and can not figure it out. with mine it isn't the cat converter or the rad which i just recently replaced. and the water pump is fairly new. so could it be some sensor?

 

See post #7.

 

I wish people would clarify if the coolant actually boils over or if they are basing their "overheating" solely off the gauge. You need to verify with an infrared temperature gun that your gauge is reading correctly. If it is reading incorrectly, then yes, the fix could be as simple as a sensor.

 

He did say the the electric cooling fan kicks in when it gets "really hot". That's about 213 degrees at least, isn't it?

 

If you say your converter rattles, I would go ahead and replace it. They'll start rattling sometimes when starting to get plugged.

 

Hard to tell really; but it doesnt seem too restricted; just abit rattly!