Drinkthathenne

Alright fellow xj owners I'm having a few problems with my jeep and overheating. I've done the basic things to try and fix it.. I have a 98 Cherokee classic with only 83k on it. I put a new thermostat in, a new temp sensor, a new water pump, a new fan clutch, and flushed the radiator twice already and it's still running way to hot. It used to run right at 210 sometimes alittle less and now it's running halfway between 210 and the next tac.ive overheated 3 times and it will run the half way between 210 and the next tac and then after driving for alittle especially on the highway it will shoot right to 260 and the check gauges will come on and then antifreeze comes spilling out of the overflow tank. People are saying a blown head gasket or a crack in the cylinder head. Any advice would help thanks

md21722

Erratic and otherwise unexplainable temperatures are nearly always a cracked head or blown head gasket.

Pull the head, have it checked, inspect the head gasket for problems and listen to what the cylinder head shop tells you. In rare cases a crack is internal to the head and can't easily be found. In that situation a replacement head is needed.

98 heads aren't known for cracking, but can. If you keep overheating all bets are off and the repair will likely be more expensive.

There is no smoking gun that will tell you one or the other before you pull the head.

Drinkthathenne

Definitely not what I wanted to hear lol but thanks I'll give that a shot

Fred/N0AZZ

Before you do that use a leak down tester on it to check for any leaks and see if it stays pressurized or not. I guess that you have changed the radiator cap also correct?

Drinkthathenne

Yes I have and I just talked to a few guys and they're all saying it is definitely the radiator due to scattered hot and cold spots meaning it is clogged