Finally got my idiot gauge cluster swapped out and now I can start diagnosing my overheating problem. Before the swap I only overheated twice and both were getting stuck in traffic after long highway drives. Sounds like the fan clutch and thats getting replaced this weekend with the ZJ upgrade.

Just want to run some more details by you guys in case I should check something else out while doing that work. I have a 2 mile commute to work mostly light stop and go with some small open road runs. By the time I am out of my parallel parked parking spot and to the end of the block my gauge is almost reading 210. Once I get to that point it will sit around 215 (a little past the 210 mark) for a few minutes. After that it will begin to slowly creep up and only come down a little if I hit some open road and blast the heat. By the time I finished my 2 mile trip I was smack at the 240 mark. I was not running AC at all and my E-fan never comes on at all.

Does that sound like a strictly fan(s) issue? Not sure what it means that it is rising to just above 210 and staying there before creeping up higher. Any help is appreciated.

Edit: I will add that the A/C turns on and works great. I just dont run it because the fan doesnt come on.

 

210 is the correct operating temp but 240 is a little on the high side. If you are having any kind of over heating problem your best bet would be to go over everything and not just one thing. Since you just installed new gauges I would verify the temp reading with a I.R. temp gun aimed at the t-stat housing. You should consider changing out your t-stat with one from the dealer, the recommended would be a 195deg. from the dealer. Also change out hoses, water pump, rad cap. If the rad look really bad you should replace that too. You can pick up a stock rad for around $100 at any auto parts store. Give the entire system a good flush. If you do change out the fan clutch with one from a ZJ remember that it will be a lot louder then the stock one. One last thing make sure that the fan shroud is in good shape without a lot of cracks and or missing chunks. Hope thing helps.

 

Thanks for the response. Im coming to the conclusion I will have to overhaul most of the cooling system (parts look old and busted up) but hoping for a band-aid in the meantime. Could someone explain to me like Im 5 years old how to test the functionality of the aux fan (relay/motor/etc..)?

 

Get power to your aux fan by bypassing the stock power source, I usually get some think gauge speaker wire neg. And pos. Connect it to the battery and Touch on each side of the connection prongs on the leads from the fan. It should come like as llong as it is working , if not make sure you are on the grounded on the battery well, if it comes on then check your relay im not sure where it is im sure someone else does.. I tested my fan on my 91 then just installed a toggle switch to control it myself