So I haven't had any issues with my jeep overheating or dying on me before yesterday. I went wheeling at walker valley in WA, it was about 75 degrees out. Going uphill I hit some tree roots and the jeep instantly shut off. Wouldn't start back up. Now I had been keeping an eye on the temp gauge the whole time and it had gotten up to halfway between the middle notch and the next one. I made sure all my fluids were good to go the night before. We got out and popped the hood. That thing was hot as hell. The hood hold open stick was even too hot to touch. After about 10 minutes it fired up no problem. I noticed temp gauge was back down to the middle notch. Ran fine for the most part the rest of the day until on the way home. Stopped in the drive through and after about 8 minutes of sitting it died. Same thing, wait 10 minutes and it starts again.

Not sure if this is an unrelated issue but my passenger floor board gets very hot and very wet. It's an issue I have been meaning to address but the XJ sits in my garage until I take it out for fun. Pulled the carpet and not surprisingly it's rusted. I've also noticed lots of condensation and dripping from the AC compressor. I'm thinking of replacing the thermostat and fan clutch after doing some reading on the forums. Does this sound like a logical starting point? Thanks for any tips.

 

The A/C has an overboard drain. Make sure it's not plugged with leaves and stuff. IDK because I haven't looked for it, but people tell me there is a temperature switch on the radiator tank near the lower hose that turns the electric fan on. It might have stopped working.

 

Thanks, I'm sure mine is jammed full of pine needles etc.

 

I find that drain is easier to access with the EVAP canister out of the way. Just 3 little screws and it can be pushed aside. Dont damage the vacuum lines. The drain may have a rubber elbow on it that pulls off. Atleast mine does. The shutting off and not working until it cools down sounds like a failing crank sensor. The passenger floor getting hot could be the convertor as it is on that side. Is the shield still intact? It protects the convertor, but does help keep the floor cool. Cooler than the convertor, atleast. Or there is a hole in the exhaust and is cooking the floorboard. Those are just guesses.

Dont replace anything until you know for sure.

 

There's no heat shield under the floorboard or in that area. Might be the exhaust so close heating it up. I did some research about the CPS and heat soak issues and I think that might be the issue. I knew overheating was causing the jeep to die but I also know that cars don't just shut off because of overheating. This points to the heat causing the cps to fail and when it cools down it works properly again. I will be replacing the fan clutch and CPS and see how it does. Thanks for the information guys.

 

So ran into an issue replacing the fan clutch. Threw the new clutch on and went to replace and the blades are hitting the upper pulley. It’s not even close to working. Put the old fan clutch on to see what the difference was and it’s hitting as well. What could have gone out of wack to cause this? I didn’t notice it hitting when I took it off. I do remember in the trail hearing an odd noise what could very well be the constant smacking of the blades against the pulley. Fan doesn’t look warped, should I get a new one or is there something else that could have gone out of wack? Photos attached.

 

With the belt still on, it may be not sitting flat against the waterpump flange and cocking the pulley. Put it on and tighten only the lowest bolt to pull it square, then check for the clearance.