I am having to replace my radiator in my 98'XJ. I have a small leak in it, but my biggest concern is I think my water pump is beginning to fail, I believe that it has been the cause of my rattle that I cannot seem to find, also my reason for thinking this is that its running border line hot. I have been keeping my coolant levels checked and filled. Question is Im on a pretty strick budget due to paramedic school what is a good radiator and water pump for the money and should i replace the thermostat while im at it? Thanks guys!!

 

The entire cooling system can be replaced for <$250 in parts. Not wise to cut any corners regarding the XJ cooling system.

 

Is their a specific brand of radiator that I should use or is the replacement from auto zone ok?

 

I would reccomend replacing all components with OEM parts. Try WeRMopar.com, they have decent pricing for all original equipment.

Although I buy certain items from Autozone, I wouldn't trust replacing parts like a radiator & water pump from them.

 

We've bought virtually all of our replacement parts from the big 3....Advance, O'reilly and Auto Zone including the rad from AZ. The Spectra Premium rad from AZ is identical to the OE rad it replaced and it was about $110. If there is a rad issue, I don't really want to mess with mail order when it comes to warranty replacement......too much down time.

 

Agreed on Autozone, warranty items are nice when they're local!
Just bought a radiator there, basic replacement was $109 + tax in PA. Water pump is fairly cheap as well!

I've never had any issues with autozone/advance auto parts, some of their electrical items sometimes have issues. But even that is a rare happening.

If you're having heating issues and going the route of replacing things, radiator/water pump/thermostat/coolant. Also, be sure your clutch fan is operating correctly and the aux fan works as well.