Bent/Bolt

A fellow told me that the reason why i had no heat,plus the fact the engine is pushing 260 temps was that the radiator is clogged.I thought it was just the HCV at first however before replacing that.The temps were going up to 240 then back down to 200.Now the temps keep rising til i need to park.He told me that if my top hose was hot,while my bottom was cool,that it was my radiator??????????My top hos is hot but why,i thought radiator circulation forced hot water from the bottom to the block rather than threw the heads.Also,any way i could tell if the Water pump has failed,Its still turning,how could the impeller stop pumping.

Jabo

Had the same problem on mine when I first got it and it turned that the bottom radiator hose didn't have the spring in it witch in turn was letting the bottom hose close

Bent/Bolt

Ok i felt a spring thingamagig inside this bottom hose.Please explain.This spring is supposed to control flow?

00silverxj

Sometimes when a waterpump fails, the impeller separates from the shaft from age/corrosion. The shaft will keep turning, but since the impeller isn't attached, no water is being pumped...
The spring in the lower hose is for support, it keeps the suction from the water pump from collapsing the hose to the point that no coolant flows through.
I say unhook your lower hose(with a drain of some kind underneath) and see how fast the coolant drains out. If it rushes out of the radiator, I'd say the radiator isn't clogged. You might also check your heater core. How long have you owned the vehicle? Did the heater ever work? Is the heater core even hooked up, or is it by-passed?

Bent/Bolt

Ok,After looking over and attempting to remove the thermostat just to see if i had circulation I found that the HCV had broken off The plastic tee.Now i see why i have no heat.While i removed the top radiator hose to remove the thermostat,absolutly no coolant came out.Apears as i have removed all the coolant from the block during my brief travels or its low.Radiator is topped off.After i replace the thermostat and HCV should i fill the engine block with coolant threw the thermostat housing?I did not remove the thermostat yet and i will check the old one to see if it opens under boiling water.Does the thermostat need water temp contact to open?The core is not bypassed and i have owned the Cherokee 11 months now after buying from a neighbor who owned it since new.

98 JeepJeep

The thermostat needs water temp influence to open....when i took my manifold off to replace the freeze plugs on the side of the block i had a fun time geting the water to circulate...the way i did it was fill the radiator and squeeze the lower radiator hose off and on untill it forced all the air out and was full. Then it circualted fine......the easiest way to check for a clogged radiator is with a thermal heat gun...