hey eveyone,

Im having radiator blues. So my 2000 XJ is running and is not over heating at all but im having it randomly spit coolant from my radiator cap a few minutes after parking. it does not do it everytime just now and again and my lower radiator hose will be flat. not the top one though. im not going over 210 at all i just find this to be a little weird. I put a new water pump on a month ago. my coolant is still green. does a new radiator cap sound like the fix?

Thanks for help in advance

 

there should be a large spring in the lower hose to stop it from collapsing. did you change the water pump or some one else did? If you had a shop change ask them for the spring back or if they changed the lower hose with an old upper hose. as far as the cap leaking you should get a new one.

 

Pretty much what was said here. IMHO, any time the cooling system is maintained by changing a part, the hoses should be changed too, unless work is done within like 2 years, etc. And same with the radiator cap, it is a wear item too. Make sure there a 16psi cap on there

 

When you did the water pump I'm assuming you did new hoses as well. Factory hoses came with a coiled spring inside the lower hose. However replacement hoses don't have the spring for some reason. Some people have removed the spring from the old hose and reused it, some have made a new spring from a coat hanger, some have not used a spring and had no issues. I recently saw a post where Gates (a hose manufacturer) was contacted about the missing spring and their reply was that it is no longer necessary due to better construction and materials. So...maybe you need a spring?
As far as the radiator cap, can't hurt to just get a new one. What are they...like $10?

 

Sounds like a bad cap to me, or overflow tube is clogged, or both. Most caps do not have proper relief valves so don't buy whatever fits. Buy a Standt relief cap or a MOPAR cap.

 

Yes to the Mopar cap. I believe I paid 16 for mines a couple years ago.

 

The cap should never spit out any coolant, even if it overheats, it should only vent to the overflow tank. The spitting and collapsed lower hose may be an indication that the overflow is plugged up, check that and flush out the tank and hose if there's any gunk. Also check that the radiator neck isn't damaged, if neither of these are bad it likely just needs a new cap. Some will say the spring in the lower is mandatory others not. If it's collapsing and the vent isn't plugged then you should get the spring--I'm assuming the hose is only collapsing when cold?

 

thanks for the help guys.

I did not replace the hoses when i did the water pump. Im now to the XJ and work on your own club and didnt know. Im getting a new cap today when i get off work. and ill get my new hose when i get my birthday money. thanks for all the help guys!

 

Doing hoses with the waterpump isn't mandatory, just a good time to do it if they need replacing.

 

A lot of things inst mandatory, but if you working there, why not just do it. Why drain twice. It's called general maintenance to prevent future issues. Plus, when I redid my radiator, I'm glad I did my hoses, their condition felt really soft and who knows how long it may have lasted. I didn't want to take the chance. And really how much more money is it, not that much for peace of mind

 

Yup. If the pump is already being replaced there really is no reason not to do the hoses, and if you have the hoses off then toss in a new Tstat too. Cost is minimal, extra time spent pales in comparison to the time spent doing it at a later date.