While changing the oil in my Cherokee I decided to check my coolant level. Putting the cap back on, I pushed and turned. SNAP! OMG, the tub that goes into the radiator cracked at the top. Coolant started trickling out. I felt as close to getting kicked in the stomach as you can get without actually getting kicked lol. Do you think I could put JB Weld on that crack or will I need to replace the whole radiator? Any help would be awesome. Hopefully the experts can guide me in this.

 

Rough it up and try the JB weld, let it sit for a day before you drive it. Get it up to op temp, pop the hood and look.
My guess is it will hold for a while, but will fail eventually. I would use the JB weld and if it holds drive it like that until the new radiator comes in.

 

JB Weld should hold do fine. I used it on my draincock before and haven't had any issues in 4 years. Finally replaced radiator today, but not because of it leaking.

 

Just a update in case someone else manages to do this. Jb Weld held so far. I put about 100 miles on it. Its holding up good.

 

JB Weld is often pretty good stuff to use for temporary repairs. What concerns me is it happening at all and the fact that the part of your rad was weak enough to fracture replacing the cap. Personally, I'd look to replace the rad soon to avoid any other problems, likely happening at the worst possible time. It's not a complicated job to do. I've done it a couple times to a couple of the XJs we've owned. 1-800-RADIATOR seems to have some of the best prices on replacement rads for XJs, around $100 shipped to your door within 48 hours. I've bought both of the replacements I've installed from them without a problem and they've held up well so far.

 

Or drive to your local Autozone and pay $109.99 and have it installed by the end of the day...why sign up on a website and wait two days to potentially save $10?

 

Napa... 80 bucks IIRc.

 

Fixing it with JB Weld was a quick fix so i could drive it to work while my wife went to her parents house for Thanksgiving. It held for 150 miles before it started seeping a little bit today. I have the new radiator in the garage ready to install this weekend. Wasnt really trying to save any money. It would be nice if it would have held but I knew it was like putting a bandaid on a real problem. My local parts store price matched autozone. I think it was 106 dollars.

 

Lb weld could work, but you could also try plastic putty its from the same people that make putty steel