Hey all,

I recently inherited my father's old Jeep Cherokee. 1995 XJ Country, 2WD. It's in pretty ok shape, which surprised me. I was planning to sell it, and then I drove it home to Austin. Now I have to fix up my new favorite ride.
However I am having some overheating problems while parked or in idle. Whenever I am driving the temperature is where it should be. From what I have learned here, I have an airflow problem. I'm going to replace the fan clutch first, and maybe the fan if need be. I also have a small leak that appears under the center of the vehicle below the transmission housing.
I'm on a pretty tight budget, and I was hoping for some recommendations on buying parts.
I am a novice, and all my mechanical skills have come from YouTube. I appreciate any advice and recommendations. This will honestly be the first time I change my own oil. Thanks for reading.

 

Fan clutch sounds like it will fix the overheat problem, first thing to tinker with. Remember, it has a 195F thermostat, so sitting at 210F indicated all the time is pretty normal. If it is getting near the red, then yes, problem.

Manual or automatic? I had engine oil under the manual trans of my 1996, but it was from a blown out oil pressure sender. When I replaced that, started using Mobil 1 High Mileage 5w30 and cleaned up all the oil, did an oil change with UV dye, the drips went away and I still can't find any dye on the outside of the engine. If it is an automatic, it could be a couple of things from a cracked torque converter to a leaking pan gasket. Others here would know a lot more than me there.

 

also make sure the fan shroud around the fan blade of the mechanical fan is actually there (many times they are missing), if it is missing it's good to replace this as well when you are doing the fan cluctch

 

Automatic. I need to clean the engine up so I can see things more clearly.

 

Fan shroud is there. I need to take a closer look at the fan though.

 

From my 1972 Charger with a TorqueFlite 904 leaks, it ain't just a drip, it is probably a cracked torque converter. I had to keep adding trans fluid when I had it running.

At least you know if the leak is trans fluid vs. oil. Red fluid leak, right?

The easy thing to do is replace the filter and gasket, refill the fluid and see if it goes away. I've become a nut about using UV dye in all the fluids, it will show you the leak source better than no dye.

 

No, not red. Looks like oil. I was also told that since the engine sits tilted back, the leak could be from the block as well.

 

If you replace the clutch, see if the vehicle E-fan cycles on-off at 105C while idling...if it doesnt pull the temp back, the radiator is next suspect

its not uncommon on an older system to replace radiator, water pump, fan clutch, thermo & housing as a package while you are in there, Rock Auto etc, very cheap

squeeze the hoses too, if they are original, best change them too

 

Mine had oil all the way back there, even way up the rear of the pan like a rear main seal leak. Seemed to be from an accumulation of drips/spills, blown out oil sending unit shooting oil out of the plug, etc. Once I replaced the sender and cleaned everything up (CRC plastic safe electrical parts cleaner anywhere near a harness, brake cleaner on the pan and trans), nothing like that has come back.

 

"I was also told that since the engine sits tilted back, the leak could be from the block as well."
Not from the block but from the back of the valve cover. Read below on oil leaks.

REAR MAIN SEAL DIAGNOSIS

"I’d be looking up ABOVE first, and VERIFYING the source of the oil leak YOURSELF.

Everybody, who doesn’t own or have to pay for or perform your vehicle repairs, loves to poke their noggin UNDER the Jeep and come out bearing the false bad news that your RMS is leaking. Many mechanics, friends, and good old Uncle Bob seem to enjoy telling you it’s the rear main seal. Has a catastrophic ring to it, doesn’t it?

A simple leak at the back of the valve cover or other source could produce the same symptoms. You don’t need to be a mechanic to figure this out. If you have good eyesight and a dim flashlight, you’re good to go on your own. Don’t jump on the RMS/oil pan gasket bandwagon right off the bat.

Almost any oil leak on your 4.0 is gonna drip from the RMS area for two simple reasons:

First off, the engine sits nose-up and any oil will run back to the RMS area.

Secondly, the RMS area is also the lowest point on the engine. Simple physics and the old plumber’s adage apply here: “Crap flows downhill”.

Valve cover gasket, oil pressure sending unit, oil filter adapter seals and distributor gasket, in that order, have to be eliminated as possibilities first. A little tip here. Rather than use a dizzy gasket, use an o ring instead. NAPA #727-2024. Tips 12 and 13 will help you get your distributor back in place correctly. "