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Stock XJ Cherokee Tech. All XJ Non-modified/stock questions go hereXJ (84-01)
All OEM related XJ specific tech. Examples, no start, general maintenance or anything that's stock.
So I've been running it for like a half an hour and it still has only sucked up like another half gallon. I put some water in the reservoir also and nothing is getting sucked up from the reservoir. Could my system be that clogged?
I believe the FSM shows total cooling system capacity at 3.75 gallons or 15 quarts. Not positive but this may also include the 2 quarts needed to fill the recovery tank to the Full mark.
When I cleaned out the cooling system on my daughter's jeep it was so dirty with rust that I ended up removing the t-stat and reinstalling the housing. I then duck taped my hose to the large opening on the t-stat housing to flush as much of the block as I could.
As Motojunky pointed out I also unhooked both heater hoses and flushed the heater core separate. Basically flush the block, radiator and heater core separate from each other. Once you get all to run clean with tap water run some distilled water through to get as much of the tap water out as possible. You will never get all of the water out of the system but just fill with straight coolant to get your ~50/50 mix.
I don't think it'll hurt anything sitting for a week or two but I wouldn't want to drive 30 miles with any significant coolant in the trans fluid.
Edit: I wasn't able to see the pics last night. That looks like a combo of stop-leak and rust. That's what my cooling system looked like (but worse) when the radiator pooped the bed and moved the cooling system refresh up on the list. I replaced everything (radiator, heater core, water pump, water neck, thermostat, radiator & heater hoses, & coolant recovery tank). Still had to flush a lot of crap out of the block.
Soooo... Fun update. I think you were right. After flushing my coolant a few weeks back, my car wreaks of coolant when driving , so I am guessing the PO threw some stop leak in cover up the heater core leaking. Anyway, I'm not really sure what I am going to do about replacing it, but in the mean time I was planning on bypassing it. Should I plug up the inlet and outlet on the firewall with something? Or just leave them open?
If you bypass the heater core, you will no longer have defrost. I did this on a truck we only used as dumpster and to drive to dump. Even in this limited use, lack of defrost became a problem.
If you bypass the heater core, you will no longer have defrost. I did this on a truck we only used as dumpster and to drive to dump. Even in this limited use, lack of defrost became a problem.
Well my heat is probably going to go out eventually anyway. What else can I do? Breathing coolant when driving can't be very good for you.
Stop leak, replace the core, or bypass it. If you bypass it you don't need to plug the ports on the core.
Isn't stop leak what made the coolant nasty in the first place? I have heard that stuff is a great way to destroy the coolant system... As if mine isn't destroyed already.
Looks like the heater core replacement is a bear on these (there are several youtubes on it). Blue Devil brand radiator and block sealant is one of the better drop in chemicals, as far as not gumming up the system. Recently used it successfully on a freeze cracked 6.2 diesel block. The stuff is the color of wiper/washer fluid, not a lot of goop and solids like other brands.
Some people hate stop leaks, I don't. I use the old pelletized Bars Leaks. The only time I've seen it really make a system gunky is on a car that had a small head gasket leak and was run about a year with it. I think it was 'activating' the Bars within the engine so the stuff got pretty nasty. I've used it on many other cars and haven't experienced a problem from it. An option for the heater core and Bars, if you're afraid to leave it in, is to run it long enough to seal the leak then flush it out.
GM and Jaguar, maybe others, have had cars that were factory filled with stop leak that's similar or the same as Bar's.
Replace the heater core and forget about it. If you have a working a/c however, the refridgerant will need/should be recovered with the proper equipment before you start. Aside from that it isnt that difficult. Just time consuming. Take pictures and label. And try not to break anything.
Thanks to th OP for starting this thread, I'm having a very similar issue and this is just what I'm looking for. I came out of the gas station with my morning coffee and there was a big wet spot right by the drivers side tire. I popped the hood and there was liquid all around the radiator cap and even on the underside of the hood. I just bought this 98 xj a couple days ago and I haven't had a chance to flush any fluids yet. It looks like the po used some stop leak and that's probably causing some problems. I'm really hoping that's the main culprit. After reading through this thread I thought I might have a clogged return line and that caused the excess pressure to escape through the cap. I pulled the line and blew through it with no problem. I'll probably replace the line and cap anyways just in case the cap is bad. I figure I won't really know is I have a leak from the transmission to the radiator until I start flushing and see what comes out. Sorry if my questions seem obvious to you experts but this is my first project jeep.
The white creamy substance feels goopy, I'm assuming it's some sort of stop leak.
I agree with jerpcherooke flush,flush,flush and you still may have problems.put straight water through four a few watch that temp gauge,but flush.that stuff is nasty.somebody forgot to flush.
Looks more like tranny fluid than stop leak. Any sign of coolant in the transmission fluid?
Haven't checked yet, what would be the best way to do that? If that is the case is the only good solution to replace the radiator? Would the two fluids mixing create a goopy substance?
Last edited by VoluntaryXJ; 11-06-2017 at 07:05 PM.
There is a transmission oil cooler line that goes though the radiator on most automatic transmission cars/light trucks. If the oil cooler line gets corroded and engine coolant and transmission fluid are mixing, you should replace the radiator, and the change the transmission fluid and filter. If it was not run too long like that, it may still be OK.
Check your transmission fluid to see if contaminated by water. If it is gloppy, or anything other than clear red, there is a problem.
10-17-2017, 02:55 PM
I replaced everything (radiator, heater core, water pump, water neck, thermostat, radiator & heater hoses, & coolant recovery tank). Still had to flush a lot of crap out of the block.
