Hello all. Recently I purchased a 1999 Cherokee Sport. I was told it had an overheating issue and the seller suggested I replace the leaky thermostat housing to fix it. It seemed to have worked. I decided prior to taking it on the road again I should let it idle for a little while and get to operating temperature. The needle stayed where it needed to and all seemed good. The radiator hose still leaked some so I guess I didn't reattach it properly but that's not my problem. After about 10-15 or so minutes I noticed steam coming from the center of the engine. It was not from the oil cap. It was a little to the right as I facedar the engine. And I didn't give myself a lot of time before cutting the engine out of worry. I'm pretty certain it was steam. It was faint, no oder that I could trace, and it was clear/faint white. It was also barely noticeable without the light I was using. I took a picture but the steam does not show up. The temperature guage stayed right where it needed to. Is there something I should be worried about here or is this normal? I'm a total rookie and I'm hoping this is a dumb question. Thanks!

 

If you are seeing white smoke form that spot, I would do a compression check first to check the head gasket. You should see ~150psi on all cylinders. If the PO was saying it was overheating, the head gasket would be a good initial suspect. The hose with the yellow duct tape looks a little suspect too. It shouldn't have any smoke coming from it, but has moving air and oil vapor. If you are just learning, you could also start by taking off the valve cover and checking that gasket. Burning oil can cause some white smoke. IF the valve cover is leaking there, it could get to the block and burn off from the heat.
I also experienced white smoke when my transmission output seal was leaking. It would drip through the bellhousing and onto the exhaust creating white smoke. A good way to learn where things are is to clean all the grime off and then look for fluid leaks. Everything tends to collect at the bottom of the bellhousing and will then drip down to the exhaust where it crosses under the bellhousing.
Are you losing coolant? Losing oil? If you notice wither of these that can help you identify the root problem.

 

run the engine up to temp, then shut it off, if its coolant under pressure, normally it will hiss out for a bit
the heater pipes/tap are not far away from that spot, give them a wiggle, you may have a pinhole or crack