jburg318

So, this weekend I went to complete the flush on my coolant system as the overflow tank looked grody and there was some residue floating when I took the radiator cap off. In my excitement at the thought of a new truck, I overlooked opening to radiator cap and overflow tank, so this is my fault. Get my truck cooled down and dump the overflow tank in a bucket and its straight mud. I was a little surprised as the guy clearly put in a new water pump, radiator, and hoses and I haven't had any issues with the heater core. Heat is hot and there isn't any noticeable puddle or fog on the windshield at start-up.

Anyways, I take the tank to my hose and start to clean it out t and try to blow through the hose... the entire one end is clogged with about 6 inches of Bar's leak sealant.... motherf'er. Took me about an hour to get the sucker unclogged. So I topped of my coolant system and burped it, since with the reservoir tank clogged like that, the system was not at the right capacity and I dumped some flush in to change out the coolant next week after a few hours of driving.

But wow, no wonder why the guy replaced everything, it probably wasn't cooling properly at all. I just wish people were honest when selling their trucks.

I guess its a lesson learned!

bada$$91xj

yep sorry to hear that at least you got her square good luck hopefully theirs no more half$$$ed work for you to uncover.

jburg318

Thanks, man! I hope so as well. Power steering pump fluid was definitely overlooked and I have a feeling so is the transfer case although he said it was changed. But $30 worth of fluids isn't the end of the world.

tjwalker

What year is your XJ? Always good to include that information in every post you start as there are significant differences through the years.

To any "new to you" vehicle, replacing every fluid in the vehicle makes good sense unless you have BELIEVABLE maintenance records (not just what the previous owner tells you). Doing so establishes a baseline for future fluid changes. The cost of fluid changes isn't that much, especially if you do the work yourself. Keep a close eye on coolant level for quite some time to be sure that the previous owner wasn't using Bars Leak to hide coolant "consumption" like a head gasket issue. Hopefully that isn't the case, but gotta develop confidence in the vehicle over time.

Lather, rinse and repeat for all tuneup hardware. Fresh Champion plugs gapped to .035, quality wires, cap and rotor, fuel filter for pre 96 models. Note that the 00 or 01 has a different secondary ignition that doesn't require wires/cap/rotor.

Good luck and enjoy your XJ!

jburg318

I have a '99 2dr 5spd Cherokee SE. That's the plan. This weekend will be the coolant flush and power steering if I have time. Next weekend will be the transfer case and AX15 transmission so on and so forth. I don't have a garage, just do the work in front of the house.

I already took a look at the wires, plugs, and rotor and they are definitely pretty fresh as claimed. I even clocked 16.7 mpg around town with my 31" Cooper Discoverer MTP and 3-inch lift which I was pleased with. It just looks like the guy took some shortcuts here and there, but overall its a well-maintained vehicle.