That ain't good either.

 

How did you measure with the cooking gauges and how did you measure to get the 140* reading? Just curious -- I tried to come up with a way to do this before I got an IR thermometer.

OP, your overheat situation in traffic is exactly why the e-fan is part of the cooling system. What is interesting is the fact that when it was on, it had no effect on operating temps. I haven't been in a similar situation in my '93 so don't know what lowering of temps you might expect but I would be interested to hear from someone who knows. As you no doubt know, turning on the heater full blast is a rather unpleasant way to provide some temporary relief.

 

good idea man
thanks

 

i know i need the shroud, like i said that was the previous owners fault. i just diddnt think the shroud could cause that much of a difference in temp.
i say "255" because it was not yet at the 260 mark but it was in the red
thanks for the help guys, i still need to check the ir reading at the temp housing

 

hahah yeah man iv had to do that a few times and it sucked!
also, i know the e-fan is supposed to help but im sure it can only cool to a point if there where something wrong and it was actually running that hot.
thats why its probably the temp sensor

 

Adam, the answer is right there. Your cooling system is working once you get enough air moving through the radiator. Without the shroud the fans cavitate and what little air they do pull comes across the backside of the radiator instead of through it. That might be enough airflow up here in Wisconsin, but not in Texas!
The E-fan is far too small to handle much load. It can drop the temps a bit provided the main fan is also operating correctly, but if the main fan isn't at full efficiency the temps will climb despite the E-fan running. It appears to do 'nothing', but it might be slowing the rate of temp increase. Just isn't big enough to lower it on it's own.

 

Clogged catalytic converter.

 

No, then he would have problems with power too.

Get a shroud on, make sure efan is working properly, and get a new temp sender. Those things are known to give false readings, specially if they got real hot a few times.

 

thanks guys, that the info i needed about the shroud
ill get one asap

 

I presume we're talking about a daily driven on the street XJ and not a race car driven at a track, so never go with a higher concentration of water vs coolant. The benefits of equal amounts of coolant/water or even a little more coolant than water far out weigh the 2-3 degrees cooler operating temp of more water/less coolant. Even a 90/10 ratio of coolant/water ain't going to cause a motor to overheat presuming the entire cooling system is functioning properly/well maintained. Running more water/less coolant in a daily driver, especially a iron motor, is bad advise.

 

Owners manual on my 1994 specifies a minimum of 44% antifreeze to avoid corrosion problems.

 

glad i diddnt change that yet then!
haha thanks man

 

thanks for the facts man!

 

I'm having same issue with my jeep! Its a 2000 and I have a shroud and fan hard wired and also replaced every aspect of cooling system. I even got a whole new exhaust on with no cat.I'm stumped...

 

Did you check temp with ir gun? Change temp sender?