Brenda CB

I have an 02 that keeps overheating. I have now replaced in this order... thermostat, water pump, radiator, head gasked and relay. To save money a friend also hooked up the fan to run whenever the car is on. I read today this is not a good idea so I will have it reversed. My friend who is a mechanic by day has been doing the work in his spare time to save me on labor. The problem is I have spent $700 on parts alone. My Cat Converter light is now on also. Any suggestions on what I need to do next? Thank You

nateyz2000

Are you sure the gauge is reading correctly? Maybe take a infra red light and check to see if temp is correct. As far as an additional fan running all the time that would be good. Air flow on the radiator is important. Are the fins clean on radiator? Sometimes they get gunked up with bugs and such...
Maybe you have air in the system, or if the temp gauge is not reading right, you may have a coolant sensor problem. Easy fix.

nateyz2000

One more thing, is it shooting any codes? If so, they would also help in diagnosis.

Brenda CB

Thank You, I will share these with my mechanic. The radiator is brand new.

lurk520

Is it the 4.0 I6? 2002 is still in that gray area of the bad head which is notorious for cracking, check your oil for signs of oil and coolant mixing, bad head could cause loss of coolant and over heating. Cat is probably getting clogged from the over heating, I would replace that if it's bad, makes a world of difference in the power your vehicle will have, Cat going bad could also be a sign that your vehicle is actually over heating and not the gauge reading wrong.

lurk520

Also having the fan run all the time can cause your vehicle to run too cool and you lose a little fuel economy, but until you find the root cause of the over-heating it might be good to run all the time. If it over heats I would definitely not push it with your Jeep, if that head isn't cracked already it definitely will be soon if you're driving it hot. No offense to your friend but you might want to take it to a professional shop where they can do a pressure test on your cooling system.