Hi,

Last week, my 97 Grand Cherokee 6 Cyl started to over heat after a ride of abt150 miles. A few miles from my home I heard a ratling smelled antifreeze and smoke came from under the hood so I immediately turned the heater at max level to release some heat... I then realized that the water pump broke. I made the mistake (not sure yet) to keep driving since I was very close from home and alternator/battery gauge indicated under 9 and then heard / felt mis-firing plus lack of power. Obviously the engine over heated. Bottom line is that I replaced the water pump and drive belt. (decided not to replace thermostat at this time). Now the RPM is running low while on idle but as soon as I accelerate the engine runs smooth. I'm thinking about replacing the spark plugs and see if I notice an improvement. ANY IDEA of what could be the problem???? (Valves??) Alternator was checked today and is fine. If I blew a head gasket how would the engine run????

Any help would be appreciated.

Thank you,

Jeeperz99

Perform a compression check on all cylinders. Let us know what you find.

I had antifreeze in my exhaust, but my ZJ ran great... If you replace the headgasket, check the head for straightness and square. Overheating can warp a head. Headgasket isn't real hard, but you will need a good set of metric deepwell sockets...