andrewmp6

What shape is the coolant system in?Have you flushed it or changed the coolant out since you owned it?

zjlover111

Coolant looks bright green, has a new radiator so i guess previous owner must have flushed it thermostat is also new i'll either go back to belt driven fan or get a bigger e-fan since having one already is supposed to be an upgrade

andrewmp6

Have you pressure tested it?

freegdr

No coolant loss Grand Cherokee have 1 cooling fan it sounds like someone replaced the belt driven fan with a under powered electric one. Electric fans need to meet or exceed flow of clutch fans to be of any use. When only equipped with one fan.

zjlover111

Yeah, i also read somewhere that to have a bigger e-fan means that u gotta have a more powerful alternator if not than u either kill your battery and ultimately your alternator

dave1123

I believe if your vehicle can equipped with a rear window defogger, you have enough guts in your alternator to handle an electric fan.

zjlover111

I just finished installing a belt driven fan and clutch with its respective shroud I got at the junk yard off of a 98, took it for a test drive, coming up the hill it usually brings the temp up to over 210, temp stayed a line below 210 so already its making a huge difference, outside temp is a little cooler today so I am not sure if that has to do something with it, anyway glad to have had removed that piece 'a **** electric fan.

Thanks for all the input and suggestions, you guys really helped, I can finally go wheeling!!

TheKappy

i had the same issue with
my 5.2L. I ended up putting in a new clutch fan. 195 degree thermostat. new lower hose (had a small leak) new radiator cap and flushed the system. now i sit around 210 unless its 100 degrees plus outside and im going uphill. i have no clue which one of those changes was the fix though..

dave1123

Yeah. I found that in racing a lot. Guys will make a bunch of changes and then wonder why their times are off. One thing at a time and see if it worked.

TheKappy

very true. probably could of saved some money if it was just the cap and thermostat. Im going to tackle some valve cover gaskets next week because I just did some plugs and discovered that my covers are leaking some oil. Have never done valve cover gaskets... Any advice is appreciated as long as it doesn't involve a shop because Im trying to save some $$$

dave1123

While you've got the covers off, check you head oil drains. If the drains are plugged up, they will allow oil to accumulate in the heads causing the gaskets it "weep" oil. One clue is if you get that single puff of blue smoke on startup. That means the oil is remaining in the heads higher than the valve seals and draining into the cylinders, then burning off at startup.

One extreme case of this was a Chevy 350 that sat for over a year and then put back into service. This engine would start up and run smoothly for a while and then start smoking and strangling. I pulled the valve covers off right after it started smoking and about 1/2 a quart of oil spilled out of each one! The head drains were plugged with a hard carbonized sludge that had to be hand drilled out! End of problem.

zjlover111

So my zj is staying at 190 all all times after going back to belt driven fan except going up long hills, temp climbs to a little over 210 which is not a big deal i guess the clutch is not working properly so my question is has anybody ever locked that clutch to the fan so that the fan spins with the engine at all times? Would that create peoblems i am thinking about welding together so that when i am going at higher speeds the temp dont go up

dave1123

It shouldn't be a problem. The only reason for the clutch is to reduce power demand to turn the fan at engine speed when it's not needed. The water pump and fan draws about 25 to 30 hp. Maybe you can find an older model Jeep that you can steal the fan hub from.

My dad had a 62 Peugot, 4 cylinder French car with a nice little 72 hp engine with an electric fan clutch like an A/C compressor. When that fan cut in, the car was a dog.