Ok, so, I just bought a 1989 Jeep Cherokee. It needed a new radiator so I replaced it. While driving it the hose on the drivers side started leaking and the engine overheated and stopped. Today I tightened the collar on the hose to help with the leak (which it did), but when I left it to idle the fluid through the system the engines rpm's climbed to almost 2 and the heat continued to rise. Is this normal? If not, what could be the cause and how should I go about fixing it.

 

89 so I assume closed cooling system? Sounds like you need to bleed the air out of the cooling system, do a search on closed cooling system.

 

Thank you so much! Your suggestion was exactly right it seems. I went online and looked up how to bleed the air out of a closed coolant system, did as instructed, and now everything is running smoothly. You are a life saver!