1998 XJ. Never off-roaded. Is this normal?

1) (water pump inlet tube?) at the front of the engine near the pulleys that a heater core line (the 2 smaller coolant hoses) goes into.
This looks rotted to all hell. Is this normal? Should this be replaced by a mechanic?



2) Some lines near the radiator on the driver's side.


3) Near the exhaust manifold. (The moisture is PB Blaster on the tensioner bolt, in anticipation of trying to change the serpentine belt tomm)

 

yes. my water pump inlet tube is just like that.

 

Yes that's normal, clean it, paint it, be prepared to replace it in the future.
You can always find some oxidation when you get to looking. Even the newest XJ is over a decade old. I even found a little hole under the floor mat once.
You can get a paint pen, paint not ink, at industrial hardware suppliers, real handy to have a black one for touching up items like you've found. If you don't have an industrial supplier try Google a paint stick on McMaster Carr site.

 

Should that be changed? It looks like it will crumble (or just stay rusted frozen solid)

 

The only thing i see that would concern me is that heater core line. I would try to find a nicer one from the jy or somewhere. Its hard to tell by the pictures but if its rusted bad enough that you get a hole you will have a bad day.

 

yea i haven't gotten around to mine yet because i figure it will just crumble if i try to unscrew it. so instead of doing that i'll just replace the water pump.

but instead of buying another pipe for it i will do this..

scroll down to second post -
https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f2/wat...er-hose-70871/

 

Slugger, very cool. Now I have an excuse to replace the water pump.
So, you need to buy a 5/8" length of hose instead of the pipe.
But, what is the size of the coupler you'll use to connect this short hose to the existing heater core coolant hose?
5/8" to _______ ?

 

I have never seen that done before, ill have to do that next time my cooling system is apart. Cant say i ever had a problem with the fitting breaking off in the pump though

 

Compare it to mine, which is a southern Jeep that was owned by a little old lady:




Looks like you're from New York, so rust would be expected. I'm from New York as well and I know how that goes.

Please excuse any blurriness. The phone camera doesn't like auto-focus in the dark.

 

For New York that looks like the right amount. Good luck treating it.

 

You buy a longer hose to replace your current hose.

 

But they are 2 different diameters. The long heater core hose is one diameter. That little brass nipple is another diameter. So, which diameter would you get, since you can't buy a tapered hose with 2 different diameters on either end.

 

5/8 hose and connect it to the 5/8 barb end.

 

My jeep had 1 dot of rust on the drivers door from where the paint chipped. That's it. 0 rust anywhere, trust me, I tried to find some

 

Speaking of rust, does this sway bar bushing look bad?
The "end link" part looks insanely rusted. Replace it? Dangerous?