Just now....our Cherokee radiator overheated and my younger brother put water on it and suddenly it exploded...... kinda scary here

what should we do? we're not that technical when it comes to auto or cars

 

Call one of these
VVVVVVVVV


Take it to a place that looks like this.



Have a person that looks like this look at it.



He will be easy to spot, He will be kinda grumpy, kinda dirty from working on cars all day.
He will look at you as if you are crazy, but don't get the wrong impression he will help.
Or he will just laugh at you. But he will still fix the jeep for you.
Good luck..

Hope everyone is ok from the hot blast of water...

 

LMAO!

 

Don't let your brother touch your jeep anymore. Someone might get hurt.

Are you looking to tackle this job on your own? Do you have tools? More importantly, do you know WHY it overheated?

Cooling system maintenance is a priority in these rides. Especially in the 2000-01 models because of the head issues with these years. DO NOT drive it until you get it sorted out, if you do, you can easily kill the motor. These things are tough, but only when they've been taken care of.

If you want to try to fix it yourself...get a FSM (factory service manual) from pacificcoastmanuals it's around 8 bucks. Get a set of wrenches and sockets. I would recommend a complete cooling system overhaul, when done yourself, it isn't that expensive, and it's a good first project for a new jeep mechanic.

 

He shows that it is a 2012 Cherokee so I guess it must be a GC, with that said I hope you have a lot unused credit line somewhere either on a card or at your bank.


Please correct if I'm wrong about the Jeep.


I hope the radiator was all it took out when that happened.

 

LOL...I didn't see that. I assumed it was an XJ. Still, cooling systems are a fairly easy project to tackle, so I'll stand by what I said.

Most important thing is to figure out WHY it overheated.

 

Yeah that could be the costly part and all the things that have to come off of my 04 GC V8 would make it a real PITA to R&R the radiator if his is close to mine.

 

Most important thing in this particular instance is for this person to pay a mechanic to figure that out.

 

everybody was on a panic mode at that time.... when we saw the smoke, we taught the car was on fire so instinct was water water... learned from that lesson... always keep calm if every you encounter such situation. we are so stupid then.

the radiator has cracks now near the cap and the mechanic we called upon said we need to buy a new radiator. Hope dad won't find it sooner.

 

we also found out that before it happened... the water from the radiator was already leaking... that's the reason why it overheated i guess... so the radiator was really defective then and needs to be replaced

 

No offense here, but do you know 100% the rad is defective? I'm going to say no. Did you have a leak? Yes. From the rad? Who knows...maybe it was a hose. Could be a faulty water pump. Maybe your thermostat housing developed a crack. A freeze plug might have gone south. Your head may be cracked or warped.

You put cold water on a hot radiator...what did you think was going to happen?

Take it to a professional.

 

you're right sir but then it happened and just need to fix whatever damaged we had caused to my dad's car... lessons? don't panic and always think right even if you are in a situation like that.

anyways, the radiator really have crack near the cap. I also saw at the bottom it also have a long crack.

i have contacted a Ebay, jcwhitny and a certain autopartswarehouse online store for radiator quotes. ebay has cheaper rates than the 3. but how about the quality? are they also good? have you guys tried ordering car parts from any of these please?

 

Cheap does not equal quality.

 

Cold water hitting a hot radiator really shouldn't cause it to explode, especially on a vehicle built to be able to make water crossings.

 

I have made one purchase from Auto Parts Warehouse, and while it was cheap, it took a LOOOOONG time for them to fill the order.

I would check RockAuto.com. They have reasonable prices and ship fast.

Also check Advance Auto. Their prices are usually pretty mainstream, but they have coupon codes where you can get some pretty good discounts. Right now they're advertising 20% off with code P20, but they usually have other codes that work also that might be even better if you know where to look for them. You can actually order parts on their website and then go pick it up at the local store OR have it shipped to you.