Never done one but car runs fine, normal oil usage, etc.

 

I'm not buying the "high internal friction" thing.
It's your money and you can do as you like just be a shame to spend time & money end up where you are now. My money is on the cooling system being old/worn-out/defective.
Stop leak is like suicide, it continues to work for a long time your pricey clearwater head may be trash.

 

I agree.

The system was back flushed before the clearwater head went on.

I haven't ruled out the possibility of cooling system issues but there are no obvious problems. Can you suggest some diagnostics I could perform that would nail this down ?

 

1. You say it overheated and damaged the cylinder head, head was replaced it still overheats, how did you determine the original head was damaged?

 

There were signs of water in the oil and the cooling system lost coolant constantly.

I didn't magna flux it or use fluorescent die in the coolant. After reading about all the 2000 Cherokee head problems it was pretty obvious to me what had happened. The head gasket itself showed no signs of damage or leaks between coolant passages and cylinders and the block and head itself measured flat within a couple three thousands of an inch IIRC.

Once I replaced the head the cooling system started holding pressure and there were no signs of water in the oil.

What are you suggesting ?

 

When you pressure test the cooling system it holds pressure and doesn't leak down?

 

It doesn't loose coolant.

I'm going to run it in and get it cleaned, reverse flushed, refilled and pressure tested Friday just so I can eliminate (or confirm) the cooling system issue.

Back in a couple of days Thanks for the suggestions and food for thought.

 

i agree with turbo its a cooling system issue or a fan issue. Also you never said what temp it is getting too, a lot of people think there jeep is overheating at 210 when that is actually where it is supposed to be.
one of my last jeeps i bought they said it had a bad water pump and always overheated, drove an hour home and never got over 210 215

 

I've owned Cherokees continuously since 1987 and I'm familiar with how they run. My idea of hot is when the radiator cap blows.

 

The guy at Firestone tried to do a money grab for extra 'diagnostic services' on top of the quoted backflush and fill service before he would touch it so I'm going to do it myself next week.

I think I'll find a new tire place.