LYKOS

Sooo...

As I posted in another thread I've overheated my 01' to many times. I knew I was having issues due to lack of maintenance on the cooling system and then I started to see white smoke coming out of the back whenever it got around 220 degrees.

Being the internet mechanic that I am I go to the message boards for info. I find out that the 0331 castings are crappy heads and crack just about the moment you overheat them.

Hell, if you park an 01' in the sun to long the head cracks...




So I swap out radiator, water pump, radiator cap, thermostat and fan clutch and take it for a test drive.


Because I READ it on here and other boards, I assumed that what's happening is when I get to a certain temp the crack opens up and coolant gets in the exhaust and POOF, smoke comes out of the back.

I run the dog **** out of the XJ trying to heat it up and nothing happens. It just chugs away, no smoke no nothing.

I monitor my coolant for loss and it never drops. I send an oil sample off and have it analyzed. No coolant in oil.



BUT on a longish trip today I see smoke? I glance at the temp gauge and I'm around 216,218 degrees.

I turn on the heater and bring the temp down to below 210. But still there is smoke, the SAME SMOKE!! I notice it only really puffs out when I back off the gas.



Hmm...



I crawl under the Jeep, and find trans fluid all over the place. Nothing coming out of the exhaust, but crap from an overheated transmission everywhere and smoking like crazy on the exhaust. I check the fluid level and it's low, like barely reading on the dipstick low.




So tomorrow I'll do a driveway trans flush and hope I haven't cooked the tranny. (the AW4 and not my friend Ricardo who dances in a dress)


The point of this post? Well, to vent a little.





But also to say always check your fluid levels, don't assume anything is broken just because "the forums say..." and always have a systematic approach to diagnosing your problems.

Again I love these forums and you guys are a WEALTH of information.



But I relied a little more on the "search" function than I did good mechanic work and I just about screwed myself.

freegdr

also look under your vechicle every now and then

LYKOS

I need more lift to make that easier to do.

Lowrange2

Or use the forum as reference and if you don't know what you're doing find someone who does...

hankthetank

Burning trans fluid smells a lot different than coolant!

freegdr