Hi all,
I'm a mailman out of WIsconsin. Few months ago I bought a 1996 right hand drive cherokee 4.0, imported from Japan in 2013, with only 75k miles.
I absolutely love it and will prolly be jeepin til the day I die now
My only complaint is it sometimes runs a little warmer than I'd like. On a few stretches of the route where the boxes are very clustered together it will get to almost 220ish degrees. It has a newer radiator with fresh coolant and once I get moving it will drop back down.
The electric fan comes on when it the temp needle gets just passed halfway. Stays on for 10ish seconds then shuts off a little bit and then starts back up. I think it is working properly.
I want to have my mechanic to install an extra electric fan in front of the radiator, wired to a toggle switch so I can turn it on while delivering mail. What fan should I go with? Otherwise I was thinking about having him wire the factory e-fan on a toggle switch and I will just keep it on more often that it runs now.
Thoughts? I don't want to get rid of the belt driven fan. What's the ultimate efan to either replace current factory fan or to be added as an extra one?
Thanks a lot in advance

 

An extra fan infront of the radiator is not going to help much unfortunately.

I would recommend swapping to a Jeep Grand Cherokee fan clutch (NAPA part 272310), but you need to make sure your motor and trans mounts are in good condition because it sits a bit closer to the radiator.
It will flow TONS of air, much more than any electric fan really could. Make sure the shrouds are both in place. It's a bit louder and robs some power, but probably not a big deal. Lots of guys run them on "crawler" rigs that see slow speeds and low rpm driving offroad.

You could also consider installing an electric fan override switch to force the stock e-fan on all the time.

Also, installing a larger trans cooler if you have an automatic is definitely worth it - you can get a Hayden bar-and-plate style on eBay for $30-$40.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Hayden-Heavy...NYkhvJ&vxp=mtr

Additionally, make sure the radiator and AC condenser are clean (no mud/bugs coating the front). With 75K miles, you are probably OK on the stock water-pump but a fresh pump or aftermarket Flow Kooler pump might not be a bad option.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/FlowKooler-H...JWq-8X&vxp=mtr

EDIT:
I will say though, with a fully refreshed stock cooling system - I have no motor overheating issues even in the hottest part of the summer with the A/C on. It will sit at 220*F all day but has yet to exceed that.
You can definitely feel the A/C lose efficiency if it is 100*F or hotter and I am stuck in a traffic jam though, the XJ cooling system just wasn't really designed as strong as it should have been. Under stock load and conditions, it is basically at 100% efficiency at the hot end of the spectrum, my friend can idle his new F150 ALL DAY LONG and the AC stays ice ice cold. I have a refreshed HVAC system as well, almost all new components. Manual trans helps, makes it easy to make it idle higher and thus more fan RPM for cooling

 

Thanks for the response! I will have to think it over and maybe put a different clutch fan in.
You say yours will sit at 220 degrees when its hot out? And you are okay with that? That just seems way too hot for me, but idk. It's okay for it to be running at 220 off and on during the hot days?

 

This is all great info...however did you miss the part about RHD? I am not sure if it will work the same as on a LHD rig. Maybe it does, I'm not sure, and maybe someone with more experience can chime in. Just saying that his situation is not the norm, so we should tread lightly until somebody with more experience can chime in...(Pete? LOL)

One thing you might want to do is verify your temps. Use an IR thermometer on your upper and lower hoses, stat housing, etc and see what the actual temps are, the cabin gauge is notorious for being inaccurate.

 

I hadn't thought about maybe the gauge malfunctioning. All I know is that it is def getting hot under that hood stopping and going at 600 boxes 6 days a week. I was hoping maybe just some extra electric fan constantly blowing wouldn't hurt. I hadn't thought if parts would be different for a rhd. It was made in the US, then shipped over to Japan. Then sold back to the US as a mail vehicle. It's in perfect condition and runs like a top so would hate to ruin that beautiful 4.0 from it running too hot

 

It isn't that the gauge is "malfunctioning" it just isn't very accurate, it gives a ballpark...although it can malfunction as well, LOL

Yes the RHD uses different parts, in some locations, I'm just not sure if the fan clutch is one of them. RHD vehicles are fairly rare, and I just wanna be sure you have correct info before you go and spend your time and hard earned money.

 

Aah, yes
I keep forgetting that the LHD ones aren't just ones where the robots got it backwards when assembling

* Verify compatibility with LHD Cherokees

They are popular in Australia so should be some info on those parts (also gets really hot in Australia)

EDIT:
It will only sit at 220*F if I am in a traffic jam, and the radiator is sucking in 140*F air from the hot asphalt and other cars. Other than that, it almost never exceeds 210*F. Do you have A/C and are you using it when the temps get high?

 

I do have AC, but I don't run the AC on the route, and not at all when it does hot. I've used it though off the route when driving normally. Works great and jeep didn't overheat.

 

The one big weak link these Jeeps have is overheating in stop 'n go traffic or prolonged idling in hot weather. A/C on makes it even worse.
Stop 'n go delivering mail is probably one of the most severe over-heating scenarios other than maybe Police use which can involve prolonged idling at times.

Investinwaffles has some good advice.

 

Thanks for the input guys. I have another question. Is the Efan suppose to constantly turn off and on when the control is set to defrost? It comes on 10ish seconds, then shuts off for 5ish seconds non stop when using defrost. Is that normal? I'm debating whether i even need a toggle switch if I can just have it going on and off like that constantly. Also, if I were to put a toggle switch to that same efan, would it run non stop or shut on and off like it does now?
Thanks again

 

On defrost the a/c compressor runs. Each time the compressor kicks on the e-fan will to. Now whether it's kicking on too often I don't.

 

Interesting, did not know the ac compressor ran when using defrost. Seems weird, even when you're using heat instead of cold air. I spose having the ac compressor running will work the engine more so I'll stratch my idea of running it all day on defrost to help it cool.
I think I may put in a lower temp thermostat in it too and see if that helps at all too

 

The a/c running on while on defrost removes moisture in the cab clearing the windows faster. At least that's my understanding.

Like the posts above I'm not familiar with the parts involved. If it has one and it's old maybe get a new fan clutch.

 

Why not just install override switch ?

 

The factory efan is hooked up to a toggle now, located right next to the shifter. My mechanic hooked it up for me today. I'm excited to deliver with it tomorrow with the fan running probably 75% of the time. Hoping it never gets close to 220!
I would imagine the fan will prolly wear out faster now since I'll be using it much more often. Any suggestions on a powerful aftermarket one that would be an upgrade from the factory?
Thanks