xj_

hey all..so my jeep is a 97 cherokee

it has a 4.5 inch and 33-12.5-15's km2s also locked front and rear stock gear ratio.

durring the summer here in illinois it gets hot and my xj hates it. after about 30 min driving my jeep will start shifting so slow off the line and my motor runs anywhere from 225-230 degrese. after this starts happening it is very slow off the line and the power is dramatically decreased..so the other day i was under the hood and decided to remove my a/c condensor..i never use my a/c and it wasnt worth my time and money to fix. after removing the condensor and relocating my trans cooler i took it for a drive..i do have a top mounted winch on my jeep that does block a bit of the radiator..after driving for about 45 min, some being stop and go, my jeep sat at 210 and really never went over. my trans was shifting alot more crisp and back to a good feel. so anyways after my blabbering it worked and i am so far happy with my performance increase.

BrofessorXJ

Nice. Don't you love it when all your ingenuity and hard work pays off? My Jeep Idles and drives great even in the Los Angeles heat and 2 big off road lights in front of the grille. My only problem is extended hill climbs and the trans heating up with stock gears and 35's. I know, I know. B&M trans cooler is in my immediate future. My AC is cold but I never use it. Maybe time to do away with the condenser as well...

BrofessorXJ

By the way, what part of Illinois? I used to live in the Aurora/Naperville area.

Outlaw Star

An auxiliary transmission cooler is always a plus on our Jeeps. I used an RV one and also removed my AC system (1985) not a single overheating problem yet on 33s w/stock gears (3.43s yeah I know its an odd gear. Lol)

tgordon

My XJ runs cooler than I would like 190F. Even with a lot of stop/go or slow rollin'. I think PO installed a diff thermostat. Thinkin' 'bout opening it
up to eyeball the 'stat.

cherokeelaredo'90

I read somewhere awhile ago about how a guy's jeep was under heating after he out in cooling mod's.. So to solve this he put a plastic disc inside the upper rad hose with a hole in the center of it in order to restrict the coolant flow to the radiator. It said that he had to play with the size of the hole to get the jeep to run at a good temperature. You could try that? I'll see if I can find the website again for you

Edit: found it for you
http://www.go.jeep-xj.info/HowtoRadiatorRestrictor.htm

tgordon

Thx
May be just the thing I need to get some heat in the winter.
Flushed everything and got a bit more heat, but in winter eng temp drops
badly as veh speed goes up.

xj_

i live in oswego so very close to where you were located!! have you ever wheeled at the cliffs in marsailles? as for getting rid of the condenser...it was a great upgrade that i did and have no regrets for no a/c. as for the compressor, i am either going to use my front bumper as a tank for on board air, or just get a delete bracket and pully either way i will be happy...last thing to do is get rid of the junk clutch fan and slap on an electrical fan on a switch..my other fan is wired so it is always on. also just got done doing the 784 injector swap and getting rid of the cat with a straight pipe..my jeep is finally shaping up to what i wanted it to run like!!!

jeepxj_90

you could always put a spacer inbetween the hinges on the hood, gives the heat a chance to escape out the back. doesn't look the prettiest but it works

VTJeep

I'm tellin ya: new radiator cap! Helped mine! And definitely an x2 to the B&M or similar tranny cooler. Anything you can do to take the responsibility off of the pre-existing cooling system is a bonus!

BrofessorXJ

Haha! I used to date Oswego girls because they were much better looking than the ones that went to West Aurora. I have actually wheeled at the cliffs I love that place. Not in my XJ but my buddys wrangler. I love my 703's. I put on a new header, 703's, and the 99+ intake manifold all at the same time and boy, it felt like a brand new Jeep. I wish I could run a straight pipe out here but the state of California would impound my vehicle haha.

xj_

haha nice! yeah the cliffs are fun i am trying to plan another trip there soon..

88_cherokee

i run 31's with a/c on in 95+ temperatures with 2 foglights blocking the radiator but thankfully no problems yet. although a trans cooler is definately in my near future

Northwoods Snowman

Not a good idea. You'd be asking to decapitate yourself in a front end crash because the hood would push up through the windshield instead of into the firewall.

RenegadeT

really...is this fact or internet hearsay? I have 1" spacers between hood and the hinges. When I rear ended someone, the brunt of the impact was thru the grill header/front of the hood, probaby worst case for pushing the hood thru the windshield. The hinges barely deformed, the hood buckled up in the middle, no bolts sheared.
I'll take a closer look though, you can never be too careful trying to keep your head on your shoulders.