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i guess the title says it all. anyway, i just took on a 2000 cherokee to turn into my hunting/trail riding vehicle. i have dealt with jeeps in the past, but never the cherokee. regardless, i will probably turn this into a project, and drop a fair amount of money into, so i figured it might be a good idea to join this forum. seems it is pretty active on here with good information. that's about it.

oh, one more thing...and go ahead and bash me for not using a search function because i am sure there are plenty of times this topic has been discussed before but i am working on a short time schedule right now. i was limping the jeep back home last night and the engine temp. shot up from normal to HOT in a blink of an eye. i turned the heater on to help and eventually it snapped back down to normal. when i got out, the radiator cap was leaking. i figured stuck thermostat and the cap just couldn't take all the pressure. any thoughts?

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One time a guy came up to me with his 97 xj and he had same problem as u did. Originally I thought it was water pump, so when I removed all the fans, belt, shrouds etc, I noticed a tiny green spot on radiator, then I realized it wasn't the water pump, the jeep was overheating cause of so small leak in radiator.

I suggest to check all cooling components and hoses for any green spots that would indicate a leak.

Oh I noticed u have a 2000. Check your oil, because 2000 and 2001 are well known for bad 0331 heads. Very easy to crack when overheated.

U can also remove the oil fill cap on top of valve cover and shine a flashlight in there. U may be able to see the area between cylinders #3 and #4. That's where the cracks are known to happen. See if there's coolant there.

thanks for the help. it has a new water pump and hoses. i'm really hoping it is just a stuck thermostat. that is the only reason that i can think the temperature would fluctuate so quickly. fingers crossed there isn't a cracked head!

here's an update. i've driven the jeep a little since then, but have not had the problem with the overheating. the cap still leaks, but it only does it when i shut the jeep down. any other thoughts?

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