Capping off Heater Hoses

I just picked up a 2000 XJ with a 4.0 and am smelling coolant through the vents in the cab when I step on the gas and I get no heat out of the heater. I am pretty sure that it is a leaking heater core and from what I have read these are a pain to replace. Since I live in Southern Arizona and keep the Jeep parked in the garage I have no need for the heater. I am planning to either cap of the hoses that lead to the heater core or loop them back together. Any reason why one option would be better than the other? The ODs of the two hoses is different, so I would assume the IDs are different too. Is there some sort of adapter that I can use to loop the two hoses together? Would doing this have any effect on my A/C?

Thanks in advance!

You NEED to loop the hoses. It won't effect A/C.

I did this after running Peak cleaner/flush, & using their flush kit. Since the heater hose has to be cut & valve installed, I left it & looped the the hoses through the valve. Yes, the ID of the hoses are different, but just force the smaller diameter hose onto the valve & hose clamp both. Stayed that way for about a few months with no ill effects.

Yeah I definitely wouldn't cap them off. It may effect how the cooling system works as far as the thermostat operates. Looping them should cause no ill effect though. You can buy couplers that will match one size to another.

I capped mine off at the water pump and modified my thermo housing so it has no heater hose coming out of it anymore. As well as relocating the temp sensor located from the thermo housing to the upper radiator hose. I got tired of seeing that "hose loop" under my hood, so I cleaned it up.

Thanks for the replies. I am going to go with a coupler to loop the two hoses together. I found a coupler that goes from 5/8" to 3/4" at the local auto parts store. The two hoses have markings on the outside, one says 5/8" ID and the other says 11/16" ID. I didn't see any couplers for 5/8 to 11/16" so hopefully I'll be able to squeeze the 11/16" ID over the 3/4" side. I'll let you know how it goes.

I just used a 3/4" hose over both and tightened them down with hose clamps.

Worked fine.