Weird smoke/steam from engine, and overheating. Hard to describe.

So I recharged my a/c today in my 98 XJ with the a/c pro recharge kit. A/c blew cold and great. Unfortunately we overheated again while sitting in the Jeep for my lunch break. I turned off the Jeep and let her cool down a bit then drove the mile back to work.

Right after I pulled in and parked I heard/felt this weird kick, and then "pppssssststststtttttttt" like a busted hose. Also lots of steam/smoke coming from under the hood. Seriously sounded like something exploded.


I popped the hood, and didn't really see anything weird, but there is a small hose from the firewall (I am assuming it is from the heater core, a lil 90 degree 6" hose) which looks like it expelled some coolant.

The overflow bottle was almost to the top too.

I haven't had overheating issues in a couple weeks, and I am wondering if it has something to do with recharging the a/c.

Is there anything anyone can think of off top of their heads which would give me the statement problem?

Thanks guys.

sounds like leaking heater core.

you can buy a plastic fitting at pretty much any autoparts store to "bypass it" by connecting the 2 heater core lines together. I believe its a 3/4"-5/8" adaptor

The little 90 degree hose. Is this down by the frame rail that is just open to the atmosphere? That is where condensation from the air conditioning condenser is supposed to drain but it could be green from refrigerant oil if the condenser is leaking, coolant from the heater core if the heater core is leaking, or both. Be sure of what is leaking out of there. It could very well be your heater core. You can bypass the heater core but you'll need to fix that before winter. The overheating could be fan clutch, electric fan, thermostat, clogged radiator (either airflow or coolant passages blocked) and at the worst case head or head gasket. You just need to get in there and check it out. If the fan clutch is old, it could be the problem. They loose efficiency over time, as well as fail either locked on or fail to engage.

Most everything in cooling system had been replaced in the past 6 weeks. Clutch, radiator, coolant sensor, water pump, thermostat. Plus I spent 6 hours flushing the system. I also flushed out the heater core separately.

Drove home from work this afternoon. No overheating, but sweet baby jesus it was a hot/miserable ride home. It was about 90 degrees and humid in Indiana today. Not to mention it was pouring rain on half of the drive, so I couldn't put my damn windows down. I was a swampy mess.

The A/C completely dead now as far as I can tell. No cold air anymore, nor cool air. Just HOT air. I think it had hot air coming inside even with the Jeep off. (I made one stop on the way home and when I got in felt like hot air was radiating from the dash area)

Maybe the a/c blew up this afternoon? I am wondering if all the steam/smoke (I don't know what it was) I saw this afternoon was the refrigerant from the a/c evacuating? It is just strange to me that my a/c worked great after I recharged it during my lunch break and then 20 minutes later it blow all to shit.

This guy is becoming very disheartened with this Jeep since I just spent so much on the cooling system and brake overhaul for these problems to keep compiling.

the coolant you saw was most likely the ac refrigerant (similar green as the engine coolant).