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No coolant circulating

S

smalltownbird

NAXJA Forum User
Location
newport news,va
Okay, so I posted a little while back that my brother managed to pop my radiator. I got everything replaced today, and I mean everything. There is a new radiator, new upper and lower hoses, new tstat (stant), new 16lb cap, and new water pump. I filled it up with coolant and let the motor run with the heat on to burp the system. The motor got hot pretty quick and then steam starting coming out of the radiator fill hole and from the grill. In felt around and both heater hoses were cool as well as the upper radiator hose. So I took off those three hoses and they were dry except for a few drops of coolant in the upper hose. Anyone have any idea what is wrong? I would like to get the jeep out of my garage so I park my lightning in there again...
 
Year, engine?

All stock? If not what changes?

Sounds like you never got the thing more than half full.
 
smalltownbird said:
Sorry 98 4.0 auto. Would only filling half way cause all that?
Click to expand...

Yes, it needs to be full enough to prime the water pump, flood the water pump. The Jeep cooling systems are hard to fill. If you open the heater hose line at the water pump outlet to let the air out it is much easier to fill and get the air out. Also might take the upper radiator hose off and fill the radiator first.
 
If it was full of coolant and no flow, the water pump may have the wrong impeller, or the belt is on wrong?
 
the cooling system hold about 15qts so almost 4 gallons.
I ususally pop the upper hose off the water neck and fill the rad from that until it run out the neck. Then pop the upper hose back on, and fill the reservoir full. Crank the heat let it warm up and then let it cool down for a few hours. Then crawl up something to get the rad cap as high as possible and above the engine, fill res, pop cap and run and top up for a few minutes then cap on, run for a while until the thermo opens then cool down and top up again.
The cooling system is a PITA to burp the first time as the upper hose and heater lines are above the main system creating awesome places for air to get trapped.
 
smalltownbird said:
I only put a bottle of coolant mix in, how much more do I need?
Click to expand...

:shiver:

I think it takes 2.5 gallons. But that assumes there is still coolant in the block. I never drain the block on mine.

How big was the one bottle?

LOL
 
Devilfrog said:
the cooling system hold about 15qts so almost 4 gallons.
I ususally pop the upper hose off the water neck and fill the rad from that until it run out the neck. Then pop the upper hose back on, and fill the reservoir full. Crank the heat let it warm up and then let it cool down for a few hours. Then crawl up something to get the rad cap as high as possible and above the engine, fill res, pop cap and run and top up for a few minutes then cap on, run for a while until the thermo opens then cool down and top up again.
The cooling system is a PITA to burp the first time as the upper hose and heater lines are above the main system creating awesome places for air to get trapped.
Click to expand...

I found a trick that make its easy and fast, the trick is to open that heater hose line I mentioned below, as it vents the block, bypasses the closed T-stat, and fill from the open neck on HO, or fill from the bottle on the Renix 87-90. But that is after I fill the radiator first like you said. ON the Renix it is ever harder to fill the radiator, but I found that filling the bottle on renix with the upper radiator hose open at the T-stat, and the heater hose from the water pump outlet (pressure ) side open, makes it a 5 minute job, and done, except for maybe a final pint after one heat and cool cycle!!!!

With out doing this, I was never getting the radiator more than half full!!!
 
scoobyxj said:
IIRC the XJ water pump is reverse rotation.
Click to expand...

That is correct, but many of the catalogues show it as standard (which means reverse too, LOL). I have heard of a few cases where the wrong impeller was installed.

In this case he was a little shy of re-filling the system, LOL!
 
Filling the coolant up did the trick. Now I need to figure out why my dirt bound fans aren't coming on. That must be why the radiator blew. I have hooked them straight to the battery and they work so something must have broken or burnt up somewhere
 
This isn't xj related, but in my eclipse gst I was having cooling issues with two electric fans, I just wired them together, fused it with a 5 amp fuse and ran it to the ignition with a bypass switch to shut them off if I want to. So they are on if the ignition is in the start position. Helped me out a ton with that and it takes about an hour. Then you never have to guess if they are on or not
 
Are you sure you got the thermostat put back in the right way. It can go in backwards and simply will not open.
 
Breezio69 said:
This isn't xj related, but in my eclipse gst I was having cooling issues with two electric fans, I just wired them together, fused it with a 5 amp fuse and ran it to the ignition with a bypass switch to shut them off if I want to. So they are on if the ignition is in the start position. Helped me out a ton with that and it takes about an hour. Then you never have to guess if they are on or not
Click to expand...

Really bad idea.
 
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