• NAXJA is having its 18th annual March Membership Drive!!!
    Everyone who joins or renews during March will be entered into a drawing!
    More Information - Join/Renew
  • Welcome to the new NAXJA Forum! If your password does not work, please use "Forgot your password?" link on the log-in page. Please feel free to reach out to [email protected] if we can provide any assistance.

radiator leak, overheating issues

HeightsHoustonXJ

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Houston
97 XJ sport 4.0 4 dr. This morning the temp gauge never goes to red, but the A/C started blowing warm and I could smell fluid. When I pulled into the lot I could see fluid leaking. When I opened the hood noticed that the spot where the reservoir hose connects to the radiator just under the radiator cap was busted and fluid was pouring out. The reservoir bottle was about a quarter full and the cap was closed, so I'm guessing it broke by itselff and not under pressure?

So, first, the break looks clean at the spot in the radiator, any way of fixing that or is that little spot going to cost me a new radiator?

Second, at the most a gallon or so came out, this should be normal behavior anyway, right? But I still have the A/C thing which makes me wonder if I have another issue? Maybe air got sucked down into the radiator which caused the overheating?

What do you think?
 
ok a gallon is not normal, and you overflow is not that big.
the fluid in the overflow goes in and out when needed. and it probly sucked in air.
and a rad shop should not charge much to fix the pipe, or u can fix it yourself with a propane torch and some resin core solder.
 
As long as the stub broke off clean and didn't crack or tear a hole in the tank, you can just use some JB-Weld and a bic pen. When I broke mine off (pulling the elec. fan out), I had about 1/8" of a stub remaining so I just JB-Welded the hose back onto that and it was still holding a year and a half later when I changed the radiator.

Keep in mind though that the condition of the plastic will be the same in the tanks and in the heater valve, so you'll want to be preparing to replace those. When I pulled my heater valve (which was still working fine another year after the rad change) it crumbled into little pieces that I'm still finding.
 
I don't recommend the propane torch if it's got plastic tanks. :}

Plastic oem tanks are prone to leaking and if you damaged the neck, you should probably replace the radiator. Radiatorbarn.com sells a decent quality all-metal, 2-row radiator for $138 shipped. You can go 3-row for $173 if you want to upgrade the cooling capacity a bit. I bought one from them 2 years ago. They were very responsive answering a few pre-sale questions and shipped very quickly. The unit they shipped was an all-metal CSF brand.

The a/c problem may just be coolant on the serpentine belt causing the compressor pulley to slip. Even if the engine is overheating, the a/c should still blow cool as its coil is in front of the radiator.
 
Ugh, had no idea the thing was made out of plastic. Anyway, went with #3. On the way home from work the temp went almost to red, so I stopped by the auto parts place and bought some JB weld, a pack of plastic male-male couplings and a few hose clamps and went to work on it. I hammered a one size to big coupling into the hole in the radiator, slopped some JB weld around it and attached the hose and clamp. Now back to normal, well, if you can call 210-215 normal. Hopefully it will hold a coupla weeks while I search for a better aftermarket radiator that can handle Houston summers.
 
Back
Top