Cooling System Reset (2000 XJ)

[Root Moose]

Hey Gang,

Planning to tear into the XJ this weekend. It's been parked for 10 years and I hope to get it back on the road.

When the Jeep was parked it had a cooling system issue. It was a long time ago, but from what I recall the Jeep would overheat if it was pushed hard. If you just putt-putt around and kept RPMs lowish it would not overheat.

I only had the Jeep a little while before I parked it. The previous owner had a different radiator cap on it. I don't recall but think it was something like 14 or 16 lbs. I'd go check but I need to fight my way under the hood since it won't open - seized from sitting outdoors for 10 years.

I need to check for head cracks under the oil cap as well. IIRC there were none back in the day but it was a long time ago and the Jeep has been literally sitting behind a container out of sight and out of mind so I don't remember a lot of the details. Today is Monday, hoping to get some stuff ordered and delivered to the middle of nowhere in time to get some stuff done on the weekend.

Anyway...

I figure I'd do the water pump, t-stat, new rad cap, and hoses while I'm at it. What are the recommendations these days for those components?

Figured I'd port the t-stat housing while I'm at it.

Anything else I should investigate? Will I need to pull the radiator to do these items?

Thanks.

 

[Rob Mayercik]

Having done a water pump in a parking lot once, I can say you don't need to remove the radiator, but unbolting that plate that sits over top of it and keeps it from rocking back and forth will give you the room you need to maneuver around for the water pump and tstat.

Don't forget to do the fan clutch as well - shouldn't be related to your problem (bad fan clutch usually causes overheating at low speeds), but after all this time I'd not be inclined to trust it either.