excessive floorboard/trans tunnel heat

[Vanimal]

my trans tunnel seems to get stupid hot on long drives. is this normal for these things? almost seems like a fire hazzard. my phone was sitting in the little tray under the ebrake handle and it shut down due to the heat, and would burn my face if i tried to use it. the heat coming off of it makes it hard to drive, especially in shorts.
my temp gauge stopped working recently, but it typically never overheated and the electric fan hardly ever turns on when wheeling. i'm going to try and fix the temp gauge, but i dont think it's overheating.

a few facts, some may be related, some might not.
91 xj 4.0 ax15 231
zj fan clutch
newer radiator and water pump. coolant looks good
220k miles
original cat followed by a thrush turbo muffler and a turndown pipe
transfer case may be a little noisy, it seems to have a whiney noise and some marbley noises when i come to a stop. wondering if the heat is coming from that? works fine otherwise. the jeep used to have a disconnect axle, so the noise wasnt there before because the driveshaft didnt spin when driving. now it does, which makes me think this is the source of the new whining noise.

i do still have my carpet and center console. might try hood vents, but i just find it hard to believe they'd let a vehicle this new go out the door of the factory if they all get this hot.

 

[foxwar71]

I've noticed XJ floors with AW4's get a lot warmer then ones with AX15's. Since you have a manual, my guess would be a starting to cog cat or something else with the exhuast. That's the only thing under there that can produce enough heat for you to fell it.

 

[Vanimal]

that's kind of what i was thinking. there also seems to be a lack of top end power. after about half throttle, it seems rather gutless.
i had it off recently when i changed the clutch and i didnt hear anything loose in there, but i guess that doesnt mean it isnt clogged.

 

[Porch951]

I'd get under the car after driving it and see if you can feel the heat coming from any place in particular.

Other than that, it seems to be a problem on these cars somewhat. I added a cookie sheet to my muffler and hood vents and it really cut down, but i also have an aftermarket exhaust. Later XJ's came with the cookie sheets from the factory, though.

 

[Ronbo]

I run without carpet and the interior floor cooks along at 160 degrees in the summer. I have the AX15, but my 241OR is bigger than the original 231 and closer to the floor.

 

[Vanimal]

if i had to guess, i would have said about 150 with carpet

 

[MrShaft696]

my trans tunnel seems to get stupid hot on long drives. is this normal for these things? almost seems like a fire hazzard. my phone was sitting in the little tray under the ebrake handle and it shut down due to the heat, and would burn my face if i tried to use it. the heat coming off of it makes it hard to drive, especially in shorts.
my temp gauge stopped working recently, but it typically never overheated and the electric fan hardly ever turns on when wheeling. i'm going to try and fix the temp gauge, but i dont think it's overheating.

a few facts, some may be related, some might not.
91 xj 4.0 ax15 231
zj fan clutch
newer radiator and water pump. coolant looks good
220k miles
original cat followed by a thrush turbo muffler and a turndown pipe
transfer case may be a little noisy, it seems to have a whiney noise and some marbley noises when i come to a stop. wondering if the heat is coming from that? works fine otherwise. the jeep used to have a disconnect axle, so the noise wasnt there before because the driveshaft didnt spin when driving. now it does, which makes me think this is the source of the new whining noise.

i do still have my carpet and center console. might try hood vents, but i just find it hard to believe they'd let a vehicle this new go out the door of the factory if they all get this hot.

I was having this prob a while back and could cook a egg from the air coming out where the e-brake is. I ended up taking some thick rubber matting an putting it all inside the console & over the shifter. I put regular household insulation over that, now I get very minimal heat if any out of it. It was horrible before, it felt like the heater was always on, no matter what. I have a new cat & cooling system etc. so I know its not from something problematic, just was dang hot...

temp gague is easy fix, just dont break the new one installing it....

 

[scottmcneal]

Change all your oils or check them to see if you're low.My T-Case gets hot when i get low on fluid

 

[Vanimal]

interesting. where'd you get the rubber? how thick? it does feel like the heater is blowing.
i got this jeep in like December so i havent taken it on many long drives in the heat. not sure if this is "normal" for my vehicle.

 

[Vanimal]

Change all your oils or check them to see if you're low.My T-Case gets hot when i get low on fluid

yea, definitely time to change the transfer case fluid. trans oil isnt too old. needs an engine oil change as well.

 

[scottmcneal]

Mine gets hot like i said when she gets low. I leak and to lazy to fix it.lol. Try and do a service on it and see if that helps a little.Then go with the cookie sheet.

 

[MrShaft696]

interesting. where'd you get the rubber? how thick? it does feel like the heater is blowing.
i got this jeep in like December so i havent taken it on many long drives in the heat. not sure if this is "normal" for my vehicle.

I grabbed this at lowes & just used a razor knife to trim around the shifter etc. My wife used to all the time about the heat coming from the trans tunnel, I just think it was old and worn out & not allot of insulation to begin with....looks like 1/8 thick....

 

[Vanimal]

my rubber boot around the shifter (ax15) is shot too, wonder if that isnt helping. it got tore up changing the clutch

 

[MAY POP]

Nobody going to comment on the lack of full exhaust system? All that heat whipping around under the truck. My muffler has a hole in the side and it shoots exhaust gas out the side. I sure heat stays under the truck especially at low speeds.
If its that hot heat some burritos or pizza on the tunnel.
Ron

 

[#S194]

The shifter boot does a lot towards keeping the heat out of the cabin. I get a ton of heat coming up throught the console and yes, it feels like the heat is on all the time. My inner boot is completely shreded and needs to be replaced. I found this boot used to replace the one that is no longer available on another forum:
http://www.quadratec.com/products/52106_03.htm

Looks like it will fit with some minor modifications. I ordered one and am waiting for brown Santa to bring it. I would make my own but I don't want to play with making my own boot by trial and error. I'll let you know how it works.

 

[Vanimal]

thanks man! i thought the boot might have a little to do with it. shift knob was HOT!

 

[Vanimal]

Nobody going to comment on the lack of full exhaust system? All that heat whipping around under the truck. My muffler has a hole in the side and it shoots exhaust gas out the side. I sure heat stays under the truck especially at low speeds.
If its that hot heat some burritos or pizza on the tunnel.
Ron

i cant have a full exhaust due to the 3 link wishbone setup on the rear. no room to sneak it by. the heat is there mostly when driving for a long time on the highway, not so much going slow.

 

[Johnnie Walker]

I know Sean said his floor gets warm when towing his ancient pile. Not sure about unloaded long drives.

 

[yossarian19]

Don't think that highway trips should eliminate exhaust heat from your consideration. Years back I had a cargo tray mounted to my trailer hitch and melted some plastic items on it with exhaust heat, just tooling along at 70mph. I'd have thought that the wind / air turbulence would have made the heat irrelevant... nope.
I bet you need to move your exhaust outlet.

 

[Vanimal]

the outlet isnt even close to where the heat is coming from. plus friends have the same exhaust setup without issues other than drone