Hmmmm...anyone for BBQ?

[bruggz351]

boiled the xj yesterday:wall:
from what i've read though, it shouldn't be a surprise. but to me it was unusual.
when purchased, i drove it approx. 300-350 klms home. no probs.
got it regoed, drivin around town, no probs. then yesterday, drove about 30 klms, mostly highway, then dirt road, no probs so far, then stop at property gate, no probs, then slow driveway and up steep hill to stop at house. BOOM...boiling it's nuts off!!
on investigation i found, no thermostat and a broken thermostat housing. looks like it been broke for a while too. looks like it's been slowly leaking along the bottom side of the housing, the bottom bolt boss was broken off. was only being held by 1/5 of the washer if it was lucky, but when i got the top bolt undone the housing vertualy fell off in me hand. hoping this is all the overheating problem is, although i'll be giving the cooling system a serious once over...

cheers

[xjsteve]

welcome to xj ownership, when i bought mine i had to drive 200kms home and i had to stop nearly 10 times to fill the radiator cause it kept boiling, sound like yours was beter than mine, my thermostat was seized so after replacing that mine only gets hot when worked hard in sand now

[bruggz351]

heh heh, yeah so i'm finding out...
hey, can someone tell me, do these jeeps have a "low water sensor" to stop the engine from starting?? reason i ask is, i can't start the bugger since i removed the thermo housing. eg. no water. i'm hoping when i put the new housing on tomorrow and fill it's belly with water, it will start. fingers crossed...
yes i'm only using water to get it home, then it will cop a decent cooling system clean and check over.....

cheers

[BennyWA]

heh heh, yeah so i'm finding out...
hey, can someone tell me, do these jeeps have a "low water sensor" to stop the engine from starting?? reason i ask is, i can't start the bugger since i removed the thermo housing.

cheers

Nope! Does it turn over?:eek:

[bruggz351]

Nope! Does it turn over?:eek:

yep.
i let it cool after it boiled. then i moved it into a shady spot to work on. took the old thermo housing off and found it buggered. decided to leave the car at bro in laws place, so to be polite went to move it out of the way but it wouldn't start. turns over great, just doesn't fire, not a inkling.

cheers

[eksjay]

Can you all kindly provide km on the ODO for your car....when this problemo happened?

My thermostat has never been replaced [own the car from new], and I thought I would change it when the water pump eventually gave way or some other major mechanical happened....

thanks...

[Gojeep]

They dont have a low water sensor. I take it you have the temperture sensor unplugged though that is in the housing? This feeds to the ECU so don't know if that would stop it starting but wouldn't think so.

[bruggz351]

gudday fine people,
well i fitted the new thermo housing, topped it up and the dang thing started, as if nothing happened. drove home with no problems. about a minute after shutdown it boiled its nuts off again, dumping boiling water out of the reserve tank.
i think the rad cap is faulty so I'll replace that. also, i think the elec fan is not working.:wall::wall:. the previous owner has bypassed it with a switch, but even when i jump power straight from the batt, no go.:mad:.
there is also no shroud on the engine fan:-( so I'll replace that also.... and when i went investigating, i found the sender for the gauge at the back of the head............... with a old piece of wire siliconed into a broken sender and twisted onto the loom wire:wall::wall::wall:. so Ive put an aftermarket sender in and hooking the aftermarket gauge up today and tomorrow.

what temp thermostat do people recommend? be picking one up tomorrow...

cheers

[BennyWA]

195 degrees-see here: http://www.go.jeep-xj.info/HowtoWaterpump.htm

Not sure if you've seen Gojeeps site, but I've done these mods plus a hiflow radiator and all is perfect!! I was going to install an electric fan and have purchased one but it is spot on at the moment so will leave it for now....

[bruggz351]

cool, thanks benny

[bruggz351]

well, got a standard thermostat, some coolant, a new radiator cap and top hose and a shroud for the engine fan. have fitted up the a-market gauge and got everything else sorted, and so far, touch wood, no overheating:cool:
bit unnerving though, seeing the gauge sitting on 100*C. i'm used to my cars sitting around the 90 mark... still have to sort this thermo fan though.

cheers

[russ]

I drove my xj around for a couple of years running hot up around 100C or more,I flushed out the radiator twice thinking it was blocked and still wasn't happy with the temp. Then one day found a very small leak from the bottom of water pump, got onto a new gasket changed it and it runs at good temp now accept when i 4b it hard in the bush.

[Squall]

AH It must be a Jeep thing ;)

[bruggz351]

Can you all kindly provide km on the ODO for your car....when this problemo happened?

My thermostat has never been replaced [own the car from new], and I thought I would change it when the water pump eventually gave way or some other major mechanical happened....

thanks...


oops, sorry eksjay, my car has around 152000K on it.

cheers

[bruggz351]

AH It must be a Jeep thing ;)


YES, it is, it is. but, what can ya do? i think it's in the blood....

[xjsteve]

240000kms is what I bought mine at and had to replace straight away.