Took the XJ out for a 3000k Run

[LuluBelle]

A Belated merry Christmas and happy New Year to Everyone ............
As We went to Brisbane for 2 weeks to see Family and Old Friends
Well where do I start The XJ failed in a Rescue Mission on Monday OVERHEATED about 40k out of town No Steam or anything BUT! the Needle was Jammed in the RED!
PT Cruiser to the Rescue 120k up the Jericho Rd Lowered PT's don't like outback dirt/sandy roads Running Boards Grading the Road .......
Rescue Done I went over the XJ as We wanted to drive it to Brisbane on Saturday (963 K) I knew I couldn't get a Thermostat in town so I thought it might be the PT to Brisbane But just to be sure I went over the Jeep the top hose got warm? Thermostat is open? went for a drive 8k out of town and returned all temps were normal for my XJ I left it running so I could check the trans fluid and then the Rad Cap Let Go!! there's my Problim'O I got a new cap it was a 13/90 But then decided to swap caps with the Red 99 Sport (Currently owned by the father in-law) it was a 16/110? same as come off mine .......
Part 2 of the Rescue Mission Today Back up the Jericho rd XJ Test.................
After a while mine always runs hot on the highway That's the Nature of the Beast......... about 110? first notch after 100 If I push it over 100k or 2000 rpm the temp goes up to the RED But never Boils The Sweet Spot is around 95/98 kph and 1800/1900 rpm it sits on around 108 deg as you all know the Whole Cooling System is Newish 10000k old Clutch Fan even the Head has been Done ..... That's the way mine Runs (I should of fixed my fan over ride Bummmer)
But I am going to go early while the air is Cool if I go around 2 am watch out for Roo's get to Tambo top up my 40 litre fuel tank .. Morven opens at 5am Top Up .. get to Roma about 7.30am and the World of Mc Donalds and LPG! which I believe is 85c (In Bris) be about $1ish in Roma better than 169.9 Then off to Brisbane................ Get there around 3 of 4 I will need a BEER! By Then ...
I Did Fix the Fan Override and it Ran All the Way
Pulled into Tambo around 3.15 am got a top up at the card machine and the Head Light Switch FAILED! NO Dash Lights! Fiddled with the Switch and got them Working!!! ...... Cool night Air We got to Roma about 8.30 am Revive Survive eating Maca's got LPG at 89.9 saving 50c a litre and off to Brisbane ................ temp/s were a Nightmare Kissing the RED! had to use the heater to trim the temps back 13 and a half hours and 931k later (Dog Stops and Average speed 95 kph) WE Got THERE!
To Be Continued............. Shattered Now .. Just Got Home
_____ooooo
/__l_l_,\____\,___
l_---l_l__l---[ ]llllll[ ]
_.(o)_)__(o)_)--o-)_)

[alexbrown64]

Well done Lulubelle,
Sounds like a great adventure there, but what a fuckeroo with the temps.

I finally got my Engine Watchdog mounted on the dash. Get one! They are accurate and you can just flick your eyes over it to get a readout of true engine and tranny temps. Also, you can set the alarm to go off at any temp you desire. But in your case it would be going off all the time ha ha..

Since you have replaced your entire cooling system and you believe everything to be good, then the only thing i can suggest is what i did. Do the ZJ clutch fan upgrade. Ive been testing mine all week. Jeep has never got above half way on the needle. If im idling in the garage testing stuff and the temp goes up to nearly half way.. i give her a rev for about 10 seconds and watch the temps go right back down. According to my watchdog, temps go from 95C to 83C in about 20 seconds because of the ZJ fan upgrade. They just pull so much air through the system!! The more you rev it, the harder it pulls. Very quiet around town, but get the revs up and she sounds like a truck! Do yourself a favour and try one out.

I have the Hayden 2737. Get a new one, as a wreckers one might already be knackered.



Cheers, and have a good road trip

[LuluBelle]

Yea Alex just what I was telling the Missus on the way home I had the electric fan on and the heater on just to keep it out of the Red but never once did it look like boiling or loose any coolant? Just Scary Hot
....................
Any way We got to Bris 937.3k in 13 hours Next day while recovering I was checking the XJ over and had no lights at All!
I phoned Harvey Bay Jeep Wreckers and they had a new non genuine switch for $119 and $15 express postage got it the next day . Christmas Eve . I watched a youtube vid on how to do it and decided not to do it in my Mums driveway and Stress Out I will do it when We get home No Night Time Driving I got a Awning 2x2.5 for $89 Awesome! We split the trip on the way home went up to Friends at Coolum Beach overnight took Herbie to the beach next day We went to Rockhampton and stayed at the Pet Friendly Motel Lodge only $98 for the 3 of us then Home the next day Defiantly a better way to travel
All in All I am Happy with the Over All Performance of the Jeep After all it is 24 years old this year 396 something K
Apart from the Headlight Dimmer Switch FAILURE! I haven't checked yet as we only got home last night .. but in Brisbane before we left there was No Fluid Lose of any kind
So it should all be fine when I check I imagine
Coming back the coast way I was able to run LPG all the way to Emerald saving about 45 to 60 cents per litre average gas price about 89.9
A Great Trip Now its time for a service fix the lights and a Fan Upgrade

_____ooooo
/__l_l_,\____\,___
l_---l_l__l---[ ]llllll[ ]
_.(o)_)__(o)_)--o-)_)

[LuluBelle]

OK! I ordered a Hayden 2737 clutch for the fan Not messing around with the cheap Chinese ebay rip-offs I ended getting one of amazon for $50ish and $20 postage aud$ was looking at $60ish and free postage on ebay .............
lets see if this helps the ol girl
_____ooooo
/__l_l_,\____\,___
l_---l_l__l---[ ]llllll[ ]
_.(o)_)__(o)_)--o-)_) ..............

[alexbrown64]

Originally Posted by LuluBelle

OK! I ordered a Hayden 2737 clutch for the fan Not messing around with the cheap Chinese ebay rip-offs I ended getting one of amazon for $50ish and $20 postage aud$ was looking at $60ish and free postage on ebay .............
lets see if this helps the ol girl
_____ooooo
/__l_l_,\____\,___
l_---l_l__l---[ ]llllll[ ]
_.(o)_)__(o)_)--o-)_) ..............

Nice Mark. Did you get my PM. Rockauto also had them.. https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo...130686&jsn=256 but not sure on price and delivery. Dont forget to try the 7 blade fan. Not sure if your 4 blade fan is any good.
Get all that fitted up and you should see a big difference..

cheers,

[eksjay]

Is it possible to have a bad roadtrip in an XJ?

I think not.

If I have to do a 3000km trip or more, the XJ will be my preferred car. No computer codes to worry about, very comfortable front seats.

It is the kind of engine bay (petrol or diesel) that you can look at, and work out what's wrong, and what needs fixing.

As long as you have a spare CAS, belts, fuses, a jump starter, air compressor, and other odds and ends (depending on your maintenance schedules etc) , you will be back on the road in no time, or your nearest bush mechanic will be able to fix it with parts from a falcon, or other cars if necessary.