Overheating problem 96 jeep zj

Asked by Chrisfarrell313 Jul 05, 2018 at 10:19 PM about the 1996 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo 4WD

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

So I went camping and decided to go explore some
of the hills. I had no thermostat so my engine,
radiator and coolant soon reached around 260 and
was spraying out of the radiator cap and had
swelled my plastic coolant reservoir to about 1 1/2
it's normal size before the cap popped and shot
everything out. Since then I have fully flushed my
coolant system, replaced my radiator cap, installed
a 160° thermostat and replaced my water pump,
However I cant get it to stop overheating. My fan
spins at all times, my coolant flows freely and I've
purged all of the air out of the system, but in town
and on the freeway it quickly reaches 210°+ and
starts burning my oil. Any ideas anyone?

3 Answers

7,455

my first guess would be that your radiator is internally clogged and could use replacement but check the external fins first for crud built up or alot of bent fins, without airflow your cooling will suffer. Also make sure you have the proper radiator shroud, it NEEDS to be there. you should also have a look at your spark plugs, they are the windows to whats happening inside your motor. Running lean equals heat. Resistance/ drag of the brakes or anywhere in the driveline will cause the motor to constantly work hard which also equals heat. Burning (alot) of oil equals heat. Plugged exhaust equals heat. Hope this helps

Best Answer Mark helpful
7,455

This is a 2 part answer : First off the shroud controls where the air comes from, through your radiator. It sucks the air through the rad and as an adherent benift blows some on the engine also, without it it would only suck and blow air around but never truly suck it through the fins of thr rad so really the better its sealed to the edges of the rad the more efficient it will work. Second, the shroud must be properly sized to the radiator and the hole for the fan must also be matched to the fan depth and size. You want the fan blades to be halfway into the opening and about 3/4 -1" of clearance between the blades and the circumference of the shroud. If youd like to experiment on a safe and smaller scale take some construction paper and tape and mock a shroud around a table fan (leave the guard on), hold it up to where the air is going in while you slowly move it closer and further away : you'll feel the suction strengthen and weaken

Your Answer:

Grand Cherokee

Looking for a Used Grand Cherokee in your area?

CarGurus has 3,222 nationwide Grand Cherokee listings starting at $4,995.

Postal Code:

CarGurus Experts

  • #1
    Hornet_2497
    Reputation
    8,960
  • #2
    Gene Arnett
    Reputation
    7,010
  • #3
    thejeepdoctor
    Reputation
    6,560
View All

Find great deals from top-rated dealers

Search

Related Models For Sale

Used Jeep Cherokee
98 Great Deals out of 1,661 listings starting at $3,950
Used Jeep Wrangler
136 Great Deals out of 5,079 listings starting at $5,450
Used Ford F-150
327 Great Deals out of 15,257 listings starting at $3,295
Used Ford Explorer
72 Great Deals out of 2,080 listings starting at $2,999
Used Toyota 4Runner
10 Great Deals out of 319 listings starting at $9,900
Used Chevrolet Tahoe
15 Great Deals out of 853 listings starting at $5,995
Used Chevrolet Corvette
17 Great Deals out of 1,032 listings starting at $14,900

Content submitted by Users is not endorsed by CarGurus, does not express the opinions of CarGurus, and should not be considered reviewed, screened, or approved by CarGurus. Please refer to CarGurus Terms of Use. Content will be removed if CarGurus becomes aware that it violates our policies.