What am i getting myself into? jeep question.

[K5dreamer]

Ive got a friend with a 1997 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo with the strait six in it. Its puking coolant out of the front of the engine, and looks like the radiator is weeping, and has a bunch of lights on the dash, has a leaking rear diff cover, and she REFUSES to take it to the dealership to get a diagnostic performed even though im willing to pay for it for her.

Anyway, i can feel water coming out of what seems to be the water pump (i cant see it) but its coming out near the upper radiator hose but not out of the hose itself. I thought that would be the water pump, but now that i think about it, it could be a thermostat housing, im not familiar with that strait six engine. Anyway, water comes out of there about as fast as you can fill it up at the radiator. she's been driving it, only adding coolant to the overflow tank, because she didnt know she could add it to the radiator itself its been driving fine till it overheats and then stalls and dies. it was finally towed back to her place the last time, but it still starts and runs ok, at least while it was cold for the few minutes i had it running.

I dont really have time to do this, but she's a friend and in a bad way money wise, so i wanna help her out. but just trying to get bearings on what im getting myself into. Its really frustrating that she wont let me take it to the dealership for a proper diagnostic. It would save alot of time, and make sure we dont waste money throwing parts at it.

thanks for any and all input.

 

[diesel4me]

Those engines tend to eat water pumps,for some reason they dont seem to last long--other than that and the radiators rotting out,they dont usually have many cooling system woes though...what ends up killing these straight sixes more often than not,is someone continuing to drive when they get too low on coolant,and bad things happen..sometimes they just blow the head gasket,other times they'll overheat and get hot enough to take the tention out of the rings and they'll start belching smoke...

It could well be the thermostat outlet has cracked and thats where the water is leaking from..I would not use the vehicle in this condition..but I know how stubborn (dumb!) some people can be when it comes to cars..just yesterday I checked a womans car out when my friend was busy at his shop finishing a engine swap up,she had NO oil showing on the dipstick!--and it took 3 quarts to get it to full again..and her radiator only had about a gallon of coolant left,she had a minor leak,but was only filling the coolant tank,NOT the radiator,and not much of what she added to the tank ever got TO the radiator--and she contunued to drive ,thinking well,the tank is "full",so its safe,right?...um..not exactly!..

---she'll be back for either a engine transplant or major engine work in a week or so I bet..but she balked at paying ten bucks to tiop off the oil and coolant,so maybe not..my friend doesn't really want to work on her car because she's the type that likes to drag out payments or give him a check instead of cash,and she's stingy with cash..plus the fact if anything else happens to go wrong with the car,even something my friend never touched or looked at,she'll blame him and want it fixed free of charge...IMO people who are like that should walk!....they are the types who'll say the vehicle is a "peice of junk" after it craps out from lack of oil & coolant too!..

 

[AJMBLAZER]

...but I know how stubborn (dumb!) some people can be when it comes to cars..just yesterday I checked a womans car out when my friend was busy at his shop finishing a engine swap up,she had NO oil showing on the dipstick!--and it took 3 quarts to get it to full again..and her radiator only had about a gallon of coolant left,she had a minor leak,but was only filling the coolant tank,NOT the radiator,and not much of what she added to the tank ever got TO the radiator--and she contunued to drive ,thinking well,the tank is "full",so its safe,right?...um..not exactly!..

---she'll be back for either a engine transplant or major engine work in a week or so I bet..but she balked at paying ten bucks to tiop off the oil and coolant,so maybe not..my friend doesn't really want to work on her car because she's the type that likes to drag out payments or give him a check instead of cash,and she's stingy with cash..plus the fact if anything else happens to go wrong with the car,even something my friend never touched or looked at,she'll blame him and want it fixed free of charge...IMO people who are like that should walk!....they are the types who'll say the vehicle is a "peice of junk" after it craps out from lack of oil & coolant too!..

This sounds like my buddy's long lost sister or something. I'm slowly bringing his two cars back from near death. They both run, go, stop, and have most of their auxiliary functions now so we've come a long way!

"Car still starts and moves. Must be fine."

 

[496truck]

Chances are, if that Jeep 6 has been overheated (and it sounds like several times) she's lookin at a good used replacement engine. Most likely this is the cheapest, easiest way to get back on the road, other than weighing the repair cost vs buying something else to drive.

The rear axles on those Grand Cherokees are a known bad apple. The all iron D44 is about the only good rear they had. Chances are this one has the D35 (can be fixed) or even worse, the aluminum housing D44 (junk when they were new). Best thing to do, fix the leak and put fresh fluid in it.

 

[K5dreamer]

well hopefully she dosnt need an engine. like i said, once i had some water in it, she started it up and it seemed to be running fine to me, no smoke, or rough idle, or anything like that. She said the times it did stall out she had it towed so it dosnt sound like she drove it much when it was in a bad way, and thankfully its been sitting in her parking space since i looked at it.

My first assumption is its the plastic thermostat housing based on the conversation with the parts guy, heres hoping, a new aluminum t-stat housing and replacement t-stat are only $66. havent priced the water pump. she did say the radiator was leaking already, so i guess she'll fix that later.

and sadley, i am very well versed in the stupidity, and cheapness of people when it comes to working on cars. being a service advisor means dealing with em is part of the job description

 

[K5dreamer]

jobs finished

(starcaft reference for the other nerd guys on here)

Really not all that bad. it wound up being the water pump, that thing was toasted, took about 2.5 hours, in 20* weather, and simple hand tools. Had to remove the cooling fan and clutch, an idle pully, the tentioner mounting bracket which required unbolting the power steering pump, and disconnecting two coolant hoses. the lower radiator hose, and one of the heater core hose. swapping out the pump was strait forward, slapped everything back together, filled it with coolant, and ran it. let her take it for a spin, and nothing exploded

she says theres still a gurgling flowing water sound when she shuts off the car, and when she's accellerating... the radiator is full and was actually overflowing once the engine warmed up and the fluid expanded. im thinking air in the heater core hoses? anyone know how to bleed those things? or just wait for the air pockets to work their way to the radiator?

 

[smier]

I've always just started the vehicle when COLD**** with the radiator cap off and radiator full, run it and watch as the fluid level in the radiator drops. Add coolant to bring it up to level. Repeat if necessary. I don't replace the cap until it's full and all the air is out of the system, with the cap off the cooling system isn't pressurized. Just be prepared, they can warm up quick and that cold fluid will start to expand, and pose a burn hazard if it gets hot. Once I finish "burping" the system I put the cap back on and fill the overflow to the appropriate cold level mark and then watch it run, as the coolant heats up and expands your pressurized radiator cap should open and allow the excess coolant to overflow into the reservoir. I have to add the disclaimer of do not take the radiator cap back off until the engine and radiator have completely cooled again!!! Good luck!!!

 

[K5dreamer]

yeah, thats the same process ive always used, the issue is that the heater hoses on this engine run up over the engine, along side the valve cover, so those heater hoses are the high point in the system, not the radiator cap. so im not sure how to burp the system, because once the radiator is full, the heater lines can still have air in them. Fourth gen F-bodies had this issue, but they designed in bleeder screws in the coolant pipes (not hoses) along the back of the engine, so you could crack them and bleed the air out of the system. I didnt see anything like that on the heep.

 

[07coupegt]

Try parking it on a steep incline, and run it with the cap off. This some times helps to get the air out, by making the rad cap the highest point.

 

[496truck]

And, because it hasn't been mentioned, run it with the heater on while refilling a cooling system. This will circulate the coolant through the heater core and hoses.

 

[dbabicky]

I have 2 of these said Jeeps. Park the vehicle on a slight hill, let it cool completely, open the radiator cap and the coolant over-flow bottle, then on the T-stat housing is a temp sensor, remove the sensor and let the coolant flow naturally until all the air bubbles clear out. Now reinstall the sensor and refill the coolant bottle to the proper level, replace both caps, and run the engine with heater on untill you have been to operating temp for a couple minutes. Let it cool, repeat this method until you get no more air out of the system. This is the very popular method on all the Jeep, and Cherokee forums. I have done this to mine a few times over the years. The reason for all this is that air gets trapped in the system in the head of the engine after it sets and cools.

 

[K5dreamer]

lol

so simple... park on a hill and make the radiator the highest point... im a retard. thanks guys and gals, ill give that a shot and see what happens.