keep my XJ cool

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maze
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Hey guys,
we out offroading last week with the group and by the end of the drive my electric fan stopped working and the car over heated, still was able to continue the drive and once i let it cool down it didnt heat up again...
what advice do u guys have on upgrades to keeping the car heat down throughout the drive? (ie. transmission oil cooler, extra Fan or change my electric fan etc)
my car is a 94 model jeep cherokee xj
Thanks
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Fat Rabbit
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maze;18018 wrote:Hey guys,
we out offroading last week with the group and by the end of the drive my electric fan stopped working and the car over heated, still was able to continue the drive and once i let it cool down it didnt heat up again...
what advice do u guys have on upgrades to keeping the car heat down throughout the drive? (ie. transmission oil cooler, extra Fan or change my electric fan etc)
my car is a 94 model jeep cherokee xj
Thanks
I have a 1999 TJ soft top. I used to have the overheating problem when the airconditioning was on (temperature wud reach the 100 level). So the mechanic added a second fan to the front of the radiator and connceted it with the airconditioning. so when the a/c goes on, so does the second fan. Dont have the problem any more. But this is on-raod driving. I've not used the a/c in off road driving becoz most of the time I've gone early in the morning so I dont need the a/c, I just remove the windows.
Where the road ends, the enjoyment begins..
With Natalie, a 2-door beige Nissan Patrol Safari
strawb
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get your electrical issues sorted out.

add 2 subaru fans infront of the radiator. Not sure if it will fit though as the 88-96 XJ's have a smaller gap between the grills and radiator.

check your water pump and your thermostat control as well.

make friends with people in the sharjah industrial area
maze
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sounds like some good advice!
Well im putting my car into my friends Garage tomorrow to get the fan sorted and flush the radiator and service plus creating space in the hood for the heat to come out and a 3inch lift... i will talk with them about adding fans in the front (see if they can get me subaru ones)!
Thanks for the advice
Desert Lizard
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The XJ cooling desinger must have been originally born and raised on the North pole, since the cooling system leaves much to be desired. Here are the things you need to do in order to kill the heat. You don't have to do them all though, but I am adding everything for you to choose from:

Radiator and water pump Readiness
1- If the radiator is a 2-core, get a 3 core radiator.
2- If the water pump is really old (don't know when it was replaced, or looks shabby) replace it
3- All water hoses from and to the radiator should be replaced together.
4- Clean the engine water passages (flush them)
5- Check the thermostate and replace if necessary
6- The radiator cap should of good quality and CLEAN.
7- Use a 50/50 engine coolant/water mixture or buy it already mixed. Pure coolant or Pure water alone isn't optimal.

Radiator Cooling Fans
1- Replace the inside electric fan if nearing the end of its life. The original is TOO expensive, and the chinese one will work just as fine for about AED 150(approx), but as Strawb said, check for electric issues.
Also check the water temperature sensor.. it should be giving the right readings
2- In case the subaru fans don't fit, or you can't find them for some reason, there are other options to consider.. These are unbranded very thin fans for cars that are designed to fit on radiators. I have seen in industrial area. Make sure you get the ones rated at 80Watts at least, (cost around 65-75 each). These will fit flush tight against your radiator from the front and do a decent job.
3- The fans MUST be operated through a relay. The switch will be inside the car, but the switch should operate the relay only.
4- Since both the fans will draw something like 13 AMPs from the battery, the wiring used should handle the load and a proper capacity fuse added through a fuse holder, and always carry a spare fuse.
5- Since it's important I will repeat: Fuse, Relay and good wire..
6- I recommend a separate switch for the fan, not in anyway connected to the ignition or the light switch. An overload can cause damag to these. An led swithc would be nice since you will know when it is on or off.

Transmission Cooler
1- You can buy a used transmission cooler from the junkers for 100 to 150.. Those are standard ones without a fan attached to them..
2- The standard trany cooling in the XJ happens through routing the gear oil through the radiator (a small built in cooler if you like), I would recommend keeping that setup and adding the auxiliary trany cooler in serial to it.
2- The guy installing it for you should know what is he doing very well. The cooler should have a chance at getting air flow, otherwise no point.

Others:
1- Check your mechanical fan and make sure the fan clutch is fine, and the blades are in good shape
2- Clean your air-filter
3- Have your hood lifted about an inch from the hinges, this will allow hot air to flow out better.
4- Check your catalytic converter for blockage
5- Check your transmission oil pipes for any dents that would restric oil flow
6- Check engine oil.
Wasif Ahmed
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Easier to carry a bag of ice and keep topping up the radiator with it !
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Abu Jimmy
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Desert Lizard;18042 wrote:The XJ cooling desinger must have been originally born and raised on the North pole, since the cooling system leaves much to be desired. Here are the things you need to do in order to kill the heat. You don't have to do them all though, but I am adding everything for you to choose from:

Radiator and water pump Readiness
1- If the radiator is a 2-core, get a 3 core radiator.
2- If the water pump is really old (don't know when it was replaced, or looks shabby) replace it
3- All water hoses from and to the radiator should be replaced together.
4- Clean the engine water passages (flush them)
5- Check the thermostate and replace if necessary
6- The radiator cap should of good quality and CLEAN.
7- Use a 50/50 engine coolant/water mixture or buy it already mixed. Pure coolant or Pure water alone isn't optimal.

Radiator Cooling Fans
1- Replace the inside electric fan if nearing the end of its life. The original is TOO expensive, and the chinese one will work just as fine for about AED 150(approx), but as Strawb said, check for electric issues.
Also check the water temperature sensor.. it should be giving the right readings
2- In case the subaru fans don't fit, or you can't find them for some reason, there are other options to consider.. These are unbranded very thin fans for cars that are designed to fit on radiators. I have seen in industrial area. Make sure you get the ones rated at 80Watts at least, (cost around 65-75 each). These will fit flush tight against your radiator from the front and do a decent job.
3- The fans MUST be operated through a relay. The switch will be inside the car, but the switch should operate the relay only.
4- Since both the fans will draw something like 13 AMPs from the battery, the wiring used should handle the load and a proper capacity fuse added through a fuse holder, and always carry a spare fuse.
5- Since it's important I will repeat: Fuse, Relay and good wire..
6- I recommend a separate switch for the fan, not in anyway connected to the ignition or the light switch. An overload can cause damag to these. An led swithc would be nice since you will know when it is on or off.

Transmission Cooler
1- You can buy a used transmission cooler from the junkers for 100 to 150.. Those are standard ones without a fan attached to them..
2- The standard trany cooling in the XJ happens through routing the gear oil through the radiator (a small built in cooler if you like), I would recommend keeping that setup and adding the auxiliary trany cooler in serial to it.
2- The guy installing it for you should know what is he doing very well. The cooler should have a chance at getting air flow, otherwise no point.

Others:
1- Check your mechanical fan and make sure the fan clutch is fine, and the blades are in good shape
2- Clean your air-filter
3- Have your hood lifted about an inch from the hinges, this will allow hot air to flow out better.
4- Check your catalytic converter for blockage
5- Check your transmission oil pipes for any dents that would restric oil flow
6- Check engine oil.
Thank you DL for the detailed info , I think this thread should be sticky , as its very important to XJ owners.

Just one more thing to add , the subaru fans will fit on 97 to 01 models only .
What goes around , comes around .
maze
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oh man some good information there, my XJ is a 94 model...thanks desert lizard bro for the advice will make sure the garage does some of this stuff and look into adding an extra fan depending on what fits, some one told me a nissan sunny fan from the 07 times are very good and fit easly...i guess first things i would do is get all the electrics checked and flush the radiator, oil etc.. check the fans and change if needed, Check the thermostate and replace if necessary with CAP!
Thnx Again guyz ive spent most of my life working and modifying mustangs, this going to be a fun change :)
strawb
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refer to the 3rd post in the thread .....

almost4x4 is always happy to help fellow offroaders


http://www.ad4x4.com/club/viewtopic.php ... 71#p256671
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