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91 Jeep Cherokee Laredo. got home, parked it and ENGINE COOLANT ALL POURED OUT

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Old 07-14-2010 | 12:24 AM
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Default 91 Jeep Cherokee Laredo. got home, parked it and ENGINE COOLANT ALL POURED OUT

so guys!

Ive been a member of the site since I got my jeep. this is my second problem that I dont know how to diagnose alone.

so I was driving around in the Hollywood hills, if any of you are from here you know how steep and insane stop and go it is.
I was too busy looking for FOR RENT signs to pay attention to my jeeps sensors. normally I glance at them ever so often but not today. my Jeep started making a humming noise that seemed to be coming from the back of the car but I wasn't actually sure where it was coming from. anyhow after driving around with that hum for about 30 minutes I decided to go home because I didn't like the noise.
as soon as I parked my jeep in the drive way and turned the engine off steam pours out of the hood and coolant is spraying everywhere.

it doesn't seem to have busted, I think it came from the cap as I believe they all have a pressure release?

the jeep didnt lose power or act weird in any other way, it was running great as usual the entire time.

I turned it back on to check the gauges (not sure if they could have been accurate after this) but the temp gauge was all the way to the extreme.

did I overheat and stupidly not pay attention?

does anybody know what could have caused all of this?


anything helps!

thanks a ton guys!
Old 07-14-2010 | 01:33 AM
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Originally Posted by swabyjustin
so guys!

Ive been a member of the site since I got my jeep. this is my second problem that I dont know how to diagnose alone.

so I was driving around in the Hollywood hills, if any of you are from here you know how steep and insane stop and go it is.
I was too busy looking for FOR RENT signs to pay attention to my jeeps sensors. normally I glance at them ever so often but not today. my Jeep started making a humming noise that seemed to be coming from the back of the car but I wasn't actually sure where it was coming from. anyhow after driving around with that hum for about 30 minutes I decided to go home because I didn't like the noise.
as soon as I parked my jeep in the drive way and turned the engine off steam pours out of the hood and coolant is spraying everywhere.

it doesn't seem to have busted, I think it came from the cap as I believe they all have a pressure release?

the jeep didnt lose power or act weird in any other way, it was running great as usual the entire time.

I turned it back on to check the gauges (not sure if they could have been accurate after this) but the temp gauge was all the way to the extreme.

did I overheat and stupidly not pay attention?

does anybody know what could have caused all of this?


anything helps!

thanks a ton guys!

I had the same problem with my 90, but mine would do it every time I turned it off. New radiator, t stat, coolant and hoses cured it. It had been 5 yrs since I did it and I just recently changed the coolant, t stat and hoses for cheap insurance before taking a 800 mile round trip to Baja last week. Took it all the way up to 8000 feet elev. drove home with no problems.
Old 07-14-2010 | 08:40 AM
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id try a new t-stat first, followed by new hoses and a coolant flush
Old 07-14-2010 | 06:40 PM
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I will most likely change the thermostat this week and was also thinking about replacing the water pump as well just because they're both cheap and pretty simple repairs. and its good to know how old something is if you've installed it yourself!

Thanks guys.

can a faulty thermostat cause all of these problems Ive encountered and is it possible that this could have badly damaged my jeep? it never shook or lost power or acted weird in any way.
Old 07-14-2010 | 06:44 PM
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Do a cooling system pressure test and you'll find out where the coolant was coming from.
And by the way, Welcome to CF!

Last edited by ol"blue; 07-14-2010 at 06:48 PM.
Old 07-14-2010 | 07:01 PM
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also since its been warm out in the PNW we have had 3 or 4 xj's in with blown out freeze plugs. that will dump coolant also
Old 07-14-2010 | 07:11 PM
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Originally Posted by xjoffroad
also since its been warm out in the PNW we have had 3 or 4 xj's in with blown out freeze plugs. that will dump coolant also
X2. If that's the case I hope it's not the one in the rear of the head or one of those in the rear of the block. They're buggers to replace.
Old 07-14-2010 | 07:18 PM
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Originally Posted by ol"blue
X2. If that's the case I hope it's not the one in the rear of the head or one of those in the rear of the block. They're buggers to replace.
I agree! just did one on the rear of the block. total pain. had to get inventive on the method we used to get it out.
Old 07-14-2010 | 08:28 PM
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is a malfunctioning thermostat visibly damaged? if I remove it will I be able to tell that it is in fact not working correctly?
Old 07-14-2010 | 08:30 PM
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Place it in a pan of water with a thermometer and see what temperature it opens at.
Old 07-15-2010 | 01:05 AM
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Originally Posted by ol"blue
Place it in a pan of water with a thermometer and see what temperature it opens at.
X2.

I would just replace it. I replaced mine last week with a fail safe unit that's suppose to stay open when it fails.
Old 07-15-2010 | 08:35 PM
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I replaced the thermostat with the fail safe version yesterday and it did not fix my problem. nothing is flowing through the hoses so today i bought a water pump and Im about to put it on now that the sun has gone down a little. its hot in LA
Old 07-16-2010 | 11:00 PM
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Originally Posted by swabyjustin
I replaced the thermostat with the fail safe version yesterday and it did not fix my problem. nothing is flowing through the hoses so today i bought a water pump and Im about to put it on now that the sun has gone down a little. its hot in LA

Bummer, hope you find the problem soon. Lets us know what happens after changing the water pump. Best of luck.
Old 07-17-2010 | 07:44 PM
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bought a water pump, got the old one off and started to put the new one on and realized the wrong gasket cam with it!!! so now I cant finish the job until Sunday! ill update about what happens
Old 07-28-2010 | 11:29 PM
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replaced my water pump, bought the cheap one and drove around and the jeep overheated again.

just replaced the water pump for the second time with the most expensive one. started the jeep up but Im not driving it around because Im scared to death to overheat it again, but nothing is pumping through the upper hose when I start the jeep. is the water supposed to be pumped all the time?

I dont know what to do now, or what to think.


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