Hey guys, quick question.
I was driving on the highway yesterday for about 10 minutes, went to back into a spot at school, and my engine started overheating. It was about 30 degrees outside, so I had my heat on for my defroster.

Popped the hood, and this is what I saw.
I'm not good with names & parts, but similar stuff has happened before. I have a family friend who fixes up my stuff but this just happened yesterday.

Stuff usually fixes itself, so I just hit it with my hand & it sort of locked back in.

What do you guys think it is? I haven't checked my oil in about a month. As I'm typing we're at 5-8 inches of snow, so I don't feel like going out and checking.

 

What made you think it overheated? Did it spew coolant? Was the temperature gauge pegged?

If it actually did overheat in 30 degree weather, likely your thermostat stuck closed. If you haven't serviced your cooling system in a while, or ever, I would suggest you do so. This would include thoroughly flushing the entire system and replacing the thermostat.

All I'm seeing in your pictures is a typical engine with a lot of miles on it and oil leaking here and there.

 

No idea why it overheated, did not spew coolant.
All I saw was smoke coming out from my hood & that section was soaking wet. It wasn't like that a few days ago.

Like I said, I'm not good with the names of things. I know I got my thermostat replaced about a year ago along with a new serpentine belt, cooling system, and a few other things.

 

Why are you saying it over heated?

Did the water temp gauge rise to the orange section? 250+ degrees?

 

I just assumed that when you see smoke, its overheating. All of my gauges were fine.

In that case, it was not overheating. I have a guy coming over tomorrow morning to look at it... I guess we'll find out!!!

 

It didnt over heat.

A little oil splashed on the exhaust manifold and burned off.

Throw a new $3 grommet, and maybe a new plastic elbow and forget about it.

Check the oil and add a little if needed. No big deal.

 

Now we're getting somewhere. It's also possible you have a failing radiator cap which can release coolant and steam.

 

Thanks guys! I'll update when I find out what it is. I'm thinking it's exactly what Grip said

 

Hey man,
It was exactly what you said. The family friend that worked on my jeep didn't have a new elbow (which was cracked), so he just glued it shut... (which I didn't know)... Yeah that didn't work.
Getting a new grommet and elbow soon!
Thanks for the help guys!

 

Why do I always assume that Jeep owners are mechanically inclined? I'm reminded every day that most aren't.

 

If I might make a simple suggestion, check the oil, coolant, trans fluid along with a look at everything for any loose bolts/parts, at the very least once a week. That's when my DD's are checked, ones that aren't DD are checked every time before they are driven.


Just plain common sense to avoid problems before they bite you in the AZZ!

 

By the looks of it, you are going to want to clean that engine bay too. Show it some Love and scrub her down! Clean engines do run better and when issues arise they are easier to identify when it is clean in there.

 

That's exactly why I'm on the forum, I'm a 19 year old girl and this is my first car. I bought it from some dude who had no idea how to fix stuff. Luckily, everyone on the forum's been spot on with their answers and I've fixed everything by myself thanks to their help!
Thanks everyone

 

Yup! Thanks so much! I've been checking it exactly like you said just to avoid stuff later on.

 

Sounds good! I'll show some love, the previous owner left me a mess to begin with. Thanks