The FB groups are a joke. Dont EVER listen to them. Come here we take care of you. The FB guys will have you breaking you jeep.

And I missed the one thing you said. Dont even check the fan clutch. Change it. They are cheap and well worth the change. Mine didn't check bad when I tested it but I changed it, I had slight issue with cooling at the time, I changed it and it helped a metric crap ton. Between that, a flush, and the shroud you see where you stand.

 

That's a good point, I mentioned testing it, but with over 200k miles and OP having no idea when or if it's been replaced, the best practice would be to just replace it. I think I got mine from NAPA for around $40.

 

So just go and tell them I need a fan shroud and fan clutch? How hard is that to change out? Should I pick up a repair manual?

 

How do I go about flushing the heater core? I'll need heat, but got a bit before it snows

 

Yes def on the shroud. Its always needed. And the clutch is a good idea because they are a wear item. They wear with age. Sometimes you can't tell if they aren't 100% efficiency

 

Heater core iirc is as easy as taking the two hoses off the left side of thermostat housing, providing you in USA with lhd jeep, and sticking a hose in and flush. Someone will most def correct me if I'm wrong. Plus I need to go back and look what year you have real fast

 

OK thanks

 

Ok so i think i have an issue.....1 the fan spins with my hand after i turned it off. and its been hot, i cant get a fan shroud the guys at both napa and autozone said its junk yard or dealer order so ill have to go get that.

i purchased a repair manual to help me out. i will be purchasing some plugs and wires too....what do you guys recommend for wires and plugs

 

Shroud is available online for cheap. Do the fan clutch also.

 

I recently joined a couple of those and was shocked at how ill-informed those people are. The FSJ groups are a lot better, but the XJ group is rampant with people who don't know even the basics.

I would try to locate the fan shroud at a self-service junk yard. Many times they're broken, but if you're luck you'll find one intact for less money than new. There's nothing wrong with a used fan shroud if it isn't broken.

Most parts stores will have the fan clutch. It's a common maintenance item. You need to get a new one; don't try to put a junk yard fan clutch on your Jeep.

A few things that may help you as you get into wrenching:

Rockauto.com has a pretty complete selection of parts for our Jeeps at reasonable prices. They charge shipping, so you have to factor that into the cost.

Advance Auto usually has coupon codes that can reduce the prices on your local purchases. You can also order them online and go pick them up at the store.

People often forget to look for parts on Amazon.com. It's not unusual to find the best price on Amazon with free shipping if you already have Prime.

The fan shroud is easy. Just don't get impatient when you're installing the new one, because you can break it if you try to force it down.

The fan clutch is not difficult, but you have to figure out how to lock a wrench between the bolts to keep it from turning when removing or tightening bolts. You'll have eight bolts to deal with, four to get the fan assembly off and four to remove the fan itself from the clutch.

If you're going to be working on the Jeep yourself, you should pick up a factory service manual (FSM) specific to your year. Do not attempt to rely on a Haynes or Chilton manual, because they are written for a range of years and are worse than useless because they usually include information that is not relevant to the year you're working on.

You can usually find a big FSM in paper form on eBay for $50-$100. There are also some diagnostic manuals that you don't really need, so be you're buying the full service manual.

If that's too pricey, you can also download the manual in PDF form from Pacific Coast Manuals for $8:

http://www.pacificcoastmanuals.com/j...e_manuals.html

It's the exact same material, and you can search it, so it's a really good deal. I have both and use the PDF for research and the hard copy in the garage itself. But you can always just print what you need out of it.

There's a DIY floating around here, so I'll give you a tip about this board:

Most topics have been discussed before, but the search on the board here is terrible. Instead, use Google to search the board using the "site:" tag to restrict the results to just this site. For example, to search this board for how to flush the heater core, enter this:

"site:cherokeeforum.com flush heater core"

I have linked the results for your convenience, but in the future you can use that to search for other terms.

 

Heater core flush:

https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f2/hea...er-core-68305/

 

Napa is one of the better parts stores, and they often have deals as well. Mine was running 10% but had an in-store 20% off bucket sale and the dude comped everything that wouldn't fit in the bucket. AKA everything. Solid people

 

I had a problem with high temp and boil over. Even thought i was getting exauxt in my coolant. Turns out I had too much rust in my system. I used Thermocure and my temp went back to normal. Look at you coolant and see if it's brown. It's a flush that wilt dissolve any rust as well as flush your system.

 

You know you're talking to a guy who posted almost 5 years ago, right?