So I'm new to the Cherokee experience and working on cars in general. My 2000 began hemorrhaging coolant and overheating. All the lines running to it are intact with no leaks but looks like the left side of the radiator has been leaking. Just looking for confirmation that's most likely what it is before I order a new one

 

That's not good, you may want to investigate a little more before you start throwing money at it.

 

What are some of the other possibilities I should be looking into, any info would be great.

 

Most auto parts stores rent a cooling system leak tester that pressurizes the cooling system, thus forcing coolant out at the leak making the leak detectable.

Where is your fan shroud?

FWIW, left/right is determined when sitting in the drivers seat, not when standing in front facing the vehicle.

 

If the hose or cap isn't leaking and the radiator is covered in coolant that pretty much tells the story. The picture is blurry so I can't tell much from it. Get a pressure tester or fill it when cold, fire it up, and wait for the leak to indicate where it's coming from. You can buy a new radiator or have yours repaired.

 

Welcome to the forum!


Rent a leak tester and see if you can see where it coming from first then listen if you can't see it and try to find it that way.


Luckly radiators are cheap for the XJ's if needed under a $100 at AutoZone I have bought 2 there one for myself and my son.

 

Sorry to be a downer, but you've got a 2000 4.0 so you should make sure your cylinder head is not cracked. I say this because I too have a 2000 XJ, my radiator was leaking and, just last week, I replaced it. When the new radiator developed pressure, as the leaking radiator did not, I discovered my cylinder head was cracked and leaking. It would have been nice to know this before I filled the cooling the system and drove it.

Remove the oil filler cap and inspect it carefully for any milky residue on the bottom. Shine a flashlight through the oil filler hole and look carefully for any sign of coolant leaking between cylinders 3 & 4.

I sure hope you don't have this problem. But as I just discovered, the cracked head issue is pretty much an inevitability with a 2000 4.0 engine.

 

This is unfortunately a real possibility. OP, search for "0331 head crack" and read up. The original 0331 heads installed on the 2000 and 2001 4.0L engines had a casting flaw that gave the heads a tendency to crack between the #3 and #4 cylinders even without having been overheated, causing all sorts of mayhem in the cooling system. Chrysler quietly switched foundries in 2002 to correct the problem but left all us 2000 and 2001 owners with a bunch of ticking time bombs.

It's not a certainty that you have that issue, but you ought to be aware of it and rule it out before throwing a lot of money at the cooling system.

 

So the radiator had a massive crack and I put in a new one, replaced water pump and thermostat. Ran fine for a day and then temp gauge shot up and began blowing cold air which was initial problem before the massive leak. The heating line on left remained cold (right if sitting in truck) after running and I have no idea why. It did not seem like anything was running through that hose. Also fluid was bubling and pouring out when the cap was off.....any ideas

 

You may have a cracked head due to overheating

 

Off topic, but where is your coil rail? 0331 heads have a coil rail instead of plug wires.

 

I don't see wires, I'm just curious.

 

The small hose is the coolant return line......both hoses should be very hot. Sounds like the heater core is plugged. Did u flush the heater core and motor separately before installing the new rad? After re-filling the cooling system and several heat/cool cycles, did u check coolant level in both the rad and bottle, motor COLD?

Where is your fan shroud?

 

The fan shrouds are there (the picture was pre-replacement). I did not flush the system after the new parts were placed. We did add more fluid into the system after it was running and it just bubbles and pours out. It certainly seems like it's plugged somewhere with that line being ice cold and definately looking into the heater element, will update how that goes. I did not replace the heater lines which is also next step. I'm not sure about the coil rails.

 

Might want to start over with a good flush of the entire cooling system. Don't want that new radiator to get plugged with crud.

Remove the heater hose and rad hose from the t-sat cover. Remove the bottom rad hose from the water pump. Stick a garden hose in the heater hose and flush, flush, flush. Stick the garden hose in the heater hose nipple on the t-stat cover and flush, flush, flush. Stick the garden hose in the top rad hose and flush. flush, flush. Not absolutely necessary to do but, a little more old coolant/crud can be drained from the motor if the rear of the XJ is elevated while flusing.