DRIVE IT LIKE A JEEP

OK so after a long search i finally got a new jeep... i found a 1996 clean body and super great interior runs and shifts great but.....


"first problem" so i test drove the jeep a day before i bought it and it drove great but im new to this specific 4 wheel drive system and the owner was an elderly gentelman and really didnt know much about it so i came to a full stop put it in N and sifted it into 4wd it went in fine then i went to put it into 4 low and when i put it back in drive it popped out into Neutral then if i attempt to put it back in 4 high it grinds but once it goes in it works great.. HELP PLEASE!!!

"second problem" so on the test dive i went around the block and then down a rocky road and on the freeway for an exit ran fine. brought it home still fine...then went to a buddys to show it off and let it idle for a bout ten min the temp light came on (oh ya my model of jeep only has idiot lights no readout guages) the elect. fan was running fine so i turned it off to cool down... i drove it home and about a block away the light came on again. then later that night i took it out around the block a few times and nothing no light and it felt like it was running pretty cool so i figured it was because it was hott during the day bout 85? then when i came out the next morning there was coolant puddle under the rig i did a quick rad check and couldnt see the leak but under the car i could see it dripping onto the diff from above...... ANY HELP guys i know u will take care of me thanks guys

greatful for any advice

96_xj

since this car is "new" to you i would do a full flush to see what the condition of the coolant is like to determine the health of your cooling system. get a new 195* (stock) thermostat new coolant hoses and a new rad cap.


also i would due a tun up. oil change, new cap/rotor, plugs/wires, air and fuel filter and a throttle body cleaning.

but start with the hoses, rad cap and flush


also on the 4 wheel drive some times just a slight roll in reverse will keep it from grinding. btw never use the 4x4 on solid hard packed ground. it is meant to be used on surfaces that will allow for wheel slip

ColoradoXJ88

Hate to say it, but your first problem sounds like the T-case is going out... If it was grinding to go into 4 hi, from N, after unsuccessfully getting it into 4LO, the T-case might be bad... Have you tried putting it in 4Lo again since then?

Your second problem has lots of answers... Mine was overheating today (90 was the high) but it was because i forgot to plug my elec fan back in...oops!! You will want to take a look at your rad. cap, make sure the rubber isn't cracked and it all looks good. Also check all of your hose connections for the radiator and Heater Core, check for coolant leaking from around the water pump, and check your overflow bottle for cracks and all the hoses going to that. I believe every hose should have a clamp on it for the cooling system, so make sure those are on good and tight as well.

Driving it around the block a few times may not have warmed it up enough to cause it to overheat, try driving it in City traffic for 20+ minutes and see if your light comes on.

You might want to look into an aftermarket temp gauge that will hook up to your factory sending unit. Autozone sells some cheap gauges, but i wouldn't trust them...I'm not a huge fan of their aftermarket parts.

BTW, I'm glad you searched first!

DRIVE IT LIKE A JEEP

Thanks 96_xj i will def do the tune up and as for the rad flush never have done one myself is it a hard process or something i could take on myself?

DRIVE IT LIKE A JEEP

ColoradoXJ88....the 4wd will go into 4low but sometimes i have to roll forward a few inches then try again...is there a way to adjust it or is it going out also i am doing a lift soon and was going to get a sye kit for it should this take care of it if it is going out... thanks

and for the second problem i checked the rad cap looked good and i also checked the hoses didnt see any leaking ill check for clamps.. the leak seems to be right above the front diff and not far back enough i woulndnt think it would be the heater core but i very well may be wrong whats the first thing i should do? def. need an after market guage so i can hook directly into the sending unit that runs to the warning light or do i need to tap into it at the engine?

ColoradoXJ88

Your T-case may not be going out then, sometimes they're just a pain to work with. As long as it doesn't grind going into gear you should be fine, but you might want to check your T-case fluid level by removint the T-case fill plug, stick a finger in to see if the fluid is up to the fill plug level. If not, fill her up with some ATF.

I think the best thing you can do is try to get it to overheat again, pull over, kill the engine, and sit outside and wait for it to start leaking again. Mine leaks through the overflow bottle when it's overheated, and it splashes coolant everywhere.

See, your front diff is like right between the radiator and the heater core, so something might be leaking and the coolant traveling down something before it drips off. How big was the puddle when it leaked?

I haven't actually done a temp gauge myself, but i would imagine you could steal a gauge from another XJ, find a gauge mount for the interior, and hook it into the stock sending unit, but i might be wrong. You could just grab the sending unit along with the gauge from the JY....

DRIVE IT LIKE A JEEP

Will do on the T case... and as for the over heating first thing in the morning i will see where it is leaking from as far as the guage goes i will reasearch some stuff and see what i can find i plan on doing like a 3 cluster on the dash oil water and volts and 2 on the pillar a trans temp and a tach sicne jeep decided to make my fuel guage the center of my dash and not include a stock one lol guess ill never run out of gas right
ill keep u up to date on what i discover with the leak and if i find anything on the guages ill pm u a write up so in case u wanna eventually do one to thanks for the help and ill keep ya posted

ColoradoXJ88

Sounds good. I'd like to do a Trans Temp gauge mounted on the A-pillar in mine. I've also gotta fix my oil pressure gauge, and my coolant gauge. I'm pretty sure they both just need sending units though.

bob cannon

Definately go to the JY and get a gauge cluster. 2 sending units are all thats needed to swap them. oil pressure and temp. The temp sending unit is on the drivers side back of the intake manifold. Pain to get to. You can get a Tstat thats a 160,180,or 195. Since its hot already flush the system A LOT! I did mine 4 or 5 times. Get A lower temp Tstat. Radiator then water pump. They all run hot, but having idiot lights kind of keeps you in the dark as far as what your engine is doing. Cant help with the transfer case.

DRIVE IT LIKE A JEEP

thank u i am on my way outside right now to check where the leak is coming from i found a place on ebay that has a new rad for 54 bucks and water pump for 20 thermo for 15 and housing for 10 think its ok to go with theese cheap parts of no?

kg4cej

mine had the same leak 2 yrs ago and it would run hot. I found the waterpump leaking thru the weap hole and leaking onto my diff. I replaced everything and flushed the block. I installed the 3 core offroad radiator from napa, high flow waterpump and 195 thermostat. It gets real hot over 100 here in southeast Georgia and I can sit in traffic all day or wheel all day it never goes over 210 with the ac on.

DRIVE IT LIKE A JEEP

thanks.. do u know how to do a flush i have never done one?

kg4cej

you can do it a couple of ways. I'm a mechanic so when i ripped the whole front clip, radiator, waterpump, and all the hoses i just flushed the block and heater core.

DRIVE IT LIKE A JEEP

ok so....i pulled the air box so i could get a better look im not intelligent when it comes to cooling systems so i needed all the extra space to work with so correct me if im wromg but in the 1996 the water pump is mounted directly on top of the alternator? so i ran the rig for about an hour and no over heating i gave it some throttle now and then to get the heat up but nothing...but the elect fan came on after only about 10 min... so there is still a small puddle of coolant under the rig so i turned it off and noticed that the rad hoses were air locked and vacumed in like this




so the little rubber gasket abobe the hose seems to have pooled up coolant could this be where is is leaking from and more suggestions i can try?

DRIVE IT LIKE A JEEP

oops sorry about the double pic