87 XJ

I don't know the specs. I got one off the shelf at the parts store. Works great. The old one started spraying all over the place as soon at it hit operating temp!!!!

8lugnuts

I recently bought my brother's '88 Chokee, 4.0L inline 6. It only had 118K on it and he replaced every cooling system component the year before I bought it including the coolant tank. Within a few months it pissed all the fluid out of the thank via the cap. I tried wrapping the threads with electrical tape, no good. Last week I went to AutoZone and got another cap, it looked like a better cap than what was on it, this cap covered all the thread races and bottomed out at the tank's surface. The other one just a few threads.

Within a week(today) I notice it still spit out almost all the fluid in the tank! And it was running hot again. When I tried to tighten the cap to make it bottom out it popped up, riding up off the bottom thread. I removed the rubber strap and picked the tank up, tilted it sideways and the fluid just poured right out! I couldn't believe it! This tank system sucks!

A local Jeep guy told me to ditch this system and upgrade to a later model "open" one, said it's easy to do. But my radiator and all my hoses are brand new!

I like the idea BlueXJ posted (Macs Radiator) but that's pretty darn expen$ive.
I'm thinking of making up a homemade rubber gasket to insert in the cap. Anyone ever try this? Think this will work?

8lugnuts
'88 Chokee 4x4 - 2nd owner 124K

cheapJeeper

When I got my '89, the pressure tank was broken, so I replaced it with a new tank & cap. I had to constantly add coolant, and it was a PITA to not be able to check the level of coolant in the radiator.
Being old-school (I like to SEE the level of coolant in the radiator), and considering the complete lack of maintenance by the PO, I decided to go against my thrifty nature and "bite the bullet"...I did the open cooling system conversion from a write-up I found somewhere (?), and at the same time, did a complete cooling system replacement at 156,000 mi...
I haven't had ANY problems since., and now at 182,000.
I used a Mopar radiator, and sourced the other parts by scouring ebay for good deals..(OK, I didn't go completely against my thrifty nature...).
Another positive from this route is that there are 3-row radiators out there for this application.

I recommend the open system conversion.

8lugnuts

There are lots of Cherokees and parts avail. where I live. I see them all over the place and always stuff For Sale. So before I ditch all my nice nearly new components I think I will try to get another plastic reserviour tank cheap/used and if this doesn't work I'll go with a metal one.

That tank DOES help you *see* what level of coolant is in the radatior. Being that it's a *closed* system the radiator will suck in only what it needs and spit back into the reserviour what it doesn't.

BTW: My 4.0 IL6 amost never runs @210°. I installed a cheapo thermostat this past Summer when all this stuff with the coolant tank started and it just barely reaches the notch right before 210, then immediately falls back down to like 195°. The thermo is doing it's job, although I have never seen a motor flucuate so radically like this.

aircruiser

yeah my jeep did this once too. i was driving around and it suddenly started just pissing coolant. popped the hood and the coolant was boiling and pouring out the overflow. hasnt happened since but i think it is most likely the radiator cap since i cant find any leaks..

jkshavoc

happened to me too the cap was worn out and was holding no pressure causing it to overheat, so i bought a cap from quadratec works great now. By the way all this happened on my trip to vegas in summer not the best time to have a cooling problem.

Lucas21

So I got a new cap and it was working pretty decently until I tried to tighten it a bit more "to be sure" and it popped off and sprayed coolant everywhere. Good times. Going to go pick up another one tonight, get it working, and leave it alone!

Jeepinchevy

You could always look into converting over to the open style cooling system that was put in XJs starting in '92.
Heres a link http://jeep.off-road.com/jeep/articl....jsp?id=257864

Lucas21

The conversion is a good idea but I got a really good price on new parts for the older-style closed system so I decided not to go that route. Thanks though.

8lugnuts

I'm going the cheap route whenever possible, don't need to spend alot
to have fun and make it work.

cheapJeeper

That's the same write-up I used...worked GREAT!


CheapJeeper's got the idea in the name.....

(Yup...Ya betcha! )

Lucas21

So I broke down and just bought the aluminum tank from Macs Radiator. I'm sick of dealing with these crappy plastic bottles so I'm going to fix it once and for all.

Jeepinchevy

Awesome! Let us know how that tank works out

76ANTHONY

sounds like this is the best idea. i may buy one for shiats and giggles because this bottle of mine just looks like crappy cheap plastic...that and that bottle looks badazz

8lugnuts

Lucas21, I am definitely interested in knowing how the steel tank works out. I'm betting it solves your problem, and if yours then mine also.