Wesleypipesyo Posted June 1, 2015 Share Posted June 1, 2015 Howdy folks and good morning. Over the weekend we had some beautiful weather in Maryland and I decided to play with the jeep. I got a lot done. I was very happy. The steering is finally tight. I put about 40 miles on the girl to make sure everything is fine. It is driving like a champ. I stop for lunch with the wife and kid before I have to go to work. That is when the problems start. I am sitting in the parking lot of Panera Bread enjoying my newly discovered ice cold AC. When there is a very loud bang from under the hood and tons of steam pouring out from the engine bay. And the engine stalled out. I pop the hood and the radiator cap has been dislodged from the radiator. I get a ride home after lunch so I can jump in my DD so I can go to work. The temp light on the dash never came on. The light does come on, it did once when I first bought the truck. It does not normally come on. I spend the day at work searching open and closed cooling systems and new radiators and water pumps and all sorts of things. As I have a 1988 4.0 comanche I believe that I have a closed system. So after about 9 hours at work I go to a gas station and buy a few gallons of 50/50 coolant. I am crank the jeep up and she fires right up. I dump almost two gallons of coolant into the radiator and drive the half mile home. The jeep is sitting now. On the ride home I had no more steam, no temp light, no violently exploding radiator caps. Now here is my question: Does this look normal? I see no coolant reservoir, I see no over pressure tank, just a couple of hoses with T's that lead back into each other. There are two hoses going into the heater core and into the thermostat housing. If this angle of the picture is not helpful give me some suggestions and I will take more tonight. But I am very confused. At this point I am pretty much convinced that I am going to swap everything over to the open system just to make sure everything is correct. Thanks guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruiser54 Posted June 1, 2015 Share Posted June 1, 2015 If you have a cap on the RADIATOR, you have an open system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wesleypipesyo Posted June 1, 2015 Author Share Posted June 1, 2015 If you have a cap on the RADIATOR, you have an open system. Good to know. But if that is the case should there be an over flow reservoir? I am trying to figure what a po has done. I was under the impression that the 1988 generation were factory closed systems. I would rather start over than repair a flawed system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruiser54 Posted June 1, 2015 Share Posted June 1, 2015 Open system is fine. Did the radiator filler just blast off the radiator in one good pop? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wesleypipesyo Posted June 1, 2015 Author Share Posted June 1, 2015 The filler is fine. The cap blew off. The cap seems fine too. It went back on without an issue. Now that it is home it will sit until I figure out what I am going to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mik666 Posted June 1, 2015 Share Posted June 1, 2015 sounds like the cap wasn't on properly and it caused it to overheat - i installed a temperature gauge into my 87, just to keep an eye on it as the idiot lights suck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wesleypipesyo Posted June 1, 2015 Author Share Posted June 1, 2015 sounds like the cap wasn't on properly and it caused it to overheat - i installed a temperature gauge into my 87, just to keep an eye on it as the idiot lights suck That would be a great simple fix. I want to swap out the idiot lights with gauges. That is on the list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruiser54 Posted June 1, 2015 Share Posted June 1, 2015 Get a new cap with no flip lever on it. 16 PSI even though stock is 13. See what happens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wesleypipesyo Posted June 1, 2015 Author Share Posted June 1, 2015 Copy, I will pick on up today on my way home from work. That was in the plans. I was going to just get what ever is stock. But I will find a 16psi one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruiser54 Posted June 1, 2015 Share Posted June 1, 2015 Stock is okay too. Just no flip lever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wesleypipesyo Posted June 1, 2015 Author Share Posted June 1, 2015 What I have now does not have the flip lever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimoshel Posted June 1, 2015 Share Posted June 1, 2015 I prefer gauges so I know what is going on. I leave the idiot lights in because when it flashes it gets my attention. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Incommando Posted June 1, 2015 Share Posted June 1, 2015 If you have a cap on the RADIATOR, you have an open system. Good to know. But if that is the case should there be an over flow reservoir? ***I am trying to figure what a po has done. ***** I was under the impression that the 1988 generation were factory closed systems. I would rather start over than repair a flawed system. Isn't that PO game fun? Regardless of rather you have the factory closed system or a converted open system it should have a reservoir or tank or something Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wesleypipesyo Posted June 1, 2015 Author Share Posted June 1, 2015 If you look at the pictures closely, the hoses go into the heater core. There is no reservoir. I will try to draw out the hose pattern. They T off into each other. It is weird. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue88Comanche Posted June 1, 2015 Share Posted June 1, 2015 for reference, review over my closed to open cooling DIY http://comancheclub.com/topic/44535-closed-to-open-cooling-diy/ it should help with trouble shooting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wesleypipesyo Posted June 1, 2015 Author Share Posted June 1, 2015 That is prefect. Next time I am in Birmingham I am driving down to buy you a beer. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ADAs89 Posted June 2, 2015 Share Posted June 2, 2015 If there's no reservoir and the fluid is just feeding back into circulation through the rad cap once it reaches operating temp then the pressure would continue to build and probably pop the cap off. Looks like the PO may have been trying to make a hybrid closed system with an open system rad. Odd... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wesleypipesyo Posted June 6, 2015 Author Share Posted June 6, 2015 So the rain stopped. I was able to get some work done. I ran the two hoses and added an over flow tank. Here is what I have now: This looks right. I have a the overflow bottle, it just requires a little massaging. What is this doohickey? Good or bad to remove? And the last question. The blue line is severed. The other end of this line is sealed off. It is not connected to anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruiser54 Posted June 6, 2015 Share Posted June 6, 2015 1- Where is your radiator cap? Where is your fan shroud for the mechanical fan? 2- Eliminate that heater control valve and plug it's vacuum source. 3- That's the troublesome CAD for the front axle, at least part of it. Read my canned response below and then click on the link below that. The big issue is that the CAD system only fails when you need it the most. Kinda like when you don't realize your wiper blades need replacing until it rains.... I know somebody’s system works and he advocates keeping it stock, but my exposure to the failures is probably hundreds of times greater than his, as a result of being Service Manager at a Jeep dealership from 1980 through 1992, and being a current XJ and MJ owner. CAD stinks. Every Jeep I work on with it, I eliminate it. Guess what I find in the process? 25 year old busted vacuum lines, bloated vacuum line connectors, bad vacuum reservoirs and piping, bad transfer case vacuum switches. In other words, had the person gotten into a sticky situation and needed 4WD, they would have been screwed!!! That's the tip of the iceberg. The factory went through 3 revisions of the shift fork also. The fork issue is non-existent if you just slide it over and leave it. See the link below for complete instructions. Takes less than 1/2 hour. http://www.cherokeeforum.com/f51/fre...ss-91-a-38629/ , Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wesleypipesyo Posted June 6, 2015 Author Share Posted June 6, 2015 The radiator cap is there. The fan and shroud cover the passenger half of the radiator, maybe 3/4. So the connection on that valve is vacuum, not electrical. I guess I am not as done as I hoped. Well. Good thing I did not go for a test drive yet. More pictures tomorrow. And I will start on the CAD crap. Maybe next week. Tomorrow is exhaust work me thinks. I have work and a honey doo list this weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruiser54 Posted June 6, 2015 Share Posted June 6, 2015 You're doing great wesleywipes. Keep us in the loop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wesleypipesyo Posted June 6, 2015 Author Share Posted June 6, 2015 From my favorite sport talk radio show "this maybe dumb question" but can I just get a solid passenger side axle shaft and put in? I should probably Google search that. But it has been brought up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Megadan Posted June 6, 2015 Share Posted June 6, 2015 When I did my AX-15 swap I had to eliminate the CAD. I wanted to keep the ability to engage and disengage the axle disconnect system as I drive 80% on the street. I installed a Posi-Lok cable setup. I've been very happy with it so far. A bit pricey, and you could probably put something together creatively for cheaper, but the idea is sound. Just one more thing to fiddle with going to 4wd, but I don't mind. I just engage it when I know I may be using 4wd, and disengage it on normal drives.http://4x4posi-lok.com/app_jeep.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wesleypipesyo Posted June 6, 2015 Author Share Posted June 6, 2015 I might leave it alone for a while. I won't be able to wheel for a while. Probably a year or more. Whe. It comes time I might just swap out the whole axle. But I want to clean it up some. You guys have been leading me right. This is different than the world of TJs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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