YFZsandrider
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Pacific NW
I have a 98 XJ 4.0 that I recently purchased. It blows almost outside temperature air when I turn the AC on. So that obviously needs to be serviced.
When I bought the rig, it had been regularly serviced by the previous owner in every aspect... except the coolant. I'm fairly certain it was never, ever changed! I thoroughly flushed and refilled the coolant, but after about a week of driving, I could tell that some of the brown sludge was still showing up in the coolant. Initially I had about a 1/4" sitting in the bottom of the overflow reservoir, before flushing the first go around.
So... I flushed it again, this time running a gallon of distilled vinegar in the system for a day, and the coolant has stayed very clean. Fast forward a month, and the heater vents are seeping a fog that smells like antifreeze. I've never had a vehicle that needed a heater core changed, but I'm assuming it has a slow leak inside the box, and its breathing out through the vents.
Now the question is...
Do I dive into changing the heater core, or in hopes of not flushing contamination into it, should I clean/replace the radiator and flush the block again at the same time? I can only assume that radiator has some sludge hiding at the bottom which may resurrect itself some day.
Also, is the AC in any way linked to the heater core which complicates things?
My XJ always hovers around 210 in all hi way driving and summer wheening conditions, is that normal? Or should I look at an upgrade of some kind?
Thanks guys!
When I bought the rig, it had been regularly serviced by the previous owner in every aspect... except the coolant. I'm fairly certain it was never, ever changed! I thoroughly flushed and refilled the coolant, but after about a week of driving, I could tell that some of the brown sludge was still showing up in the coolant. Initially I had about a 1/4" sitting in the bottom of the overflow reservoir, before flushing the first go around.
So... I flushed it again, this time running a gallon of distilled vinegar in the system for a day, and the coolant has stayed very clean. Fast forward a month, and the heater vents are seeping a fog that smells like antifreeze. I've never had a vehicle that needed a heater core changed, but I'm assuming it has a slow leak inside the box, and its breathing out through the vents.
Now the question is...
Do I dive into changing the heater core, or in hopes of not flushing contamination into it, should I clean/replace the radiator and flush the block again at the same time? I can only assume that radiator has some sludge hiding at the bottom which may resurrect itself some day.
Also, is the AC in any way linked to the heater core which complicates things?
My XJ always hovers around 210 in all hi way driving and summer wheening conditions, is that normal? Or should I look at an upgrade of some kind?
Thanks guys!