Mike Romain

Well, I would use some good radiator stop leak if the hoses are indeed
tight and whole. All the hoses are on the engine side of the firewall.

The radiator stop leak might just do the job though. If not, then you
may as well change it vs patching after going through all the trouble to
get to it...

Mike

Matt Mika wrote:
>
> Yes, I've heard its a real PITA! But I guess its better than a warped
> head!
>
> If the core still heats well and I can find the leak is it possible to
> just seal it with epoxy or something? Or should it definitley be
> replaced altogether?
>
> Thanks
>
> On Thu, 02 Dec 2004 12:10:54 -0500, Mike Romain <romainm@sympatico.ca>
> wrote:
>
> >Ouch!
> >
> >I would first look really closely where the heater hoses go into the
> >firewall on the passenger side for a loose clamp or pinhole in the hose.
> >
> >Otherwise, smelling it inside means the heater core has gone bad. This
> >isn't a fun job to change...... The console and whole lower dash have
> >to come off to get at it. It is a 'full' days work usually.
> >
> >Mike
> >86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00
> >88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's
> >
> >Matt Mika wrote:
> >>
> >> Late last winter I had a freeze plug blow and the Jeep overheated a
> >> bit. Since it was very hard to get to I just replaced it with a rubber
> >> freeze plug. I dont know if that has anything to do with it, but it
> >> seems it might.
> >>
> >> I now loose coolant and can smell it in the cab when the heat is on
> >> but the core still puts out good heat.
> >>
> >> I'm not familiar with the heating system and am wondering if there is
> >> anything besides the core that could leak. Anyone have any suggestions
> >> or guesses?

Mike Romain

Well, I would use some good radiator stop leak if the hoses are indeed
tight and whole. All the hoses are on the engine side of the firewall.

The radiator stop leak might just do the job though. If not, then you
may as well change it vs patching after going through all the trouble to
get to it...

Mike

Matt Mika wrote:
>
> Yes, I've heard its a real PITA! But I guess its better than a warped
> head!
>
> If the core still heats well and I can find the leak is it possible to
> just seal it with epoxy or something? Or should it definitley be
> replaced altogether?
>
> Thanks
>
> On Thu, 02 Dec 2004 12:10:54 -0500, Mike Romain <romainm@sympatico.ca>
> wrote:
>
> >Ouch!
> >
> >I would first look really closely where the heater hoses go into the
> >firewall on the passenger side for a loose clamp or pinhole in the hose.
> >
> >Otherwise, smelling it inside means the heater core has gone bad. This
> >isn't a fun job to change...... The console and whole lower dash have
> >to come off to get at it. It is a 'full' days work usually.
> >
> >Mike
> >86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00
> >88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's
> >
> >Matt Mika wrote:
> >>
> >> Late last winter I had a freeze plug blow and the Jeep overheated a
> >> bit. Since it was very hard to get to I just replaced it with a rubber
> >> freeze plug. I dont know if that has anything to do with it, but it
> >> seems it might.
> >>
> >> I now loose coolant and can smell it in the cab when the heat is on
> >> but the core still puts out good heat.
> >>
> >> I'm not familiar with the heating system and am wondering if there is
> >> anything besides the core that could leak. Anyone have any suggestions
> >> or guesses?

Lee Ayrton

Decades ago my then-(now ex-)wife had a Mitsubishi Sapporo that was leaking
coolant from someplace high at the back of the engine. I figured it was a
freeze plug in the head. When I got the head off (in the dark, without
cover, in the snow) it turned out to be the head gasket. A tiny section
by a water passage had failed towards the outside. No water in the oil,
no water into the cylinder, no bubbles in the radiator tank, just a leak
down the back of the engine.

Without running out to look at my 96 XJ to see, is there a way you can
isolate the heater core from the coolant flow, pull the hoses and bridge
the gap with hose somehow? That way you could run the Cherokee up to temp
and see if you still get the coolant smell. It would suck big time for you
to pull the dash apart only to find that the problem _isn't_ the core but
is really the water pump dribbling just enough coolant into the wind to
make it smell.


On Thu, 2 Dec 2004, Matt Mika wrote:

> Wouldn't I have a head gasket leak or something if the head warped?
> There's no water in my oil, no funny exhaust or anything out of the
> ordinary except I loose coolant and can smell it in the cab once its
> heated up.
>
> I figure the problems with the heating system and I need to rip into
> the dash find the core and any visible coolant lines and try to find
> the leak. Sound like a plan of action?
>
> Thanks
>
> On Thu, 02 Dec 2004 11:54:39 -0500, FrankW <fworm@mxznorpak.ca> wrote:
>
>> Hopefully you didn't warp the head after it overheated
>>
>> Matt Mika wrote:
>>
>>> Late last winter I had a freeze plug blow and the Jeep overheated a
>>> bit. Since it was very hard to get to I just replaced it with a rubber
>>> freeze plug. I dont know if that has anything to do with it, but it
>>> seems it might.
>>>
>>> I now loose coolant and can smell it in the cab when the heat is on
>>> but the core still puts out good heat.
>>>
>>> I'm not familiar with the heating system and am wondering if there is
>>> anything besides the core that could leak. Anyone have any suggestions
>>> or guesses?
>
>

--
Some conditions apply. YMMV. This message was packed by weight, not
by volume. TWIAVBP, local variation may occur. Dramatization, not a real
authority. Do not induce vomiting. No user-serviceable words inside.

Lee Ayrton

Decades ago my then-(now ex-)wife had a Mitsubishi Sapporo that was leaking
coolant from someplace high at the back of the engine. I figured it was a
freeze plug in the head. When I got the head off (in the dark, without
cover, in the snow) it turned out to be the head gasket. A tiny section
by a water passage had failed towards the outside. No water in the oil,
no water into the cylinder, no bubbles in the radiator tank, just a leak
down the back of the engine.

Without running out to look at my 96 XJ to see, is there a way you can
isolate the heater core from the coolant flow, pull the hoses and bridge
the gap with hose somehow? That way you could run the Cherokee up to temp
and see if you still get the coolant smell. It would suck big time for you
to pull the dash apart only to find that the problem _isn't_ the core but
is really the water pump dribbling just enough coolant into the wind to
make it smell.


On Thu, 2 Dec 2004, Matt Mika wrote:

> Wouldn't I have a head gasket leak or something if the head warped?
> There's no water in my oil, no funny exhaust or anything out of the
> ordinary except I loose coolant and can smell it in the cab once its
> heated up.
>
> I figure the problems with the heating system and I need to rip into
> the dash find the core and any visible coolant lines and try to find
> the leak. Sound like a plan of action?
>
> Thanks
>
> On Thu, 02 Dec 2004 11:54:39 -0500, FrankW <fworm@mxznorpak.ca> wrote:
>
>> Hopefully you didn't warp the head after it overheated
>>
>> Matt Mika wrote:
>>
>>> Late last winter I had a freeze plug blow and the Jeep overheated a
>>> bit. Since it was very hard to get to I just replaced it with a rubber
>>> freeze plug. I dont know if that has anything to do with it, but it
>>> seems it might.
>>>
>>> I now loose coolant and can smell it in the cab when the heat is on
>>> but the core still puts out good heat.
>>>
>>> I'm not familiar with the heating system and am wondering if there is
>>> anything besides the core that could leak. Anyone have any suggestions
>>> or guesses?
>
>

--
Some conditions apply. YMMV. This message was packed by weight, not
by volume. TWIAVBP, local variation may occur. Dramatization, not a real
authority. Do not induce vomiting. No user-serviceable words inside.

Lee Ayrton

Decades ago my then-(now ex-)wife had a Mitsubishi Sapporo that was leaking
coolant from someplace high at the back of the engine. I figured it was a
freeze plug in the head. When I got the head off (in the dark, without
cover, in the snow) it turned out to be the head gasket. A tiny section
by a water passage had failed towards the outside. No water in the oil,
no water into the cylinder, no bubbles in the radiator tank, just a leak
down the back of the engine.

Without running out to look at my 96 XJ to see, is there a way you can
isolate the heater core from the coolant flow, pull the hoses and bridge
the gap with hose somehow? That way you could run the Cherokee up to temp
and see if you still get the coolant smell. It would suck big time for you
to pull the dash apart only to find that the problem _isn't_ the core but
is really the water pump dribbling just enough coolant into the wind to
make it smell.


On Thu, 2 Dec 2004, Matt Mika wrote:

> Wouldn't I have a head gasket leak or something if the head warped?
> There's no water in my oil, no funny exhaust or anything out of the
> ordinary except I loose coolant and can smell it in the cab once its
> heated up.
>
> I figure the problems with the heating system and I need to rip into
> the dash find the core and any visible coolant lines and try to find
> the leak. Sound like a plan of action?
>
> Thanks
>
> On Thu, 02 Dec 2004 11:54:39 -0500, FrankW <fworm@mxznorpak.ca> wrote:
>
>> Hopefully you didn't warp the head after it overheated
>>
>> Matt Mika wrote:
>>
>>> Late last winter I had a freeze plug blow and the Jeep overheated a
>>> bit. Since it was very hard to get to I just replaced it with a rubber
>>> freeze plug. I dont know if that has anything to do with it, but it
>>> seems it might.
>>>
>>> I now loose coolant and can smell it in the cab when the heat is on
>>> but the core still puts out good heat.
>>>
>>> I'm not familiar with the heating system and am wondering if there is
>>> anything besides the core that could leak. Anyone have any suggestions
>>> or guesses?
>
>

--
Some conditions apply. YMMV. This message was packed by weight, not
by volume. TWIAVBP, local variation may occur. Dramatization, not a real
authority. Do not induce vomiting. No user-serviceable words inside.

Lee Ayrton

Another thought: Some (all?) model years of XJ have a coolant tank
mounted up on the firewall, passenger side. They crack and leak. I would
never have found the leak in my `89 if I hadn't passed my hand through the
nearly invisable stream coming from a tiny crack. The loss was so slight
in mine that it never left a drop under the truck. If you are lucky this
could be the problem with yours, and the vapor is streaming up and into
the fresh air intake for the cabin.


On Thu, 2 Dec 2004, Matt Mika wrote:

> Late last winter I had a freeze plug blow and the Jeep overheated a
> bit. Since it was very hard to get to I just replaced it with a rubber
> freeze plug. I dont know if that has anything to do with it, but it
> seems it might.
>
> I now loose coolant and can smell it in the cab when the heat is on
> but the core still puts out good heat.
>
> I'm not familiar with the heating system and am wondering if there is
> anything besides the core that could leak. Anyone have any suggestions
> or guesses?
>

--
Some conditions apply. YMMV. This message was packed by weight, not
by volume. TWIAVBP, local variation may occur. Dramatization, not a real
authority. Do not induce vomiting. No user-serviceable words inside.

Lee Ayrton

Another thought: Some (all?) model years of XJ have a coolant tank
mounted up on the firewall, passenger side. They crack and leak. I would
never have found the leak in my `89 if I hadn't passed my hand through the
nearly invisable stream coming from a tiny crack. The loss was so slight
in mine that it never left a drop under the truck. If you are lucky this
could be the problem with yours, and the vapor is streaming up and into
the fresh air intake for the cabin.


On Thu, 2 Dec 2004, Matt Mika wrote:

> Late last winter I had a freeze plug blow and the Jeep overheated a
> bit. Since it was very hard to get to I just replaced it with a rubber
> freeze plug. I dont know if that has anything to do with it, but it
> seems it might.
>
> I now loose coolant and can smell it in the cab when the heat is on
> but the core still puts out good heat.
>
> I'm not familiar with the heating system and am wondering if there is
> anything besides the core that could leak. Anyone have any suggestions
> or guesses?
>

--
Some conditions apply. YMMV. This message was packed by weight, not
by volume. TWIAVBP, local variation may occur. Dramatization, not a real
authority. Do not induce vomiting. No user-serviceable words inside.

Lee Ayrton

Another thought: Some (all?) model years of XJ have a coolant tank
mounted up on the firewall, passenger side. They crack and leak. I would
never have found the leak in my `89 if I hadn't passed my hand through the
nearly invisable stream coming from a tiny crack. The loss was so slight
in mine that it never left a drop under the truck. If you are lucky this
could be the problem with yours, and the vapor is streaming up and into
the fresh air intake for the cabin.


On Thu, 2 Dec 2004, Matt Mika wrote:

> Late last winter I had a freeze plug blow and the Jeep overheated a
> bit. Since it was very hard to get to I just replaced it with a rubber
> freeze plug. I dont know if that has anything to do with it, but it
> seems it might.
>
> I now loose coolant and can smell it in the cab when the heat is on
> but the core still puts out good heat.
>
> I'm not familiar with the heating system and am wondering if there is
> anything besides the core that could leak. Anyone have any suggestions
> or guesses?
>

--
Some conditions apply. YMMV. This message was packed by weight, not
by volume. TWIAVBP, local variation may occur. Dramatization, not a real
authority. Do not induce vomiting. No user-serviceable words inside.

Matt Mika

Thats a good suggestion. I can easily bypass the heater core for that
experiment.

Thanks

On Fri, 3 Dec 2004 11:26:53 -0500, Lee Ayrton <layrton@panix.com>
wrote:

>
>Decades ago my then-(now ex-)wife had a Mitsubishi Sapporo that was leaking
>coolant from someplace high at the back of the engine. I figured it was a
>freeze plug in the head. When I got the head off (in the dark, without
>cover, in the snow) it turned out to be the head gasket. A tiny section
>by a water passage had failed towards the outside. No water in the oil,
>no water into the cylinder, no bubbles in the radiator tank, just a leak
>down the back of the engine.
>
>Without running out to look at my 96 XJ to see, is there a way you can
>isolate the heater core from the coolant flow, pull the hoses and bridge
>the gap with hose somehow? That way you could run the Cherokee up to temp
>and see if you still get the coolant smell. It would suck big time for you
>to pull the dash apart only to find that the problem _isn't_ the core but
>is really the water pump dribbling just enough coolant into the wind to
>make it smell.
>
>
>On Thu, 2 Dec 2004, Matt Mika wrote:
>
>> Wouldn't I have a head gasket leak or something if the head warped?
>> There's no water in my oil, no funny exhaust or anything out of the
>> ordinary except I loose coolant and can smell it in the cab once its
>> heated up.
>>
>> I figure the problems with the heating system and I need to rip into
>> the dash find the core and any visible coolant lines and try to find
>> the leak. Sound like a plan of action?
>>
>> Thanks
>>
>> On Thu, 02 Dec 2004 11:54:39 -0500, FrankW <fworm@mxznorpak.ca> wrote:
>>
>>> Hopefully you didn't warp the head after it overheated
>>>
>>> Matt Mika wrote:
>>>
>>>> Late last winter I had a freeze plug blow and the Jeep overheated a
>>>> bit. Since it was very hard to get to I just replaced it with a rubber
>>>> freeze plug. I dont know if that has anything to do with it, but it
>>>> seems it might.
>>>>
>>>> I now loose coolant and can smell it in the cab when the heat is on
>>>> but the core still puts out good heat.
>>>>
>>>> I'm not familiar with the heating system and am wondering if there is
>>>> anything besides the core that could leak. Anyone have any suggestions
>>>> or guesses?
>>
>>

Matt Mika

Thats a good suggestion. I can easily bypass the heater core for that
experiment.

Thanks

On Fri, 3 Dec 2004 11:26:53 -0500, Lee Ayrton <layrton@panix.com>
wrote:

>
>Decades ago my then-(now ex-)wife had a Mitsubishi Sapporo that was leaking
>coolant from someplace high at the back of the engine. I figured it was a
>freeze plug in the head. When I got the head off (in the dark, without
>cover, in the snow) it turned out to be the head gasket. A tiny section
>by a water passage had failed towards the outside. No water in the oil,
>no water into the cylinder, no bubbles in the radiator tank, just a leak
>down the back of the engine.
>
>Without running out to look at my 96 XJ to see, is there a way you can
>isolate the heater core from the coolant flow, pull the hoses and bridge
>the gap with hose somehow? That way you could run the Cherokee up to temp
>and see if you still get the coolant smell. It would suck big time for you
>to pull the dash apart only to find that the problem _isn't_ the core but
>is really the water pump dribbling just enough coolant into the wind to
>make it smell.
>
>
>On Thu, 2 Dec 2004, Matt Mika wrote:
>
>> Wouldn't I have a head gasket leak or something if the head warped?
>> There's no water in my oil, no funny exhaust or anything out of the
>> ordinary except I loose coolant and can smell it in the cab once its
>> heated up.
>>
>> I figure the problems with the heating system and I need to rip into
>> the dash find the core and any visible coolant lines and try to find
>> the leak. Sound like a plan of action?
>>
>> Thanks
>>
>> On Thu, 02 Dec 2004 11:54:39 -0500, FrankW <fworm@mxznorpak.ca> wrote:
>>
>>> Hopefully you didn't warp the head after it overheated
>>>
>>> Matt Mika wrote:
>>>
>>>> Late last winter I had a freeze plug blow and the Jeep overheated a
>>>> bit. Since it was very hard to get to I just replaced it with a rubber
>>>> freeze plug. I dont know if that has anything to do with it, but it
>>>> seems it might.
>>>>
>>>> I now loose coolant and can smell it in the cab when the heat is on
>>>> but the core still puts out good heat.
>>>>
>>>> I'm not familiar with the heating system and am wondering if there is
>>>> anything besides the core that could leak. Anyone have any suggestions
>>>> or guesses?
>>
>>