[forrestrose]

So I bought a 93 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo 4x4 off this guy for $3,000 and had my friend who graduated UTI come take a look at when buying... well somehow he overlooked a metal coupling holding together a heater hose. a couple weeks later we realize it and attribute it to why i'm not getting any heat. So we pull it apart and take a look and it's rusted to holy hell. It turns out the previous owner was using only water in the cooling system, and had a metal coupling from a hardware store tainting the water.

The next day I'm overheating bad, so we buy a new heater hose and flush the system. The flush worked so good it ate right through a couple freeze plugs (all of which are ruggedly rusted) and the rest are starting to bleed out a little. *(just a little)*

I don't know what the hell I am to doooo!!! I'm not doing well financially and need to get this figured out so I can work... I rely on driving for my job. We bought one of those expansion freeze plugs and put it in one of the trouble plugs last night and it's holding well but I don't know if we'll be able to get to the other places.

So I guess my questions are....

• How many freeze plugs are there?
• Has anyone ever had to deal with this situation? Any advice?
• What other problems should I expect with the cooling system being rusted like this?

FML pleez help.

[BigE3]

you're gonna have to take everything off the engine block pertaining to your cooling and clean it and flush it good. take the radiator out and flush it good. while you're at it, might as well pull out all the freeze plugs. and put new ones in.

you could have a bunch of metal plugging up the radiator so. to be safe, IMO i wouldnt reuse it cause when you hook the radiator back up. you may put all the junk back into the engine.

couple hundred bucks and a good day of work will do wonders

[ZJJay]

When you replace the freeze plugs get brass, not steel. If you have a 4.0, it has five. Another thing to check is the thermostat housing. I've heard they typically corrode from the inside. Mine did. A new one is less than $30. While you're at it, install a new thermostat. Stock is 195 degrees, but 180 is a good option. I installed a Stant Super Stat, but Honeywell also make a good one. Don't buy a cheap one. The good ones are inexpensive enough. Change all of the hoses too. How's your water pump? If it's questionable, consider a FlowKooler high-flow pump. Again, if you have a 4.0, buy a new heater hose outlet tube from the dealer. This screws into the water pump.

Here's what I'd do the next time I change my coolant: After draining it COMPLETELY, put in a 16 oz bottle of Royal Purple Purple Ice Radiator Super Coolant. Then mix your antifreeze with DISTILLED WATER. This will eliminate any minerals you might have in your local water supply. Then fill your system with the 50/50 mixture.

Good luck.

[forrestrose]

Thanks guys! I really appreciate the responses!

[ZJJay]

Sorry, I gave you some bum dope about the thermostat. It's Robertshaw, not Honeywell. Quadratec sells them. 4Wheel Drive Hardware shows some by Omix which look just like the Robertshaws. Don't buy a 160 degree model. That's too cold. My 180 degree Stan Super Stat is working well.