[dearman08]

Hey there just got done taking a coolant bath under my 1995 grand cherokee and decided I might need a little help....

A few days ago after a short drive I parked my jeep in the driveway and upon turning off the engine it began to leak coolant under driver's side of the vehicle. Upon further inspection the coolant seemed to be running down my bottom radiator hose. I tried driving the rig a while after it had cooled down and it seemed to be not leaking when running, yet it began to run at a temp around 210 within a short distance. Upon turning on the heater it was not warm yet. When parked and turned off it began to leak again. I inspected the hose for leaks and found none. I tried adding water to the radiator as the reservoir still had plenty of coolant in it. Without turning the engine on it began to leak all over the place in the same manner as before. I can't exactly pinpoint the spot of the leak but it seems to be coming from the water pump. There seems to be no give in the fan when I tried that though to test the plug. So my question is, is it the water pump or could the leak be coming from the freeze plugs or something like that? Any help would be great before I start buying parts. Thanks...

[elmer_fud]

sounds like it could be the water pump

they start to leak when they are going bad

[micifus]

Most likely your water pump, the leak is coming from a weap hole on the bottom of the pump, the bearing goes bad and lets water through the weap hole. Grab the fan and you will notice some play. Have you noticed a squealing noise, like a loose belt? You will start to notice the temp going above 210 and then coolant being sprayed around your engine. Not a hard DIY pick up a haynes manual at the auto store. You can prob drive until the weekend, around a 4-5 hour/beer job. Consider replacing your Rad if its in bad shape along with hoses and thermo stat.

I drove mine about 200 miles after I noticed the first leak until the pump blew up doing 70 on the highway.

[psychoworks]

If it's leaking a little now, don't drive it any more. I can let go at any time.

Mine just did the same thing a couple of days ago, and luckily it was in the driveway on not on the highway when it cut loose.......

About a 4 hour job. Hardest thing is getting the fan off the pump. There is a recent thread about it.

[dearman08]

I haven't noticed any squealing. Gave the fan a push and pull and didn't notice any considerable give but seems like it must be my water pump. Is it necessary to remove the radiator to have enough room to put in a new pump? Or is it just a pain without taking it out.

[micifus]

Do you have the I6? You can leave the Rad in but you will have to take the shroud out Which is a PITA, Its not that much more to pull the rad that way you dont have to worry about busting up the fins, Plus if its thr original rad you it may be rotting on the bottom Salt easy away at that quick.

Definately replace hte thermo stat its nor that much, its a good excuse to do that rad too if you have the money and it needs it.

Last time I did mine I ditch the mechnical fan and shrough and slapped an E-fan in there.

Consider buying a pump from a dealer too that aftermarket ones dont seem to last as long, I got 33,000 out of mine from advance auto, came with a life time warrenty but I would of gladly paid the extra $ to have it last longer. Im ready now though 1 hour job for me next time with no mech fan and shroud.

[Justfig]

On my 94' ZJ the gasket behind the timing cover was leaking water. There is a waterport there. It was hard to find but that was where the leak was.

JF

[indianajeep]

I made a cool tool to help with the fan removal. I bought a 4 foot length of 1/2 thick oak wood from a lumber store. I took a piece of paper as a template and punched out two of the holes that are on the front of the water pump pulley. I then took the template and placed it on the wood and drilled the two holes in the piece of wood. I took two 1 1/2 inch bolts and screwed them into the wood. The bolts fit perfectly into the two holes on the front of the pulley. The $4.00 piece of wood and 2 25 cent bolts makes a fine replacement for the "Spanner wrench" that costs $76.00 at a major auto parts supplier.

[cmonson]

Do you have the I6? You can leave the Rad in but you will have to take the shroud out Which is a PITA,

You can leave the shroud in. I just changed mine on my 2000 JGC, I6, and it was no problem.

Make sure you do a flush with the additive before you drain everything. Just add the additive directly to the rad. The additive is available from any supplier.

Also, now would be a great time to replace ALL hoses including the heater core lines. Also as a post before, replace that t-stat.

All toll, plan on about 1/2 day of work. Taking the fan clutch off is the hardest item. Just use a belt wrench and slip it over the pulley. My belt wrench kept on slipping, so I wrapped some hockey tape around the pulley, and then put the belt wrench over that. It worked perfect...

I believe a pump at napa is about $100, hoses say around $50 for all of them, t-stat $10, coolant, $20 (mix 50/50), new hose clamps (optional $5), coolant flush (for before you drain everything) $5. beer ($???)
all together I would say count on $200 to do it right. If you have some miles on your radiator and want to replace it as a level of comfort I think they are around $150. If you have mantained your system with flushes every 30K miles, then your radiator is most likely fine.