cherokee overheating

[leonardc1]

My jeep is overheating. It runs fine until I stop and let it idle. I flushed the fluid and changed the thermostat. Both fans are working and it has plenty of coolant. The upper hose also has pressure in it so I don't think its the water pump.

[fredjacksonsan]

What year and mileage? Since everything else is working fine, I'd say this points to a restriction in your radiator. A new rad should see you cooling properly again.

Take off the radiator cap (when it's cold) and look inside...if there's a little bit of encrustation on the top row, there's your issue...it's likely a lot worse down below.

While you've got the cap off, let it idle for awhile until it's hot enough for the thermostat to open. You should see coolant flowing across the top row of the radiator - a good test to make sure the water pump is working well.

I've always changed my coolant every 18 months, whether it needed it or not, and haven't had a cooling or corrosion issue on any vehicle I've owned.

[dave92cherokee]

Check the radiator like he said if it does have flow restrictions in it you can try running some radiator cleaner through the system to clean out any deposits. When you said the fluid was flushed did you do it or pay a shop to do it or what. I had the same problem with mine overheating when I would idle at stop lights or drive thrus to the point it was almost red lining. I drained all the coolant ran a cleaner and flush through the system. Disconnected the heater hose at the tstat housing and started it and let it run with the water hose in the radiator until it ran clear coming out of the hose, then added a bottle of water wetter from advance auto parts to it and just pure water and now it doesn't go past the half way point no matter how long it idles.