Some problems may or may not be a big deal dont know

[Moezer]

Hey guys, how is every one? Im a new and proud owner of a 2002 jeep TJ 4L 6 cil.

I have went off roading 2 times soo far and both times it made me never want to go back out again.

The first time I went my rad blew up the top plastic cover cracked all the way accross, while the jeep was ideling on the side while i was trying to see how to get a buddy out when he got stuck. "problem I came out with for that to happen is the rad got pluged with mud and it over heated" lucky I was able to still fill up the rad and drive the jeep home.

Yesturday, I went out also and I think I went a bit over bord. I went in a deep water pit and the water covered half of my hood, but I did manage to get out by backing out of it heres problem number 1 that happend.

When I got out, I parked on the side having a laugh with my friends about it, then my friend got stuck in the mud and I came to take him out.

I put the jeep in gear to get close to my buddy and the jeep wouldnt move, it just reved up high and did not move at all, it did it with every gear, so I droped her in to 4 low and that managed to get me a bit moving.

I got my buddy out and we called it a day, all the way back to the store it was over revving and my antifreeeze was boiling. In the store parking lot i let it cool down and then took her around the parking lot in 4x4 and then the problem fixed it self.

at closer inspection to my enegine i noticed another probem with my engine fan the thing shakes a bit as if its loose is this a bad thing? and how can i get it fixed thanks and sorry for the long storys

[JackstandJohnny]

Hey guys, how is every one? Im a new and proud owner of a 2002 jeep TJ 4L 6 cil.

I have went off roading 2 times soo far and both times it made me never want to go back out again.

poor jeep are you trying to kill it?!?!?!?!

your fan probably got bent when you dunked it in that waterhole, im guessing the fan was hitting the water.

for your revving/clutch issue you probably had mud stuck in the clutch and had to basically burn it out.  its possible you messed up the flywheel too. i've had this happen before, not fun. or cheap.

if y0ou were in mud that deep i would highly suggest changing your oil in engine, tranny, transfer case and diffs.  chances are you swamped them all if you were that deep, and  probably got mud/water in there.  change all those fluids ! 


ps, thats why most of us hate mud......

[w squared]

I'm with Johnny on this. Jeeps will do a lot, buy mud and deep water will kill anything mechanical. Sooner rather than later. "water covered half my hood" is not a good thing.

I would suggest that you get yourself to the carwash and spend about $50 cleaning out your engine compartment, the undercarriage of your Jeep, and anything else that you can find. Then you're going to want to change diff fluid, engine oil, tranny, and diffs. Your clutch might survive...but I wouldn't bet on it.

It's unfortunate that your introduction to off-roading had to be so painful...but we all have to understand that as the driver, we're responsible for what we do to our own vehicles.

[scott slade]

Yes welcome to Jeepin'....   I remember when I trashed my first XJ over and over again...  Still learning stuff with the LJ..  Take the advice from the other members and LEARN from this and every outing....    a wise member said "Jeeping ain't cheap"   I'll add..."worth every dime"...!!!! 

[cLAY]

Is it a stick or auto?

Also when you replaced the rad did you get a new rad cap? Having the wrong psi rated cap or an old cap that isn't venting properly can cause the rad to over pressure, and if its a plastic rad, to crack. Always put a new cap on a new plastic rad, or it will happen again.

[AV.NINE]

Yikes.

Sell it and buy a civic.

If not, there are things called vent tubes on your transmission and diff's, raise them. Snorkle, die electric grease your plugs and distributer cap, get some rad protection. OR QUIT HITTING MUD HOLES AT 50KM/HR AND CLOGGING UP YOUR RAD. Chances are you never cleaned it out properly to begin with.

If your building a jeep for mud, research the correct way to do it.

Or keep on the road your on and when you blow that 4.0 from over heating I'll buy the whole jeep off you for $1000.

[Moezer]

hey guys thanks for all the info. The jeep is a manual, and also the fan is not bent it seems like its just loose, i have washed the jeep for about an h yesturday i have a pressure washer at home, the keep runs and seems fight right now and the pit that i went in to was water only and rocks cuz i could hear the rocks rubble underneeth my feet when i got out of it.

i drove for 100 kms after i had the revving problem and all seems fine, also if i put the 3d gear in the truck pulls and comes too stall so that tells me my clutch is still good.

Water did not enter the engine, im sure of that cuz my intake didnt suck any water at all. Also i might ad that there is no leaks of any sort from the jeep other then my power steering pump

[WK2008]

I think I may be able to make you feel somewhat better. My first real trip out in the WK caused me 15,200 in damage. It turns out that when you push your rig to the limits it can cost you big time. My wifey not happy to say the least but guess what......I took it out to Waiprous a week after I got it out of the body shop and went wheeling again. This time I went around all the water and went nice and slow through the tough stuff and, other than a few scratches, no damage.

It really hurts to learn the hard way with these fun to drive vehicles, but once you find its limits, you will do one of two things. Make the necessary upgrades so you can get through the obstacle without mashing the skinny pedal, or in my case, keep the purdy one purdy and buy another trail rig.

You already have arguably the best platform for a great trail rig and after some upgrades and learning to slow it way down in the mud and water, you will have a blast with minimal damage.

Just my two cents for what its worth............

[Moezer]

Yikes.

Sell it and buy a civic.

If not, there are things called vent tubes on your transmission and diff's, raise them. Snorkle, die electric grease your plugs and distributer cap, get some rad protection. OR QUIT HITTING MUD HOLES AT 50KM/HR AND CLOGGING UP YOUR RAD. Chances are you never cleaned it out properly to begin with.

If your building a jeep for mud, research the correct way to do it.

Or keep on the road your on and when you blow that 4.0 from over heating I'll buy the whole jeep off you for $1000.

your a bit harsh on your words bro first i would never touch a civic with a 1000 foot  pole and 2d sure im new to this but im not rushing in to mud holes like a mad man   any ways thanks for your input and my dad is a mechanic but he hate it when i mess around with my cars so if i blow an engine sure ill get bitched at but my dad will always help me out

[Moezer]

thanks guys, well a 170 buck rad didnt break my bank , the jeep is all stock and its stock since day one i think, i also has 250 km on it, use to be a farm jeep, yesturday i lifted the jeep 2 inchs with that budget lift kit and my shocks had no compression at all

[JackstandJohnny]

thanks guys, well a 170 buck rad didnt break my bank , the jeep is all stock and its stock since day one i think, i also has 250 km on it, use to be a farm jeep, yesturday i lifted the jeep 2 inchs with that budget lift kit and my shocks had no compression at all

don't forget to change those fluids.


i'll be saddened if you are on here 3 months later selling that jeep to AVnine with a blown motor/tranny/etc 

on the plus side, glad you got it up and running again

[Moezer]

don't forget to change those fluids.


i'll be saddened if you are on here 3 months later selling that jeep to AVnine with a blown motor/tranny/etc 

on the plus side, glad you got it up and running again

hahaha i just changed my oil like 3 days ago do i need to change it again?

[Slewfoot]

hahaha i just changed my oil like 3 days ago do i need to change it again?

If your fluids are contaminated with water, you can wait to change the engine, transmission and differential insides if you like...but it's a whole lot cheaper changing fluids....just sayin'....

check all of the fluids to see if they're still pure or if they're contaminated.

[JackstandJohnny]

yes. change them all.

this is the price of 'mudding'  it sucks. 

change your diffs, and tcase for sure.  check your engine oil too. 

for the 50$ in fluids and an afternoon of your time, it will save you much grief down the road when your transfercase or front/rear diff explodes

[cLAY]

and also the fan is not bent it seems like its just loose,

Sounds like the fan clutch might be shot and causing your overheating problem. Get it looked at ASAP.