adam (74.177.100.134) - Sat Nov 22 08:00:21 2008

my wife has a 2001 grand cherokee. she started it up this morning to get it warm. after about 5-10 mins she went to leave and it was still blowing cold air. the temp guage was reading about 210. she went up the road a little ways and she says it made a noise and smoke came out from under the hood. the temp guage maxed out and the was a puddle of water on the ground. what could the problem be with it?

Reply #1 David Rahfeldt (24.18.139.168) - Thu Jun 18 21:46:43 2009

Well this seems pretty clear that there is a water leak, eh?

The thermostate on these is set at 185 or 195 F so 210 is a sight to high to begine with and she should have shut down at that point and gone looking for the problem.

OK, SO she did not ... ouch ~!

Now the temperature going over the top is not a hgue deal if not over 230 but it sounds like she sent it into the red ...

Probably what happened was that the water pump broke for true and fair and did a good deal of damage to itself, and leaked lots... that is the puddle of water and the noise.

Now the smoke is a bit scary ... if it REALLY was SMOKE, not steam ... then you can probably see a blown head gasket from overtemp and oil goo all over the engine compartment and such.

If no major sign of blown oil or other messes left over from "something leaking and burning" then the "smoke" was probably steam.

Replace the water pump, replace the thermostat, replace the upper and lower hoses, be sure of clean smooth surfaces everywhere, good fresh gaskets, refill with good antifreeze solution at least 20F colder (its freeze point) than the coldest temp the car is every exposed to. (worst case)

While you are at it, make SURE to replace the serpentine belt, and it is a good time to check the power stearing fluid as well.

Have a nice day and get her back on the road as a happy camper.

Remind her that anything wrong means STOP, not GO AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS ...

Or how expensive it can get ...

IF you did blow the head gaskets then you have more work to do, but odds are she saw steam, not smoke ... and the above fixes your problem

Cost ... around here, done right, about 375-450 parts included.

You can do it yourself if you are handy for about $150 and about 2 - 3 hours of time ... plus running for the parts ... call it total time of 5-6 hours including time to read up on how to do it or watch videos online of how to do it.

(presuming you have the tools)

Me, unless broke ... I would let the shop do it ...

Reply #2 ema (222.127.15.250) - Tue Aug 11 21:06:25 2009

There, I provided a link that could guide you on replacing the water pump. I'm confident that this will help you through your job. Good luck!

• How to Replace Water Pump

Reply #3 Christina (70.68.12.232) - Tue Sep 22 11:51:37 2009

I was driving my vehicle a short distance and the temperature gauge maxed out at hot and said to check gauges, when this happened my steering was also affected. what could be causing this problem? ?water pump not circulating through the engine to overheat?

thanks

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