Weird steam/smoke under hood, overheating. Hard to describe.

[MrStratPants]

So I recharged my a/c today in my 98 XJ with the a/c pro recharge kit. A/c blew cold and great. Unfortunately we overheated again while sitting in the Jeep for my lunch break. I turned off the Jeep and let her cool down a bit then drove the mile back to work.



Right after I pulled in and parked I heard/felt this weird kick, and then "pppssssststststtttttttt" like a busted hose. Also lots of steam/smoke coming from under the hood. Seriously sounded like something exploded.



I popped the hood, and didn't really see anything weird, but there is a small hose from the firewall (I am assuming it is from the heater core, a lil 90 degree 6" hose) which looks like it expelled some coolant.



The overflow bottle was almost to the top too.



I haven't had overheating issues in a couple weeks, and I am wondering if it has something to do with recharging the a/c.

Is there anything anyone can think of off top of their heads which would give me the statement problem?



Thanks guys.

[Mudderoy]

So I recharged my a/c today in my 98 XJ with the a/c pro recharge kit. A/c blew cold and great. Unfortunately we overheated again while sitting in the Jeep for my lunch break. I turned off the Jeep and let her cool down a bit then drove the mile back to work.



Right after I pulled in and parked I heard/felt this weird kick, and then "pppssssststststtttttttt" like a busted hose. Also lots of steam/smoke coming from under the hood. Seriously sounded like something exploded.



I popped the hood, and didn't really see anything weird, but there is a small hose from the firewall (I am assuming it is from the heater core, a lil 90 degree 6" hose) which looks like it expelled some coolant.



The overflow bottle was almost to the top too.



I haven't had overheating issues in a couple weeks, and I am wondering if it has something to do with recharging the a/c.

Is there anything anyone can think of off top of their heads which would give me the statement problem?



Thanks guys.

There are two heater core hoses that run from the firewall along the side of the valve cover to the water pump (if memory serves) and to the thermostat housing. What confuses me is the little 6" 90 degree hose you mentioned.

The most common hose to burst is the one running from the lower right of the water pump to the radiator.

It's a simple thing to replace the heater hoses, just make sure everything is well cooled. You can get fitted hoses, or just buy "x" number of feet heater hose from the auto parts.

Until you seal up the cooling system you'll have issues with cooling. Pressure cannot build so the coolant will have a tendency to boil, air bubbles and air doesn't cool as well as coolant.

As far as over heating there are several things it could be but a common thing is the radiator gets clogged at the bottom over time and it's cooling ability diminishes.

[slvmart]

Sounds a bit unusual to have that experience and not have found anything look weird. I would anticipate a coolant leak would leave a tell tale mark(s) somewhere. Especially if there was, what sounds like, a sudden pressure release.

Personally, I would suspect you have two problems. A high temperature problem and that blow off sounds like it may be more A/C related.

Did the A/C work well before the recharge or had it been out of commission for a while?

[MrStratPants]

Personally, I would suspect you have two problems. A high temperature problem and that blow off sounds like it may be more A/C related.

Did the A/C work well before the recharge or had it been out of commission for a while?

The a/c blew "cool" air before, but it was miserable hot day at work and I wanted to chill in ice cold air so I bought the kit to recharge it.

Also, drove home from work this afternoon. No overheating, but sweet baby jesus it was a hot/miserable ride home. It was about 90 degrees and humid in Indiana today. Not to mention it was pouring rain on half of the drive, so I couldn't put my damn windows down. I was a swampy mess.

The A/C completely dead now as far as I can tell. No cold air anymore, nor cool air. Just HOT air. I think it had hot air coming inside even with the Jeep off. (I made one stop on the way home and when I got in felt like hot air was radiating from the dash area)

Maybe the a/c blew up this afternoon? I am wondering if all the steam/smoke (I don't know what it was) I saw this afternoon was the refrigerant from the a/c evacuating? It is just strange to me that my a/c worked great after I recharged it during my lunch break and then 20 minutes later it blow all to shit.

This guy is becoming very disheartened with this Jeep since I just spent so much on the cooling system and brake overhaul for these problems to keep compiling.

[4.3LXJ]

If you blow a line on the AC, the mixture of refrigerant and oil dissolved in it will look like smoke. You might want to check the lines

[autotech98]

also the little 90 degree hose with coolant coming out? sounds like drain from heater core area and i dont know what type of coolant you use but the oil/dye mixture in your a/c system is a bright green color that looks like antifreeze.hope this helps