jeep cherokee 1993 leaking coolant?

Question

My 1993 Jeep Cherokee (not the Grand) with 250,000 miles on it just started leaking coolant. It is a Cherokee Country, 4WD, four door with ABS and automatic transmission. The leak starts about 15 minutes from a cold idle and appears to coming from a small metal tube coming from behind the water pump area. This metal tube runs into a small rubber tube and seems to extend upward somewhere. Can someone tell me what this leak is all about and what do you call that small leaking metal tube and what does it do? Is it easy to fix and would you be able to estimate the cost? It looks like I could even do it myself.

It has the 4.0 litre inline six cylinder engine.

Answer 1

Go to the auto parts store and get some radiator stop leak... That is the easy fix, and should be permanent. Cost about 8 bucks

Answer 2

if that small metal tube is attached to a metal piece where the big upper hose connect it's your thermostat housing. The new housing would cost about $20 and you'll want to replace the thermostat while you're in there. So you're probably looking at about $40 parts including coolant to refill and maybe a half hours time to unbolt it and do the swap. Your housing may not be leaking and it maybe just the gasket under it. When you take it off look closely you should be able to see the crack. That's the only small metal tube I know of that connects to a rubber hose. There's a large metal tube that connects to the lower radiatior hose from the water pump if leaking from there check the hose and clamp for tightness. A water pump if needed would cost about $40 and take about 3 hours to do. Neither of these is hard but they're also not the most fun thing to do.

Answer 3

it is called a by pass tube,,and yes you could do it your self,,all it does is allow the coolant to loop through the engine,,while a certain amount of it is held back,this helps circulate the coolant so you get a better heater it is fairly simple to repair,,i own a repair shop,,and in some cases i have took this metal tube off,,and run a rubber line all the way,,the last time i did this job,,i put a new one on,you can get them at advance auto parts,,and they usually cost around 20 bucks,,i hope this help,s

Answer 4

the leak is"all about" getting it fixed ...i call the leaking metal tube scrap metal and "what does it do" how about this ...it's not supposed to leak....they are all easy to fix...you just replace the leaking part. oh, unless you try to save money and get someone who tries to screw you or has no business orerating a screwdriver. take it to a reputable garage and pay the cost...to be the boss. and enjoy the rest of your day! good luck do not put stop leak in it...that is for when you are trading off the car because it also stops up you radiator...duh, somepeople own a screwdriver and even with that they are dangerous. good luck

Answer 5

Is the motor a 2.5L or 4.0L?
Sounds like the waterpump bypass tube. Not too much to fix, it has an o-ring that seals to the waterpump..