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The Jeep Cherokee (XJ) is a compact SUV that was manufactured and marketed by Jeep from 1997 to 2001. Sharing the name of the original full-size SJ model, but without a traditional body-on-frame chassis, the XJ instead featured a light-weight unibody design.

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Is a vehicle still drivable with a bypassed heater core?

I have a 1999 Jeep Cherokee Sport 4WD 6 Cylinder and lately I've been having alot of issues with it overheating on me. I can only drive it about 2 miles from my house before it overheats and coolant starts flowing out. About a month and a half ago my dad and I replaced the Clutch Fan, Thermostat, Serpentine Belt, & Water Pump now the Heater Core is out on it so my dad is going to bypass the Heater Core and I know that I will no longer have heat but that's not an issue at the moment. However I'm questioning if I'm going to be able to drive the Jeep with a bypassed Heater Core because I dont quite know what all happens when you bypass a Heater Core. If anyone could shed some light on this I would greatly appreciate it.

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@stephanie_1314

yes it is. Been driving my CJ like that for about 2 years. Eventually you do want to change the heater core or fix it (I myself will do the same thing;-). All that is being bypassed is the hot water flow through the heater core

You and your dad may find this document helpful Jeep Cherokee Heating and Cooling

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Depends on the state if you can and how long it works.

You can get away with it in a warm climate like as a long term solution (or a permanent bypass on high mileage beaters) in a state like Florida since cold weather is rare and only lasts 1-2 days at most, but in a consistently cold state bypassing it can be less then ideal. It is an average $800-1,000 repair, so bear that in mind.

On an older high mileage vehicle like a 200k mile Toyota I'd just bypass the thing and call it good, but if it was reasonably new I may have repaired it. Over here, we just bypass them on old vehicles that aren’t worth much due to mileage (but work fine because Japanese quality), or worth more in parts. We're not going to spend $1k on a thing you almost never need when the 200k mile Camry already works otherwise.

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Yes u can drive it won t hurt a thing.

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Yes you can, however you won’t have a defroster anymore so if your windshield ices/fogs up then you will have no heat to clear it.

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Stephanie C crwdns2934231:0crwdne2934231:0
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