Hello....forum noob here!

I bought my 16 year old daughter Sport, 4dr with the 4.0L yesterday. Nice, clean vehicle with 143,000 on the odo. I'm a car guy and I really liked everything about this truck....it looks like it's VERY simple to work on. That was a huge selling point for with Dad an older vehicle with high mileage.

I am going to just do some PM on it to make sure it's in top running shape and stays that way....so....I want to change out the thermostat and coolant before winter comes (I'm in Cincinnati). I read a bit on the forum and saw these like to run about 210°F, which is kinda hot. Is a standard 180F thermostat recommended for the 4.0L? Or do you guys run a 195F?

Thanks!

 

OEM is 195 degrees. They'll run hot even with a 180. The electric fan doesn't come on till 220-225 degrees. And a cooler Tstat in the winter up there could give less heat.

 

We run a 180 t-stat year round, heater works fine. The temp gauge needle is pretty much factory programmed to point to 210 if all is within normal parameters. Plug in a scan tool, u'll see what coolant temp is really doing.

 

195 is the best choice for a stock 4.0 engine. I recommend purchasing only a high quality thermostat. I buy either the one from Jeep or the Stant SuperStat.

Stay away from el-cheapo, no-name stats like the plague. This thing will open and close thousands of times. Spend the money on a GOOD one.

 

Excellent, thanks.

I definately never cheap out on a thermostat. I've been doing my own car work for 30+ years and I've learned my lesson.