My old '89 ran about 20 degrees hotter, than it should have, until the water pump died. Turned out, the impeller was so shot, that it impeded coolant circulation.

 

You should have no problems "burping" an '01 model....just fill it with 50/50 and let it idle a bit with the rad cap off. For a couple of days after, remove the rad cap (engine COLD) and add coolant if necessary. Worked fine on our '98 XJ.

 

You could put a quart of tranny fluid in the oil and drive it for 500 miles then perform

an oil change.

Use Rotella 15w40. I use it and it works great. I rag my jeep alot so it provides the

protection I need.

 

......because most factory temp gauges are a joke and I'm simply trying to find out how he can distinguish between 210F and 213F. The XJ factory gauge reads 210F in the middle. The next mark above 210F is 227F, or at least that's what the gradient marks are equal to (210F, 227F, 243F and 260F). How/where does one determine 213F, unless they're using an aftermarket digital gauge?

 

oh, ok... well my assumtion is that the fan kicks on at around 213 so I would guess that when the fan starts then that is when I have reached the 213 point on my gauge. Mine never actually settles but I do not really ever drive on the highway, just several stop lights and back roads.

Also, thanks for the collant tip, I will give it a shop before the summer gets here. I plan to run a 75/25 mixture of water/coolant for the summer.

 

Thanks, I thought about it today but I went with the Valvoline high mileage max life synth/blend with a quart of Lucas. I had conv. 10 w30 and could tell it just wasnt working for me. I can tell a big difference in the idle and oil pressure. It runs a little quieter now too.

 

Sounds like your type of driving falls under "SEVERE" driving conditions and proper/frequent maintenance is a must.

Also, with the coolant/water mix you refer to, just remember that the antifreeze is what provides lubricant to the water pump, corrosion protection to the entire cooling system and extra boil-over protection. More water and less antifreeze will change operating temp only slightly but will definitely lower corrosion protection to the cooling system.

 

Yea, my biggest problem also is I just purchased the Jeep about a month ago so I dont know the prior drivers driving activity or maintenance history. So I do need to do some maintenance before summer gets here.

 

when was the last time you changed your thermostat? if you haven't done that in a while, i almost guarantee you that's what is causing your temp to go above 210. mine did. but here's the catch though, i think my old and well abused thermostat was giving me a slight bit better gas mileage than the new 195.

 

That's verified with an infrared thermometer on the return port of the head, where logically you'd have the hottest coolant in the system, and with the temperature gauge reading exactly on the 210 mark. It came out as 214, so I'd say the factory temp gauge can be pretty accurate. Just because yours isn't doesn't mean that every single one on the face of the planet is.

 

Good grief, more of the same . It was a legitimate question. Sometimes I think I've accidentally logged onto a forum for teenage girls to discuss which of the latest vampire movies is best.

 

I bought it a month ago, so I have no idea how old it is. I do plan on changing it and my pump by this summer, unless somthing forces me to do it sooner.

 

Well at least u r easily entertained. The only temp gauge I can think of that may be more inaccurate than a factory temp gauge is one of those point-n-shoot infrared things.

 

He posed a hostile rebuttal to the statement I made, which was returned in kind. If people in this thread are going to get their panties knotted up into their buttcracks, then have fun in this thread.

Good luck figuring out your problem, OP.

 

Oh yeah, now that you mention it, I totally see the hostility.

Like I said, it was a legitimate question, and one that I too was interested in learning about. He wasn't challenging you as was stated earlier, it was just a question of how you did it so that others could learn. I'm done.