So I finally took my 98 XJ off on some trails today. It did surprisingly well on stock suspension, flat leafs, and only a set of 235's Goodyear DuraTracs. The first mile or so was all downhill. Decided to turn around and go back up. My father insisting on putting it into 4WD on the way up, never had to. The road was pretty nasty. More rock crawling, and rut diving than anything else...

However while reaching the house I noticed my engine temp was the highest it's ever been... 210. My electric fan is hooked up to a toggle next to the rear defrost switch. I didn't turn it on. I've never seen it make a difference.

The coolant is still full to the top, nice and clean. The fan clutch is in working order. The oil was recently change, less than 100miles or so. The thermostat has been replace within the year. The fan shroud is missing however.

Are these temps normal? The outside temperature at the time was around 45 degrees f. Is there a more efficient way to keep my engine cool... Without having to reroute the intake to a cooler spot?

 

210s not hot fan shroud needs to be there

 

210 deg. F is the correct operating temp for the 4.0 Jeep engine. If you have been much lower then that you have been running to cool. Your thermostat should be 195deg.

 

Seems like it would run less than 210 with a 195 stat especially in 45 degree ambient.....maybe verify gauge with a infrared temp gun? Best/easiest way to test a fan clutch......if u don't know how old it is, replace it.

Ditto on replacing the fan shroud.

 

Okay thanks. I run about 190's on average... Just thought 210 was a little hot given it's never run that hot before. Then again, we haven't had a hot day since I've owned it.

 

What temp is the thermostat that you have in it right now?

 

It's suppose to always run at 210
Mine always sits at 210 No matter what

 

If your not sure replace it with a 195 it'll only cost u 10 bucks and the cost of coolant

 

The factory gauge is rigged to point +/- at the middle when coolant temp is within factory parameters. Basically, those coolant temp parameters r 160F to 218F.....160 being when a heat cycle is completed/counted by the ECU and 218 being when the ECU turns the efan on for cool down. Nowhere in the FSM is 210F referenced.