i know these are bad about this, but i have a stock 93, and it idles and runs right at 210 degrees, if i get a thermostat rated at 180 or 170 will it solve this problem? any other suggestions to make it run a little cooler? i live at 7,000 ft elevation, idk if that matters at all. but i want it to run cooler, cuz im in wyoming, and its never above 45 this time of year, and it still is running that warm, i dont want to worry about overheating in the summer when im putting around in the mountains or out in the desert shooting p-dogs, so any suggestions would help

 

they generally run warmer that most other cars. 210 sounds about right. if you run a colder t-stat it will effect other things like fuel milage and engine responsivness.

 

The Jeep 4.0L was designed to run at 210*. The electric fan doesn't even kick on until around 215* so you are running perfectly normal temps.

 

Chances are your temps will stay right around that 210 mark even when the ambient temp gets a lot warmer in the summer. However, if you'd like to be able to cool your engine on demand, I'm a big advocate of converting to an electric push fan for your radiator. I can cool my engine by 20° pretty quickly and have yet to overheat even when wheeling in 94° weather. Going below the nominal operating temp of 190-220 with a lower-temp thermostat will keep your ECU in open loop and you'll be dumping fuel.

 

X2 on the thermostat! I lived in arizona until i moved to southern New Mexico for college and I wheel out in the desert during the summers often and i never go about 220*. 215* is right when the electric fan kicks on and you will hear it kick on too its pretty noticeable. I run an after market gauge. just this summer is when I put a spacer in the hood to lift it 1" at the hinge to let the hot air excape from the engine compartment. you can see the heat leaving the engine bay but it only dropped the temp about 3 degrees. but at highway speeds all the air that enters thru the radiator is pushed thru the engine bay and with it the hot air comes out thru the hood. if your worried about it that much i would suggest it, or putting hood vents but i didnt want to cut my hood just yet and the opening is not above any electronics. also i agree on the electric fans

 

this is the 1" spacer

 

We use a ScanGauge in our '98 XJ and the system goes into "closed loop" in less than a minute after start-up, even on the coldest of mornings. Coolant temp has virtually nothing to do with "open/closed loop". It's the temp of the O2 sensor that determines when the system goes into "closed loop" and heated O2 sensors close the loop very quickly for good engine performance and low emissions even on a cold engine.

The ScanGauge shows coolant temp between 197F and 204F with a factory 195F t-stat installed in our XJ. After installing a 180F t-stat, coolant temp ranges from 180F to 188F with no effect/change on mpg (mid teens mpg in town, low 20's mpg hwy).

 

x2. i installed a 180 degree thermostat and noticed no difference in fuel economy or a loss of power due to lower operating temps.

 

This could help... http://www.quadratec.com/products/71212_100.htm Plus I plan on running duel electric fans.

 

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/GMB-110-1080P/
made by Gibson...just as good and CHEAPER

 

hood vents!!

 

dual elec fans are the *****. one of the best mods i ever did. HIGHLEY recommend the 96-98 grand cherokee 136amp alt swap before had though

 

ok cool, ya i was used to my ramcharger that would NEVER get above 150, it had slight carb choke issues so it ran cool, but it wasnt enough of an issue to cause me to do anything about it, and when i saw an average of 210 i was a little worried lol but it hasnt gotten above 215, and if i have a problem this summer ill do something out to do, but until then its fine thanks for all your input guys, greatly appreciated

 

Neither of these does anything to lower ENGINE temps, just so you know. Hood spacers and hood vents will help reduce UNDER HOOD temperature, extending the life of things like hoses. The OP's question is regarding internal engine temperature, which neither of those things affect.

As has been said, 210 is normal operating temp for the XJ. If you get to where you're constantly running 215-220, then yeah you need to examine your cooling system. On an older cherokee with a tired radiator, your best bet is upgrading to an aftermarket 3 row CSF, like these;

DPGoffroad

 

Exactly