About to do a cooling system flush on my xj with 150k on it. Its got a 3 year old radiator, and a 1 year old water pump. Heater core is okay. Only thing i don't know when it was replaced is the thermostat.

It works fine, doesnt overheat, but i was thinking since im doing the flush, just to go ahead and replace the thermostat.

My issue is that i don't want to spend 25 bucks on a mopar one. Are the stants or the gates ones any good? They are listed as premium replacements on rock auto for 5 bucks.

What should i do?
1) leave the one thats in there since its still functional
2) get a stant or a gates
3) get a mopar one (dont really want to though)

Thanks guys

 

Good idea to also replace the thermostat.
I got a high end Stant, 195F (that's what you need), tested it in water heating up, found it to be opening very minimal in the range it should be opening (thermomet er verified). Decided I didn't want to take a gamble and got one from the dealer. Also noticed that one had the air bleed hole in the rim, which my old one had too but the Stant did not. Tested the dealer one the same way, and found it to open a lot more at the given temp range, and ended up putting that one in. Very stable temps at the moment.

 

I've been using Stant SuperStats for years in all kinds of vehicles with excellent results. Went with a 180F SuperStat in the XJ. It runs a tick cooler and heater performance is plenty toasty. It's always a good idea to "test" a stat prior to it's install. Do not toss it into boiling water. It should be closed or ever so slightly open at it's temp rating and should be fully open 15*-20* above its rating. The open/close should be slow and smooth. The factory stat, with the jiggle valve, only "bleeds" when the motor is off. why. The SuperStat has a "V" notch that "bleeds" the moment the motor is started, which makes more sense..