I live in Chicago and it has started to get cold out. I am noticing that my engine on my '95 XJ Country 4.0 never really comes to operating temperature. The heat blows hot but I can't really get the temp on the engine temp gauge above the 1/4 mark. I spoke to a tech at my local dealer and he suggested getting a new thermostat. I think I will do that, but wanted to know if you guys had any recommendations on the type I should buy. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.
Mopar 195F. Don’t cheap out. If your doing your own maintenance boil it first to make sure it opens. Great time for an coolant flush as well.
THIS^^^^^^^
This is what I do every time.
Also I drill a small hole on what will be the top of the Tstat. That helps to burp the system, and get all the air out of it.
There have been a few bad out of the box aftermarket thermostat threads over the years.
When I first got my Jeep I put a new thermostat in. Not being aware that there was a problem I bought the cheap one from Napa.
Which was even cheaper to me cause I work there. LOL.
Well almost 9 years later and all is still fine.
Go figure. LOL. Oh and there is no hole in it either so.....
As far as installing it goes here is what I suggest.
Everything needs to be clean. Make sure the little channel the thermostat sits in is really clean too.
Don't use a paper gasket. Buy a FelPro one.
No need for gunk and FelPro actually recommends not using any. I researched this.
But it can be tough to put everything back together without using any. It can be done but is awkward.
The thermostat could slip out of place, you don't realize it, you torque down the housing, and you could crack it.
Guys have used gunk just to hold it in place. Other guys have used gunk on the gasket. All reporting no problems when they did so...
This is a shot from later on when I did a water pump. Decided to buy a new thermostat housing, just used the Dorman one, and did that too.
Reused the old thermostat because at this point I was aware of the bad out of the box thing and figured it still worked fine.
Figured I was going to pay for not putting in a new one. But not yet. LOL.
Oh and if for some reason you do buy a new thermostat housing don't forget the thread sealant for the temp sensor in it.
Absolutely agree on the Mopar.
Years ago had issues with t-stat and after many failed attempts found out the oem gasket and t-stat were the only brand that didn't cause issues.
That was a life lesson in wasted t-stat lol.
I must have gone through 3-4 + cheap gaskets and RTV before getting the Mopar stuff.
On a side note I noticed something.
Looking in my '94 to '96 parts catalog there is a second thermostat listed.
180 degree one. Listed as "Severe Use".
So that might explain all the guys putting one in their Jeeps that I read about from time to time.
And for some reason almost always still having a problem. LOL.
I see no listing for a 180 degree one in my '00 parts catalog.
Sorry to buck the trend, but I've been using Stants for the past 20 years I've had my '88. I've never had a thermostat caused failure. I've had expansion bottle bursts, heater control valve explosions and radiator blowouts that caused overheat conditions. Each time I replaced the thermostat as part of the repair.
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Looking in my '94 to '96 parts catalog there is a second thermostat listed.
180 degree one. Listed as "Severe Use".
So that might explain all the guys putting one in their Jeeps that I read about from time to time.
And for some reason almost always still having a problem. LOL.
I see no listing for a 180 degree one in my '00 parts catalog.
Looks like the '94-'96 are the only years listing the 180 as an "option". All list the thermostat and gasket together as a package. When I searched using the actual part number for the package, I get lots of hits (Summit, Quadratec, Amazon, etc.) but with the Crown thermostat.
Looks like the '94-'96 are the only years listing the 180 as an "option". All list the thermostat and gasket together as a package. When I searched using the actual part number for the package, I get lots of hits (Summit, Quadratec, Amazon, etc.) but with the Crown thermostat.
So sometimes when you Google a part number all it shows you are aftermarket replacements. And you want a Mopar one from a Mopar Online Retailer. Sometimes putting the word Mopar in front of the part number helps.
