Hey guys, i dont have an over heating problem, i just dont no where the temp guage is suppost to sit, i drive it around town and it stays under a quarter, when i am running long distance it will run just at or a tiny bit above a quarter and during idle - it will move to the centre , possibly further,(turned my car off before it did, if it did), any thoughts or opinions

 

I did have an overheating problem. Radiator was clogged and it had no thermostat in it. But i put one in got the clog undone. The highest it ever gets it to the center point 200-220 And ive got a 160 degree thermostat in there so it might be different than yours.

 

210 is where mine is most of the time in traffic, a little cooler once I'm rolling.

 

160-225 is safe.

Mine is around 160-180 on highways and 210 stop and go traffic.

 

Something is not right....1/4 mark is +/-155F.....no way it will run that cool this time of year....bad gauge/sending unit/electrical connection, etc., etc......it's not functioning/displaying correctly.

 

When I bought my 2000 Cherokee Sport I was amazed at how "hot" it was running. I'd never seen anything run 210 F all the time so I asked the salesman about it. He said they were designed to run that hot so they created less pollution. I don't know if he knew what he was talking about or not but it stays at 210 F winter/summer, traffic/highway. The electric fan kicks on/off to help the mechanical fan if it starts to go above 210 F.

 

The engine is designed to run at 212 degrees all the time, winter or summer, traffic or highway. That is "operating temperature" and where all of the metal is expanded to "design clearances". It is also the temperature the oil is formulated for and it takes into consideration hotspots and cool spots throughout the structure and the difference between the temp of the coolant and the actual temp of, for example, a piston ring or valve seat. Your engine is at "operating temp" when it is soaked to the design temp. This usually takes 30 miles or so no matter what the weather. I believe whether it is 90 or 30 is only a 60 degree difference...and the piston rings might be 400 degrees. That 60 degree delta is a smallish fraction of 400.

Blah blah blah. I'll quit now before we all launch into another 200 post thread on thermostats.

 

I think I've got another idea for the "Before you can buy an XJ" thread...

 

Sounds a bit to me like you need to open up that thermostat housing and replace your fail-safe that has failed. Safe.

 

I have never seen, not even once, in my many years, a vehicle that would constantly operate at 212F, winter or summer, traffic or highway, UNLESS, you are looking at the factory idiot gauge vs an accurate analog or digital or scan tool type aftermarket gauge. The XJ is no different. Even with a factory t-stat, the XJ (or any other vehicle) will run well below 212F in the dead of winter (heater on) and it will momentarily run well above 212F in summer time heat, a/c on, stop-n-go traffic, towing, etc., etc. To say coolant temp remains constant just isn't correct but the factory temp gauge will make u think so.

 

Mine sits on lower right hand side under oil gauge j/k 192-213 degrees every xj is differant.This is with a 192 degree tstat.

 

He s maybe looking at the oil gauge

 

......you're killin' me, especially your avatar.

 

Haha well its the middle of winter here down under lol, i live in Australia (home of the ARB bullbar), when i drive around town 1/4 (i live in an alpine town) when i get to sydney its a bit over 1/4

 

My point was not that the system will always be at 212 but that the optimal AVERAGE temp is 212. If you force the AVERAGE temp higher or lower, you are doing the wrong thing. Brief excursions to 240 or 180 are not meaningful...but running at 240 or 180 for a week is.