I bought an OEM thermostat and housing gasket last night. No need to drill this baby. It's already got a hole in the top with a little ball-check valve built right in. (Things that make you go Hmm.) At $21, it better have something, eh?

One question on the $4.85 gasket; It's a paper gasket but its got a thin rubber ridge, centered and running most of the way around the circumference. Do I need gasket sealer with this thing?

Oh, and after reading multiple threads on trapped air and burping Cherokees, I'm planning on draining it nose-down with the rear wheels up on ramps and filling it nose-up with the front wheels on ramps.

 

it's not a child that needs burping or tilting...
Just fill the overflow bottle to the very top and let it idle for 10-15 mins. It should suck some down as it needs as the Tstat opens and closes.
Just carry some extra antifreeze with you for a few days afterwards incase it sucks more in.

I used grey RTV along with the gasket that had the built in stuff- no problems.
Byt why did you need a new housing?

 

No new housing just the T-stat and gasket - priced like a housing though, eh?
Actually the housing looks relatively new, probably changed along with the head replacement before I got it.

 

Remove the bottom rad hose from the water pump (easier if the air filter box is removed 1st). Before installing the new stat, stick the garden hose in the stat hole in the head and flush the head/block, then stick the garden hose in one or the other heater hoses to flush the heater core, and last stick the garden hose in the top rad hose to flush the rad.

Button it all up and fill the radiator with 50/50 mix. Start the motor with the rad cap off, keep the rad full and let it idle 'til stat opens (top rad hose hot). When coolant/air burp out the rad, put new rad cap on. Fill the recovery bottle about 1/2 full and go for a test drive. Check for leaks and check coolant level in the rad (MOTOR COLD) and bottle next several days. Coolant level in the bottle should rise/fall a little with each heat/cool cycle. When motor is cold, coolant level should always be at the top of the neck of the rad.

 

You had to PAY for a gasket? Mine came with a number of them to cover diff applications. You get the t-stat at the dealership?

 

Yeah, where else could I pay $21 for a T-stat?

 

Lol. It's probably the same one I get at auto zone for $4

 

Mine, too. Both of them.

That stat is worth it. No more aftermarket stats for me. I warm up quick in the winter and stay at 210 in the summer.

I call that thing the "jiggle valve". Can you post up a pic before you install it?

 

Don't what off brand was in my XJ but it definitely wasn't from MOPAR. If it cost $4 it cost too much.


Yea,I WISH I would've posted a pic.

 

Well right here! I got a slightly used but hardly abused $4 one I sell you for only $20.

 

You can't see it in the picture but the T-stat says UP with an arrow on the other side indicating that the check valve be in the 12:00 position.

Fancy Gasket, eh. I think I'll still use a little RTV.

 

Thanks. Remember the key word is LITTLE RTV.

 

I use the OEM thermostat myself. No others will do.

I use Permatex High Tack Spary-A-Gasket Sealant on both sides of the gasket. Two coats. Zero leaks.

 

My flush was a qualified success, thanks to every one on the board and the self-burping T-stat. Everything went as planned and it's running around 210 at 95 degrees outside with the AC on.

One problem:
I now have a check engine light burning - I'm going to recycle it tonight, after it drys out real good, just in case I got some water under the hood where I shouldn't have. It started raining just as I was about to finish up.

One question:
Should my E-fan run any time the AC is on? Right now, the only way I can get to spin is by letting it idle with AC on high so the temp creeps up a little past the 110 mark. In other words it's sensing coolant temperature but not AC usage. Any help on this one?

 

It should run with or w/o the AC on. With A/C when the compressor kicks in. W/O AC when coolant temp reaches 215* or so. That's what I observed with mine when checking it.