I had a coolant leak and found that the top radiator hose was bulging right before the thermostat housing and was soft and deteriorating on the inside. The thermostat housing looks fairly pitted but could probably be reused. My question is now that I have quite a bit removed from the front of the engine, should I just go ahead and replace the thermostat, housing and the water pump? The Jeep has 192K miles and they've probably never been replaced.

 

yes definitely cant go wrong with new stuff.

 

^ that. Plus if you haven't already do a new belt and idler pulley.

 

I went ahead and bought a new water pump and thermostat. The thermostat housing is a bit pitted but the area where the hose attaches looks fine so I'll reuse it. The belt that I pulled off looks to be in great condition so I'll reuse it but I will definitely be getting a new idler pulley.

ALSO.... I used a shop vac and blew air through the muffler and checked for exhaust leaks and it looks like I have a cracked manifold and leaks around the gasket. I'll be replacing the manifold and the motor mounts pretty soon.

Are the brown dog mounts a must or would after market be fine?

 

If you are not off-roading you don't need Brown dogs. Omix-Ida or the like are just fine.

 

I've got the Thermostat housing and water pump off and I've noticed a lot of sludge on the top and near the harmonic balancer. This could be from the front seal but I also noticed that the gasket on the front of the oil pan seems to be pushed out. Is this normal?

 

Any opinions on the oil pan gasket? I'm tempted to just go ahead and pull the balancer and replace the front seal and timing chain now that I have most everything on the front end removed except the radiator.