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Technical / Installation Articles - Engine / Drivetrain


Jeep Thermostat Replacement

Article written by Icky

Date Added: 12/20/2009

It?s 6 a.m. and you?re heading out the door to work. You climb into the cold seat of your Jeep, very cold seat if it?s vinyl, and fire up the engine anxiously waiting for the heater to warm up.

As you head down the road the engine temp gauge just doesn?t budge. You know 23° F is cold, but you should be feeling something coming out of the heater by now.

I can?t explain why it seems that only left socks disappear in the drier, but there is clearly some cosmic tie-in because your engines thermostat will only quit working on the coldest winter day when you?re the least dressed for the weather.

Follow along as we change out our 2.5L Jeep engine thermostat and avoid that cold ride with no heat.

 

Installation

1. Loosen the tension pulley bolt.

2. Release the tension (lefty loosey) on the pulley.

3. Remove and we suggest replace the serpentine belt. Ours is at the recommended 60,000 miles and clearly needs replacing.

4. Unbolt the thermostat housing. There are two bolts. Assuming the top bolt is in the 12 o?clock position, the other is located below at about 7 o?clock.

5. Here is the thermostat. It sits in a recess, simply pull it out.

6. Scrape the old gasket off the engine block.

7. Scrape the old gasket off the thermostat housing.

8. Permatex Water Pump & Thermostat Housing RTV Silicone ~ Our Jeeps thermostat housing uses a manufactured gasket and the Permatex Gasket Maker is not necessary. We chose to use it in conjunction with the manufactured gasket.

9. ~Optional from step 8~ Apply Permatex Gasket Maker to both sides of the gasket.

10. Insert new thermostat.

11. Install gasket and bolt thermostat housing in place. (torque: 156 in. lbs.)

12. Reinstall or replace serpentine belt.

13. Tighten the pulley (righty tighty) tensioner to take the slack out of the belt.
 Proper tension is about 1/2? of deflection per foot. So if you have one foot of belt between pulleys then the belt should move about 1/2? off of centerline.

14. Tighten tension pulley bolt.

15. Top off your radiator once it has cycled the air out of the system.

Final Thoughts

Most people never replace their thermostat until it goes bad. If it?s time for a new belt, hoses, or you need something to do on a weekend, for under $20 you can do a little preventative maintenance and avoid that cold winter ride to work.

On a more serious note, a thermostat that doesn?t open can result in an engine overheating and possibly damage the engine.

 

Purchase / Vendor Info

Vendor Name: Autozone
Address: Local Purchase
, UT
Website: http://http://www.autozone.com/home.htm
 

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