Brody
September 15th, 2009, 02:10 AM
While I was dealing with the remaining work on the gaskets on the 84, LaDawn calls with an overheating problem on the XJ. Says that the gauge pegs when she accelerates, but holds steady at idle.
Anyway, long story short, the thermostat was shot. When I pulled the top hoses, they were dry...As anyone knows who has worked on the Jeep inline 6s, especially the ones in the 90s XJs, there isn't a lot of working room. I took a look at where the T stat is and the bolt location. I had the serpentine belt running directly in front of the lower (and hardest to reach) bolt.
Checked the manual to see if there was a "special" way/sequence to remove this. I found "Remove the two bolts, paying special attention to how the T stat is located in the engine block. Replace the gasket and the T stat and reconnect all hose, checking for leaks." Nice...
It looked as though I was going to have to take the fan shroud off to access it, but this also meant that I would first have to remove the fan with the shroud on, yada, yada. After a little more dicking around, I found that loosening the idler pulley allowed just enough slack in the fan belt to force a socket over the lowest bolt. Still no room to work, but just enough to get the bolts off and on and replace the T stat.
Anyway, I hope this saves someone a little grief.
Anyway, long story short, the thermostat was shot. When I pulled the top hoses, they were dry...As anyone knows who has worked on the Jeep inline 6s, especially the ones in the 90s XJs, there isn't a lot of working room. I took a look at where the T stat is and the bolt location. I had the serpentine belt running directly in front of the lower (and hardest to reach) bolt.
Checked the manual to see if there was a "special" way/sequence to remove this. I found "Remove the two bolts, paying special attention to how the T stat is located in the engine block. Replace the gasket and the T stat and reconnect all hose, checking for leaks." Nice...
It looked as though I was going to have to take the fan shroud off to access it, but this also meant that I would first have to remove the fan with the shroud on, yada, yada. After a little more dicking around, I found that loosening the idler pulley allowed just enough slack in the fan belt to force a socket over the lowest bolt. Still no room to work, but just enough to get the bolts off and on and replace the T stat.
Anyway, I hope this saves someone a little grief.