itsjustme,
i dont have specific instructions on your particular vehicle, and since you didnt say which engine you have, ill give you some general directions that will work for almost all vehicles.
make sure vehicle is NOT at operating temperature hot. (dont drive through death valley, hop out, and open the radiator cap) CARFEULLY open the radiator cap with a thick towel or rag, relieving any pressure in the system. CAUTION! coolant can reach over 250 degrees fahrenheit!
get a catch pan with at least a 8 qt capacity. for sake of ease, i wont go over draining some coolant from the radiator drain plug. remove upper radiator hose from thermostat housing bolted to engine. (clamps are usually 8mm) some coolant will come out. if you are reusing your old coolant, make sure to adjust pan on ground to catch as much as you can. unbolt thermostat housing, thermostat will either fall out or gasket / sealant will still hold it in. make sure to pay attention to if there are any holes or air bleeds around the outer edge of the old t-stat. you will want to orient the new t-stat in the exact same fashion as the one that came out.
[discard thermostat ONLY after making sure you have the correct thermostat and gasket. if you went to the dealer for the replacement part, (recommended) your new thermostat will look very much or exactly like the old one. if not, your new thermostat will almost certainly not look the same. be very careful making sure its the correct part, fit, and temperature rating. if mr. autozone employee asks you what temp rating you want, always go with original equipment rating. usually 192 - 195 degrees fahrenheit. always save parts until after the job is done! ]
clean all remaining bits of gasket / sealant from t-stat housing and where the t-stat housing bolted to the engine. be very very careful not to scratch or score any delicate mating surfaces! try to use some type of plastic tool to clean up mating surfaces. try not to use anything metal. even scotchbrite pads can make a mess of mating surfaces!
get ready for t-stat install. make sure if there is a hole or air bleed around the outer edge of the thermostat it gets installed in the proper position. (usually the highest point so air can escape) make sure t-stat does not get installed backwards!!!!! the side with the metal spring goes into the engine. on the back of the t-stat package is sometimes a diagram. if your vehicle uses a paper gasket, make sure gasket goes on TOP of the thermostat. if it has a rubber o ring that goes around t-stat, make sure o ring is on with no kinks or bends. you can use A LITTLE silicone sealant to hold the gasket onto the engine, trapping the t-stat between it and the engine. [make sure to let the gasket or o ring do its job: sealing the engine. silicone sealer DOES NOT seal. it only aids in proper gasket alignment and takes up any inconsistencies in the mating surfaces. just nod your head and zone out to anyone that tells you otherwise.]
bolt on t-stat housing. CAUTION. older parts that get hot and cold all the time tend to be brittle. nothing is worse than wrapping up a job on saturday night and breaking a part only the dealer stocks. be careful not to go crazy tightening the bolts that hold the housing on!
reattach upper radiator hose. do not overtighten clamp! (i recommend a new clamp EVERY time its removed) clamps take not much at all to seal the hose theyre on.
pour old antifreeze into radiator.
[now is a great time to change your antifreeze completely, although beyond the scope of this article]
if you lost a significant amount (more than 6oz) make sure to refill the radiator with a half and half mix of water and antifreeze as long as you didnt buy the premixed antifreeze. [these are a waste of money] if in doubt about what antifreeze to use, consult your owners manual or the jeep dealer. [ people tend to group coolant / antifreeze by color. not always the best way. go with equivalent to jeep specifications]
do not pour coolant all the way up to the top of the radiator neck if your jeep has one. i seem to remember jeeps having a radiator overflow tank. this will be your fill point. fill with coolant mix to %26quot;COLD%26quot; fill line.
[ignore cooling system additives they are a waste of money. if you stay on top of your maintainence, you will never need them. especially sealers or lubricators!!!]
***CAUTION check and re-check and check again to make sure there are no tools on the engine or radiator shroud***
leave cap off of overflow tank. start engine. do not rev engine. keep very very sharp eye on overflow tank. you may see gurgling. this is trapped air escaping from inside the cooling system. this is normal. do not let coolant level fall too low or out of the overflow tank. %26quot;bleeding air%26quot; from the cooling system can sometimes take from 15 to 30 minutes. your vehicle should be about 20 minutes. sometimes you will see almost no activity in the overflow tank. if this happens you will sometimes see the coolant level drop suddenly. this is when the thermostat finally opens. WAIT at least 15 minutes. [an easy way to tell is LIGHTLY touch the upper radiator hose to see if its hot. a vehicle at operating temperature will have hoses almost impossible to touch for more than a second]
when the activity inside the tank calms down, fill the tank to the %26quot;FULL HOT%26quot; line. do not overfill. check for leaks anywhere you have worked. replace radiator cap or overflow tank cap making sure it is on all the way. its good practice to then wait a few more minutes to make sure nothing is awry.
the next day check coolant level in tank first thing in the morning. it should be at the %26quot;COLD FULL%26quot; line. it may be low. this is normal. fill to cold fill line with 50/50 coolant water mix.
remember,
* check antifreeze %26quot;strength%26quot; with prestone coolant checker or equivalent. most places carry the prestone brand and it will be easy to find.
*flush cooling system according to OE guidelines otherwise youll have major problems down the road. this is especially important in cold environments.
*never used recycled antifreeze. youd be surprised how many shops do. very surprised.
*there is no difference in brands of antifreeze. nothing you will ever notice. as long as they meet your OE specifications they are just fine. private brands and store brands make fine choices.
*there is a difference in aftermarket and OE t-stats. if in doubt, spend the few extra dollars and go OE.
happy motoring!How do i change a thermostat in my 92 jeep wrangler?i dont know but if you get fed up with your car can i have itHow do i change a thermostat in my 92 jeep wrangler?follow the radiator hoses to the block the thermostat is usally located under the top radiator hose where it connects to the block.
just unhook the top hose at the block pop out the old thermostat put the new one in. don't forget to replace the gasket to!!!How do i change a thermostat in my 92 jeep wrangler?supahtforyou's instructions were excellent.
I have a 1988 Cherokee with the 4.0L inline 6 cylinder engine, and if your Wrangler has a similar engine, then the t-stat is located in the t-stat housing on the top / front of the engine, where the big fat hose returns water to the radiator. To change it, you need to remove the fan shroud (a pain in the butt), and the radiator hose as well. The t-stat housing has 2 bolts - one is easy to find, the other is under and below, also a pain.
It's not a hard job to do, but time-consuming. I broke the neck on the first one I worked on because it is made from pot-metal, not very durable. It was a factory item, I could not get a replacement from a parts store, so be careful when removing the t-stat housing. In other words, don't be like me and use a metal hammer if the t-stat housing is stuck. Tap it gently with a wood block or a rubber mallet to break it loose.
Scrape off all traces of the old gasket using a putty knife or flat single-edge razor blade, on both the engine block and the t-stat housing. You might even need to use a wire brush, applied carefully on the remaining bits of gasket.
Use a new t-stat and make sure it comes with a fresh gasket. Using a bit of RTV rubber on both sides to help the seal is not a bad idea, either. Clean off the threads on the 2 bolts with wire brush, and either oil the threads or use an anti-seize compound.
Just read supahtforyou instructions and you will be fine.
While you are at it, you might consider replacing all of the rubber hoses on the radiator and heater core, if they are either hard and brittle, or soft and mushy. If you are really energetic, put in a new water pump. (The pump is a bigger job - need to remove more belts and the radiator fan.) Either replacement job will give you extra piece of mind, and you will avoid having a blown out radiator or heater hose or leaky water pump in the middle of the winter. If you replace the bottom radiator hose, remove and keep the coiled spring that is inserted into the original hose. It goes into the new hose. The spring is inserted to keep the hose from collapsing when the water pump is sucking coolant out from the radiator.
Total parts for t-stat, radiator %26amp; heater hoses, and water pump might cost about $100, plus $10 for coolant. You will save yourself at least $200, or more by doing the labor yourself.
Good luck.
