stoutdog wrote:
Hey all,
I received Mark's new tstat the other week and finally got a few free hours to get it installed (that turned into a two-day event, when I discovered that my airbox-to-turbo hose had rotted through from CCV oil, but that's another story). I ran the Jeep out to the mountains east of here today, which included about 30 minutes at 75mph. The needle stands almost straight up now, and certainly higher than before... right about where 192* is supposed to be! And it never went over.
The new brass ports are wonderful and there is no issue sliding the hose over the slightly larger port. You will, however, need to purchase a worm clamp (the original spring clamp will not fit over the lip on the larger brass port).
Just a few random thoughts:
- I drained the coolant and threw a towel over the bucket to keep debris out. This kept coolant spillage to a minimum. The 10mm drain key works wonders here, with a ratcheting wrench.
- I'd recommend removing not just the airbox, but the airbox-to-turbo hose. Gives you much more working room
- You should be able to get by with only undoing two hoses not connected to the tstat - only the CAC hose and the second hose to the unit in front of the tstat (the viscous heater, I believe) need to be moved out of the way
- Get an extendable magnet, it works wonders for getting those tstat bolts out without dropping them into the engine. Just unscrew until they are loose and stick the magnet back there.
- I used an exacto knife to scrape the old gasket off the engine block - took about 10 minutes. Definitely plug the hole with a paper towel first.
- I used a little Ultra Black Silicone gasket maker on the new gasket, just for paranoia's sake.
- For getting the bolts in and out, I found a 6" wobble extension for a 1/4" ratchet to work fine, with a long socket. If you have a 1/4" to 3/8" drive adapter, I'd use that... the original bolts are torqued down quite tight and the little ratchet doesn't have much leverage.
- Mark supplies you with some hose grease - use it. Both ends of the upper radiator hose and the hose that goes over the larger brass port need it.
- The new upper radiator hose needs to be trimmed back a hair. Measure first, but I ended up taking about 1/2" off.
That's all I can think of at the moment. Enjoy!
-Will
Thanks for the update. Super happy the brass worked out good.

I'll get nelson 15's tstat setup w/ brass now that I know its good to go. On the rad hose, I actually cut off a bunch prior to shipping, but leave it just a tad long to cut to fit. Only reason I cut some myself is its 3" too long for our application and is just dead shipping weight.

Glad everything worked out for ya. I highly recommend doing the fan clutch test to ensure it is good to go since you have a new thermostat again. I listed the test procedures before somewhere on teh forum. It goes something like this:
Block radiator w/ cardbaord, rev engine to 2400RPMs until you hear the main fan start to make ALOT of noise as it engages. I forget teh exact temp it engages at, but just make sue the engine doesn't overheat while testing. If it goes 2 ticks past the middle then it should have engaged by then. Make sure you look the exact procedures up, they are on here somewhere lol.
- Mark