UNL1MTD

I was able to take some time this morning and fix my botched install. I took it apart to find that I missed a small bit of the old gasket on the block right where it was leaking. So that was probably the smoking gun as to why it didn't seal the first time, along with too much RTV and the stock gasket. I was not able to reuse the gasket at all. I just cleaned everything very well and used RTV. I let it set up for 2 hrs before adding fluid. Another 1 hr before I started the truck. I got a bit nervous while it was warming up because the coolant didn't suck down like it has in the past. I did do a lot of pumping on the upper radiator hose prior to turning it on and I must have expelled most of the air then. Once it hit 210ish the upper radiator hose got hot and the needle never moved much past that. I put about 10 miles of varied driving on it and the coolant temp needle still floated a bit but no more than a 5 degree deviation, which is a lot better. Essentially it moves from one side of the 210 white hash to the other and back. Except not nearly as predictable and its not constantly moving. I think the new tstat fixed it. Thanks for all the help along the way. Super glad I put the full gauge cluster in. :D

that was about 1" from being really not funny

You can buy another horn at autozone or whereever, mount it up and plug it in. I did this when I first got my MJ on the road.

I'll take safe travels out to Indy and back, plus a drama free xmas with the family.

got a link to it? Sounds like more than what I want to deal with, but not out of the realm of considering.

Well I haven't paid yet. What's the story? I truthfully don't think I'm overpaying. 100 for the 231, 200 for the AX15, thats about what I though it would end up being. Plus I don't have to pull them. However if there is a better deal, then it would only be wise to consider it.

Who says you have to :???: Ha, I pretty much did when I signed a contract with the reception hall. And I'm pretty sure my little lady would be mighty upset.

Well it looks like 300 was a buying price. I should be picking them up some time between the holidays. Perhaps I could have even gone a bit lower on my offer, ohwell. Looks like next year will be a slow collection of parts cumlating in a 4wd swap. Although, I do have to get married in November. So maybe the 4wd swap will happen in 2010.

Well the guy is wanting 250 for each so I guess that is a little high. But I'm thinking that if I bought both that he might be willing to deal a bit. I suppose I was thinking that the AX15 was priced affordable at 250, but I thought that the np231 is only worth about 100 - 150. He must have got them from the junkyard as he has no clue what year the xj was they came from. Maybe I will offer up 300 and see what happens.

Recently I found a semi-local seller that has some key components that interest me for a future 4wd swap on my mj. I'm not hell bent on making this happen right away, but the opportunity is here to maybe get the trans and tcase at a deal, so I might as well. So what would you pay for a AX15 and NP 231 from a 91-95 era XJ with unknown mileage. Both came from the same xj and are 23 spline. I won't spoil what his asking price is right away. I'm curious what you would pay from a third party and or from a junk yard? -Sean

yea I did use a mopar seal and it did have a very small raised rubberish portion on one side of the gasket. The haynes manual was specific to put RTV on both sides so I did and it didn't work out. Oh well. I will try to reuse the gasket with a healthier dose of RTV this time. I was very conservative last time, maybe that was an issue.

:fs1: started her up today and it took about 20 seconds before I had a steady stream of coolant pissing out from the Tstat housing. I don't suppose I can reuse that gasket, can I? Was it a mistake to put RTV on both sides of the gasket like it is recommended in the Haynes manual?

:fs1: started her up today and it took about 20 seconds before I had a steady stream of coolant pissing out from the Tstat housing. I don't suppose I can reuse that gasket, can I? Was it a mistake to put RTV on both sides of the gasket like it is recommended in the Haynes manual?

Thanks, I was trying to talk myself into using the smallest gasket aswell. I'm glad you posted. I wasnt able to start the truck due to not having enough coolant. I'll have to update you guys tomorrow. Does anyone know if the small upper radiator hose comes as a set with the heater control valve? I was thinking of replacing it but wasnt sure if I had to replace that whole assembly as well.

Thanks, I was trying to talk myself into using the smallest gasket aswell. I'm glad you posted. I wasnt able to start the truck due to not having enough coolant. I'll have to update you guys tomorrow. Does anyone know if the small upper radiator hose comes as a set with the heater control valve? I was thinking of replacing it but wasnt sure if I had to replace that whole assembly as well.

For the record, the other truck was junked a long while ago, no parts are left. Earlier in the week I did some painting to the tailgate and lower door seam. Both places were showing some rust. I sanded it down and shot it with reddish primer. Nothing fancy, just trying to slow down the very first signs of body rot on the truck. Today I turned some wrenches on the truck for the first time in a long time. I've been DDing the truck for the last 3 weeks while my Tj was undergoing some repairs after a HMMWV backed into it. So the Mj became my ride. In doing so I got tired of some stuff and finally did something about it. I wanted to change the Tstat in order to further trouble shoot my FlOATING TEMP NEEDLE, so I began with drainning the coolant and removing the upper radiator hoses. It was apparent that the larger hose had been replaced in the past as it did not show the age that the upper hose did. The upper hose was stuck to the Tstat housing and inside showed some corrosion. The housing came off next and the Tstat did not match my Mopar part, so I assume it was replaced at one point in time. While cleaning the block up, I rememebered how difficult it was to position the valve cover because of the two upper hoses. I figured that since I had them off I might as well replace the valve cover gasket with the Felpro one I bought a while ago. Once I had it off I figured now would also be a good time to change out the grounding strap at the back of the block with a heavy gauge cable that Jon Kelly sent me with my wiring harness upgrade kit a while ago. (The valve cover restricts what tool you can get on the nut at the back of the block, with it off any normal ratchet will work). I swapped out the cable very easily with out the cover in place. Here is a side by side of the two wires. The previous valve cover gasket came off easy and it was clear where the back bolts weren't tight and the oil seeped out. While I had it off previously I cleaned my rockers, lifters, and the inside of the cover. However I was unaware you could remove the oil gallies for the crankcase vents. So I figured while it was off I would dissassemble and clean them out. That went smooth. I did have to use high temp RTV as a gasket as I did not have those gaskets handy. Then I dropped the gasket in place and was very happy that it did not slide around like the cork one. It seems well made and stayed put during installation. I was also happy to see that the last 2 years and 4k miles havent added any deposits to my rocker arms that I cleaned up a long while ago. After the valve cover was on I RTVed up the Tstat gasket and installed the housing over the Tstat. After the hoses were one I started filling up the cooling system, just to realize I was short on coolant. I'll have to get some and finish up topping her off. Hopefully my temp gauge stays steady at 210 and I can keep the oil from leaking out the valve cover.

For the record, the other truck was junked a long while ago, no parts are left. Earlier in the week I did some painting to the tailgate and lower door seam. Both places were showing some rust. I sanded it down and shot it with reddish primer. Nothing fancy, just trying to slow down the very first signs of body rot on the truck. Today I turned some wrenches on the truck for the first time in a long time. I've been DDing the truck for the last 3 weeks while my Tj was undergoing some repairs after a HMMWV backed into it. So the Mj became my ride. In doing so I got tired of some stuff and finally did something about it. I wanted to change the Tstat in order to further trouble shoot my FlOATING TEMP NEEDLE, so I began with drainning the coolant and removing the upper radiator hoses. It was apparent that the larger hose had been replaced in the past as it did not show the age that the upper hose did. The upper hose was stuck to the Tstat housing and inside showed some corrosion. The housing came off next and the Tstat did not match my Mopar part, so I assume it was replaced at one point in time. While cleaning the block up, I rememebered how difficult it was to position the valve cover because of the two upper hoses. I figured that since I had them off I might as well replace the valve cover gasket with the Felpro one I bought a while ago. Once I had it off I figured now would also be a good time to change out the grounding strap at the back of the block with a heavy gauge cable that Jon Kelly sent me with my wiring harness upgrade kit a while ago. (The valve cover restricts what tool you can get on the nut at the back of the block, with it off any normal ratchet will work). I swapped out the cable very easily with out the cover in place. Here is a side by side of the two wires. The previous valve cover gasket came off easy and it was clear where the back bolts weren't tight and the oil seeped out. While I had it off previously I cleaned my rockers, lifters, and the inside of the cover. However I was unaware you could remove the oil gallies for the crankcase vents. So I figured while it was off I would dissassemble and clean them out. That went smooth. I did have to use high temp RTV as a gasket as I did not have those gaskets handy. Then I dropped the gasket in place and was very happy that it did not slide around like the cork one. It seems well made and stayed put during installation. I was also happy to see that the last 2 years and 4k miles havent added any deposits to my rocker arms that I cleaned up a long while ago. After the valve cover was on I RTVed up the Tstat gasket and installed the housing over the Tstat. After the hoses were one I started filling up the cooling system, just to realize I was short on coolant. I'll have to get some and finish up topping her off. Hopefully my temp gauge stays steady at 210 and I can keep the oil from leaking out the valve cover.

I'm chaning the Thermostat out today and I notice that the Mopar kit comes with 3 gaskets. Its obvious that one is for the housing mating to the block, but the other two are not obvious to me. One has 4 holes, its shaped sorta like the tstat housing, but not really. The other has one hole and is about the size of the thermostat. Haynes manual only mentions one gasket. I'm a bit perplexed. The MJ is apart right now, please chime in.

I'm chaning the Thermostat out today and I notice that the Mopar kit comes with 3 gaskets. Its obvious that one is for the housing mating to the block, but the other two are not obvious to me. One has 4 holes, its shaped sorta like the tstat housing, but not really. The other has one hole and is about the size of the thermostat. Haynes manual only mentions one gasket. I'm a bit perplexed. The MJ is apart right now, please chime in.

it's tough being a male model

So to depressurize the fuel system you are just going to unscrew the gauge now that the schrader valve is gone?

My crew [fm2cd] is going to have a couple of rigs show up for it, but I'm on the fence. That's some pretty serious cash to lay down for Oakridge.

Thanks for the part number. I was looking at the Haynes Manual for replacing the thermostat and it had a test procedure. But the first disclaimer was to check serp belt for proper tension. I did just recently change out my serp belt. I'm assuming this has to be checked for proper tension because if it wasn't the fan would not spin at the correct RPM. I'm assuming that since mine can cool itself that this is working correctly. I know I checked the tension when the belt was installed, but I will have to double check. Or is there something else gong on with the serp belt that affects cooling?

I got the laser thermometer out today and did my best to get some accurate readings. It seems the larger coolant hose coming from the thermostat housing is always 10 to 15 degrees colder than the smaller coolant hose coming from ther thermomstat. I seemed to get the most accurate temp readings from shooting the block directly next to the thermostat housing. The readings were near identical to the gauge, it would vary from 208 up to 225 degrees. The thermometer showed the same oscillation in temp that the gauge did. This gives me confidence that the gauge and sender are accurate and I truely have a problem. I'm going to change out the thermostat and hopefully that helps. I will likely use dealer parts as long as they are resonable. Does anyone have a part number by chance? Besides the thermostat, should I be changing out any hoses or do I just wait until I can get them off and give them an inspection?

Are you asking if I changed the Temp sender for the guage rather than leave the old idiot light sender in? I did change it out. But perhaps its bad. I'll get access to a laser thermometer on Monday, I'll check then.