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[Simon J]

The temperatures are finally starting to drop here in the Balkans and I find that it takes ages for my Cherokee to heat up, so much so that the heater is useless on the relatively sort drive to work each morning. I have very little experience of diesels but it seems that they are much slower to get up to working temperature than petrol engines, but even so, mine seems to take forever. A 15-20 minute drive in slow traffic barely gets the temperature needle up to the quarter mark and even when full warmed it generally sits between the quarter mark and the halfway mark. Is this normal?

[The Smiths]

sounds like the thermostat is shot/not fitted

[Simon J]

I had been wondering much the same thing myself. But short of replacing the thermostat there's no way of telling I guess. Hmm...

[The Smiths]

start from cold, sit with the engine running high idle and check the water pipes to the radiator - if they warm up gradual there is an issue - should be cold until engine is up to temp and then stat opens and hot water is released to be cooled

there may be a little leakage of hot water - but should not be a lot and you should notice a distinct increase in temp.

[JamesH]

diesel engines do take longer to heat up than petrol - because they are more efficient they convert less energy to heat.

no tips to help though - I suffer the same in my works van, sadly work won't fund me driving a 4.0 XJ around 

[Simon J]

start from cold, sit with the engine running high idle and check the water pipes to the radiator - if they warm up gradual there is an issue - should be cold until engine is up to temp and then stat opens and hot water is released to be cooled

there may be a little leakage of hot water - but should not be a lot and you should notice a distinct increase in temp.

A cunning tip, that. Thanks. I may give this a try tomorrow. If there is an apparent problem, is the thermostat just a regular one or is it a unique Jeep item?

[Panic mechanic!]

if you just sit and lt it idle it will still take ages heat up, diesels need to be worked to get the heat going a lot of the time.

should readily available from most good motor factors

[Simon J]

should readily available from most good motor factors

From what my Jeep dealer tells me on the phone, the thermostats are not a simple replacement that you can buy in a motor factor but are integral with their housing and cost a cool 130 quid! Can this be true?

[Mike Pavelin]

Make sure the viscous heater works. This is basically a belt driven viscous coupling in a housing filled with coolant which boosts the coolant temperature in cold conditions to get the heater going faster. It has an electric clutch like one on an aircon compressor. From cold, it should engage until the engine warms up. It's the pulley on the top left when standing looking at the front of the engine.

[Dutch]

A can of petrol and a lighter comes to mind  

Gets coat and runs like fooook !


That nobody else mentioned this b4.....you guys are getting slow   

[tim_aka_tim]

Two things I can think of off the top of me head (if all is running OK).

1) Replace your antifreeze with Water Wetter.

2) Install an engine heater, they're pretty cheap.

[Pedroski]

My diesel Mitsubishi autobox is linked into the ECU which stops it shifting into OD top gear until the engine oil heats up. Gets the engine heated quicker and also reduces wear and tear. Maybe just don't use top gear until warm.

[Simon J]

I'll certainly check out the viscous heater, but neither it, nor the block heater (another good idea) will affect the running temperature which does seem to be a bit on the low side. I'm trying to find out if there is a Jeep agent in this part of the world to check out thermostat prices here otherwise I may bite the bullet and pick one up back home at Christmas. And is the Jeep block heater available in Europe or is it just a US item?

EDIT: I've just seen the post about not using top gear but again, while that might improve warm up times, it doesn't address the basic problem of seemingly low running temperature.

[isle of man]

Simon - what ambient temperature are we talking about???

[tim_aka_tim]

The block heater was available in Europe as an option. Let me see if we can find the part number....

[Simon J]

isle of man
For the last couple of months it has been 10-15 degrees (celsius) and only hit freezing the last couple of days. The warm up time is definitely slower since the temperatures dropped but it was never good and as I said earlier the gauge settles at just over the quarter mark, regardless of the ambient temp.

tim_aka_tim
Thanks for this offer. If I can find a Jeep dealer here I might try and get a heater as it's bound to get a lot colder come New Year.

[Mike Pavelin]

55037 539AA

[isle of man]

55037 539AA

Let me elaborate...

I suspect this is a JEEP part number that could resolve your problem.

[russell wrx]

cant you just take the stat out a check its closed when cold and open when dropped in boiling water?

[tim_aka_tim]

55037 539AA

Thanks Mike, I was having trouble finding the 2.8 part number. Got the 2.4 and 3.7, but not the CRD.
It that for a US or Euro engine? The US one would be 110 volt.

BTW, then I said block heters were cheap enough, that was for a generic one. The Jeep one could
well cost quite a bit of coin. owever, probably worth it in extreme cold to stop that goopy cold oil
from ballsing up your turbo.

[Mike Pavelin]

Not sure, I suspect it's US

[Simon J]

cant you just take the stat out a check its closed when cold and open when dropped in boiling water?

By all accounts it's not just the work of a moment to take the stat out, and even then what you're suggesting wouldn't tell you if it was opening at the correct temperature.

Re the block heater,  guys, any further clarification of part numbers would be great. Of course I could always use a US one and on 220 volts it would heat up the water in the block twice as quickly!

[Panic mechanic!]

a cheaper version.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/engine-preheater-block-heater-coolant-heater-HOT-FROG-/260705114212?pt=UK_Cars_Parts_Vehicles_Other_Vehicle_Parts_Accessories_ET&hash=item3cb33c5864

[carljh]

My GC is the old VM diesel, and over the last week when the night time temperature was -10 to -15 Celsius
when i was going home took the same time to warm up, the heater was a bit colder, apart from that just the same.
so looks like your thermostat could be faulty.
as to the price you were quoted, my brother has a mk3 ford mondeo and the thermostat on that is complicated
has valves on it to increase flow when you put your foot down so is expensive to buy and fit.
the price we pay for modern technology!

[Simon J]

It would seem that the block heater may only be an option in the North American cars as while it is referred to in the handbook that can be downloaded from the Jeep web site, it is not referred to in the UK handbook with my car. Of course it might be listed for a continental European vehicle - we shall see.

But given the price of a new thermostat I'm going to monitor the temperature carefully this week to try and decide whether it seems in need of replacement.

Thanks for all your comments and suggestions, guys.