Wrangler 392 Blown Head Gasket

[Under-Pressure]

So I got my truck back, running as good as new. For now, hopefully for good Can you believe that even after my vehicle overheated blowing a head gasket, Replacing 2 warped headers & replacing all 8 injectors the dealer would not warranty my thermostat since they didn’t get an error code. I stressed to them that at no point did my vehicle alarm me of it overheating. If I wanted to replace it would cost me almost 600 bucks. I ordered the part for $60 online. It’ll take me 15 min to swap it, if that. Dealers should have a little more discretion, because they didn’t have an error code what a joke!

$600.00 to replace a thermostat? And Stellantis dealers wonder why people don’t trust them.

 

[stumblinhorse]

$600.00 to replace a thermostat? And Stellantis dealers wonder why people don’t trust them.

Ah, it is not a brand specific thing. My buddies new f250 got a rock cracked head light… $3000 out of pocket on a 2022 truck…

 

[Under-Pressure]

Ah, it is not a brand specific thing. My buddies new f250 got a rock cracked head light… $3000 out of pocket on a 2022 truck…

Insane what some of these LED lights cost. But $600.00 for a Hemi thermostat. Robbery.

 

[stumblinhorse]

Insane what some of these LED lights cost. But $600.00 for a Hemi thermostat. Robbery.

Pretty standard. My buddy just paid that for his 3.6 jk. And the one they put in didn’t work and left him stranded at 250° on the side of the road driving home from the dealer. $600 includes the part, coolant, disposal and labor. And if @Ron392 got a t-stat for $60 that is great, the dealer charges much more. If that isn’t a mopar branded t-stat, do not install it.

 

[Guest2157]

Pretty standard. My buddy just paid that for his 3.6 jk. And the one they put in didn’t work and left him stranded at 250° on the side of the road driving home from the dealer. $600 includes the part, coolant, disposal and labor. And if @Ron392 got a t-stat for $60 that is great, the dealer charges much more. If that isn’t a mopar branded t-stat, do not install it.

Thanks for your response, here was my quote and what I paid for an oem T-stat. I’ll take me maybe 15min if that to install.

 

[stumblinhorse]

Thanks for your response, here was my quote and what I paid for an oem T-stat. I’ll take me maybe 15min if that to install.

For peace of mind when you get the t-stat, make sure it works before you install it.

 

[Guest2157]

For peace of mind when you get the t-stat, make sure it works before you install it.

Do I just put it in hot water?

 

[Ted392]

Do I just put it in hot water?

Yes. Use temp sensor to check when it opens and that it opens all the way.

 

[LTZ470]

I bought a Polaris RZR in late 2007 first year model 2008, I fabricated a K&N intake on it that took off in the RZR world and actually K&N was discontinuing the CIA Intake, I called them and headed them off at the pass, they sold thousands of them for Polaris RZR's in the next few years...long story short I ran the K&N and cleaned and lubricated it religiously riding almost every sand dune in the USA from Cali to Oklahoma, Little Sahara, Sand Mountain, Glamis, Buttermilk, Gordons Well, Mescalero, Coral Pink Sand Dunes, Kermit Sand Hills, Hot Wells, etc...
In 2017 10 years later before I sold it, my brother purchased a 2011-12 RZR 800S (supposedly more HP) we raced again and again, the 2007-2008 800 RZR either out run him or stayed even side by side he never pulled me...
If the K&N Filter was so bad the rings would have been gone in it, I knocked sand out of that filter every time I cleaned it...so I think maintenance has a lot to do with K&N Filters...I have run them for 20+ years and never had a failure or damage to any engine I ran them on....JS....

Revised/Improved K&N Apollo Air Intake

Had everything just took the time to modify/improve... Intake side of Filter... Throttle Body Side of Filter... Sand/Dirt knocked out of Filter... Clean inside of Filter... Clean inside of filter intake... Donaldson Dust Extractor installed ($1.71 each) drilled 7/8" hole and stuck it in...

www.rzrforums.net

 

[Casper]

Nobody said K&N are "so bad". As with any tools, they work for some applications and don't work so well for other.

Note that even Mopar itself notes that their own CA are not for dusty environments.

For me are not worth the trouble. But you seem to love them so enjoy doing that.

 

[redrubi]

This makes no sense on so many levels. Not including the Top Tier fuel. 6 injectors caused 2 heads to warp on a 392 with 15k mi on it and there were no engine codes showing it was running hot? If it was getting so much fuel was the oil diluted with gas? Was there coolant in the oil or oil in the coolant in the oil?
How bad was it smoking when you were driving it to the dealer?

Seriously $600 for a thermostat on a motor that is already torn down, not to mention the mix of fuel, oil and coolant being mixed due to 2 warped heads and flowing through out the motor.

Maybe the prior owner decided to do a little forced induction
Is there a issue with this happening with other Jeeps or the thousands of 392`s that are in other vehicles?

It`s great that you have it back and I would watch the coolant temperature and check the oil for coolant and fuel and the same with the coolant.

 

[LTZ470]

Nobody said K&N are "so bad". As with any tools, they work for some applications and don't work so well for other.

Note that even Mopar itself notes that their own CA are not for dusty environments.

For me are not worth the trouble. But you seem to love them so enjoy doing that.

Yes sir being able to clean the dust out of the filter and reinstall at anytime is an advantage, the extra noise disadvantage for me and not welcome, you're 100% correct on the right tool for the application...can't say I have a love for anything I have to repeatedly service, I do like having that option though...

 

[Drachenfels]

If it was me, and I do it with all my vehicles, I run the coolant and oil temp display at all times. In my jeeps I bring up the off road pages as soon as they are available. What caused your issue was temperature. You will see a problem quickly on off road pages. Shut off the vehicle if coolant hits 250° or oil hits 300°. My 3.6 would hit those numbers and I would shut it off for a bit. My hemi Jeeps, I have never seen over 245° coolant or about 275° oil.

Ancient thread - but if anyone is interested in continuous monitoring of the oil and coolant temps, you can get a ScanGauge III and set alarms for when either of those temps exceed whatever level you set. Easily purchased from Amazon w/ prime shipping (free return if you don't like it), it plugs into your OBDII port and can be mounted on dash/windshield, and display anything available in the OBDII sensor suite. Most engine parameters are available, many transmission parameters are available - it's a great tool to see EXACTLY what is going on.

I use one on our 2024 diesel MB Sprinter to monitor regeneration of the DPF filter and exhaust temps (the filter in the exhaust catches soot; when it hits 100%, it triggers a regen and burns up the soot, pushing some exhaust temps from typical 500 degrees to about 1100/1300 degrees). If you stop the vehicle while this is going on, you can overheat stuff you don't want to; so I monitor regen cycles and another 8 data points all the time - as well as having alarms set to trigger if temps are exceeded.

It can be transferred between vehicles - just plug into OBDII port, configure for that year/model/powertrain, and you can see all the sensors you can monitor. Yes, I paid retail for mine. Yes, I'm a happy user and would do it again tomorrow for peace of mind (you can see what's going on, not just an idiot light saying "GAME OVER"). Yes, it's a little bit over kill, but if we weren't interested in that IMHO, we wouldn't be here. /grin.

Quick Reference Link: https://www.amazon.com/ScanGauge-3/dp/B0BFBQZZMC?tag=jeep392-20