I was always on the fence, leaning more on the side that LR Engineers knew better. Other than the off road mods, Ive always tried to keep the truck stock as possible, and discussions and opinions here, and elsewhere, were always 50/50 on this particular mod.
My truck developed a slow leak recently at the lower hose 4 way T, so I ordered a aluminum T off Ebay, then found myself adding an aluminum coolant tank to the cart. I had already installed an eBay all aluminum radiator (took some modding to get it in there) a couple months ago, and decided at this point with 240k on the clock, it was time to experiment.
Another factor in my decision is that I've been going through a couple thermostats in the last couple of years. Two years ago, my almost new T stat failed and after delivering a new one to my location for a field repair, the almost new T stat in my Son's 99 D2 (aka ShitShow-RIP) failed as we were headed home; his to the point where the overheat cracked the block . I've always used the TD 180 T stats forever and my running temp was averaging low 200's, and 210 plus in the drive through with the AC on.
I used the D2 kit from Inlinethermostats.com with a 170 T stat. I'm in N. Alabama and the summer is around the corner. It's March 10th, 2025 today and our high was 65 degrees. I bought a 160, and extra gaskets as glove box spares. Installation took about 3 hours total. The aluminum radiator had been a choice over OEM given that I had a past, plastic overflow hose tip broke on me once.
Only gripe on the Ebay tank is that it doesn't sit level. I'm going to mod the tank later to get it level but otherwise, its functional. The Ebay radiator took a lot of modding; grind the bottom post so it would sit in the frame holes, adding rubber washers to same, fabricating brackets to fit the factory mounts, and a few zip ties to get the plastic trim/air deflectors in place. Luckily, the fan shroud only need a small bit of trimming at the lower corners to fit. The lower hose 4-way T was spot on.
Final thoughts. I'm very happy with the Inlinethermostat kit and the results ref the temps. I'm actually ecstatic with the near 30 degree difference. There is noticeable, increased hose pressure when hot. I used clamps at the 4 way T and lower hose splice, and hose clamps elsewhere. My truck runs like a top (240K) and I wish I had done this mod years ago, especially on the kid's truck we lost to a bad T stat.
Hope this helps. mv
My truck developed a slow leak recently at the lower hose 4 way T, so I ordered a aluminum T off Ebay, then found myself adding an aluminum coolant tank to the cart. I had already installed an eBay all aluminum radiator (took some modding to get it in there) a couple months ago, and decided at this point with 240k on the clock, it was time to experiment.
Another factor in my decision is that I've been going through a couple thermostats in the last couple of years. Two years ago, my almost new T stat failed and after delivering a new one to my location for a field repair, the almost new T stat in my Son's 99 D2 (aka ShitShow-RIP) failed as we were headed home; his to the point where the overheat cracked the block . I've always used the TD 180 T stats forever and my running temp was averaging low 200's, and 210 plus in the drive through with the AC on.
I used the D2 kit from Inlinethermostats.com with a 170 T stat. I'm in N. Alabama and the summer is around the corner. It's March 10th, 2025 today and our high was 65 degrees. I bought a 160, and extra gaskets as glove box spares. Installation took about 3 hours total. The aluminum radiator had been a choice over OEM given that I had a past, plastic overflow hose tip broke on me once.
Only gripe on the Ebay tank is that it doesn't sit level. I'm going to mod the tank later to get it level but otherwise, its functional. The Ebay radiator took a lot of modding; grind the bottom post so it would sit in the frame holes, adding rubber washers to same, fabricating brackets to fit the factory mounts, and a few zip ties to get the plastic trim/air deflectors in place. Luckily, the fan shroud only need a small bit of trimming at the lower corners to fit. The lower hose 4-way T was spot on.
Final thoughts. I'm very happy with the Inlinethermostat kit and the results ref the temps. I'm actually ecstatic with the near 30 degree difference. There is noticeable, increased hose pressure when hot. I used clamps at the 4 way T and lower hose splice, and hose clamps elsewhere. My truck runs like a top (240K) and I wish I had done this mod years ago, especially on the kid's truck we lost to a bad T stat.
Hope this helps. mv
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