02 overheating

[conniepj]

I have an 02 Liberty and it continues to overheat. My husband replaced the thermostat last week and it ran fine for 3 days then went back to overheating. i took it to the neighborhood shop and they said that the fluid was not circulating and that it needed to go to the radiator shop. i took it to the radiator shop today and they said the red coolant from the factory had to be flushed out - but it may be too late due to damage it causes. so they power flushed the radiator and told me to try that. i drove it for about 15 miles and the temperature started climbing again. help me please!

 

[Ry' N Jen]

Sounds like you need a new waterpump! That or you have an air lock I'm your cooling system.


Jen

 

[LibertyTC]

X2 with Jen on water pump, the hint is lack of circulation.
The red factory correct coolant is called HOAT. I hope that after who ever did your flush that they used this coolant..otherwise you are going to have to flush it again and get HOAT back into system! Coolant should be flushed every 5 years.
You could try to bleed air air from system by removing the coolant reservoir cap when cold, and let jeep run for about 15 minutes then replace the reservoir cap.
Chances are though you have some higher mileage on the Jeep and still have the original water pump that needs replacement.
Post back what happens....and if you got the right coolant...

 

[ridenby]

02 has a air bleed on driver/left side where hose comes to engine.

 

[LibertyTC]

Good one Ridenby on 02 bleed valve.
Even though a circulation problem points towards a pump,the other thing to be said that may be obvious, but was not mentioned, is the cooling fan (electric) in most cases.
Check to ensure that when AC is on... that the electric fan comes on!
Or when engine get hot that the fan also comes on!
Overheating can easily be caused by a non operative cooling fan.
Without proper circulation and correct pressurization (no leaks) the Kj can easily overheat.
Did the rad shop do pressure test?

 

[Billwill]

As Libertytc said, I hope they put the red HOAT coolant back into the system...this is the correct one for the Liberty. If not...you had better have a serious word with the shop that said the red coolant "causes damage" and get them, or someone more competant, to flush out the system again, put in the correct amount of HOAT and bleed the system again.

 

[diyman]

Just thinking out loud...

- badly gunked up radiator. Time to change?
- faulty reservoir cap ( mostly overlooked )
- seized tensioner ( less likely anyway, one would surely hear it.. )
- hoses ( almost ten years on them )
- and last of course, water pump

I'd also keep an eye on oil ( coolant contamination...) but, that's not likely...

 

[conniepj]

@ridenby - how do you fix the air bleed? the liberty has 88k miles on it. oil gets changed every 3000 miles and the vehicle is well maintained. my husband can do a lot of the more basic type repairs, so we hope to avoid a high end dealership repair

 

[ridenby]

@ridenby - how do you fix the air bleed? the liberty has 88k miles on it. oil gets changed every 3000 miles and the vehicle is well maintained. my husband can do a lot of the more basic type repairs, so we hope to avoid a high end dealership repair

It is just a pipe plug that can be removed when refilling system to help purge air. I would bet on waterpump being bad on yours.

 

[TomO]

My '04 was overheating due to a bad electric radiator fan. The fan would run fine when cool enough, but would not start once things got above 200 degrees or so.

 

[bk31]

Hi all, first post but been lurking. I'd just like to concur with the sentiment regarding the electric radiator fan. I have '03 3.7 with heavy duty fan and clutch, and had several incidents of overheating. I thought maybe the fan clutch was the issue, but every shop I took it to said it was working just fine. First had radiator and cooling system flushed and pressure tested, didn't help. When it boiled over one time changed the thermostat, but it still climbed. The water pump wound up going and replaced that. Finally after a few more times of it climbing while in gridlock and having to open the heating vent to draw off the hot air, I suggested to my mechanic to check the electric fan. Sure enough, it was bad and he replaced it. Since that time (3 months of Virginia summer and a trip up I95 to New York included), it hasn't shown signs of overheating. Why I never realized it earlier, I don't know because the electric fan is relatively loud, but I'm glad that it's been done. Also, since the flush I've used nothing but regular green antifreeze. My engine temp stays a shade below the mid point, and has as far as I can remember (aside from when it had been overheating). Just curious what others are seeing as their normal operating temps.

 

[LibertyTC]

Glad to hear your experience on the electric fan to keep it cool.
What I am not glad to hear about is the use of regular green antifreeze. Ethylene Glycol.
Besides damaging the plastic impeller on the water pump, I can't even image what happens without HOAT regarding Ph balance inside the Motor with aluminum heads and iron block.
Only HOAT should be used as specified by Chrysler in our KJ's.

 

[bk31]

So...I'm guessing your suggesting I make the switch back? She has 130K on her, and I'd say 40 of it is with the green stuff.

 

[yellocoyote]

Yes - normal green coolant is bad news for KJ's. Zerex makes the HOAT coolant that's needed in the Liberty.

 

[LibertyTC]

Also Known as G-05 By Valvoline: Some are at the 50/50 mix already....read on http://www.valvoline.com/products/brands/zerex/antifreeze/42#b
Some may be at the 100 percent strength that is what ya need if DIY.
Should be flushed out every 5 years, normally.
If I had the other stuff in there I would...take it to dealer!
The dealer has the correct flush machine to do the job right. They use the Hoat flush system and re-install new Hoat at 70% (-64c) strength aprox with distilled water only.

If you are DIY: Flush it for twice as long, drained out, and then use the Chrysler Hoat as it is 100 percent strength, which is what you need if you have water flushed it, without draining the block by pulling motor drain plugs.

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[jimymc]

My '04 was overheating due to a bad electric radiator fan. The fan would run fine when cool enough, but would not start once things got above 200 degrees or so.

My fan went bad too. You wouldn't notice it getting hot until you are going slow for a little while. When driving faster than 35 or 40 mph the air flow through the radiator is enough to cool it, unless it is a hot day and the AC is on. If it is only overheating at slower speeds then I would suspect the fan. Mine fan would turn until it got hot and then it would seize. Happened to me last summer in Alaska and the closest fan was in Seattle. X2 on the HOAT coolant. Wrong coolant will destroy the water pump.

 

[TomO]

Yep, same symptoms on mine.
Troubleshooting was a little rough because when the fan motor was cool, the fan would run just fine. I had pulled both relays and was jumpering across the NO contacts to test. Both speeds work perfectly unless I let the temp rise in the engine compartment. Then the fan would not run at all.

I spent a lot of time checking grounds, other connections, etc. Finally I got the fan good and hot then applied power and ground directly to the fan motor and again saw that it would not run. That was when I was convinced that a new motor was in order.