Hello from Nordics

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FinKJ

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Moi is finnish and mean Hi! Greetings from Nordics. A new KJ owner here.

My name is Kalle and I live in Finland. We needed a 4x4 that can handle itself above the arctic circle in rough terrain all year round and somehow I ended up with a 2002 Jeep Liberty Sport 2.4. Back here it is branded Cherokee. Anyway, as I have learned 2002 is the year that produced plenty of KJ lemons. I do not know about the full truth about this one but it does have 228 000 kms / 142 000 miles in the odo and it has had a major (5500eur / 6700usd) engine rebuild done in 2013. Interior and exterior are mostly in exceptionally good condition.

This is a pretty stock unit. If and when Santa Claus some day appears again I could use a quality lift kit, wheels, tires and big roof rack. On summer we do camping trips with this Jeep above the arctic regions in Finland, Sweden and Norway. On winter it is a people hauler for back country snowboarding days and as our main transport in quite heavy duty conditions of low temps (-30C /-22F), rough roads, plenty of snow (+1m / 3.3 feet) and few hours of sunlight. It has a Webasto (petrol heater) and plug-in heater element for the engine and cabin heater. There is also need for two sets or tires since for the winter us Nordic people tend to go for a bit narrower studded tires.

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As usual this Jeep KJ is not stranger to all the xmas lights shining bright in the dashboard and I'll be writing about some of those issues in appropriate sections of this forum.
 

Billwill

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Welcome!.
Nothing wrong with 2002 KJs...I personally think that because it was new on the market they spent more time making sure the Jeep was put together well!

The 2.4 motor never took off too well though!
The alternator on the 2.4 gasser is similar to the CRD's alternator in that it has a one-way clutch on its drive pulley which can cause problems...bear this in mind if you need to replace this pulley.

Download the 2002 Jeep KJ Service manuals here....there is also a section called "2.5_2.8 export diesel" which is worth downloading....the diesel side does not apply to you but there is a lot of other information there that may help you out on your 2.4L.

Section 8W has the Wiring Diagrams.

The CEL codes causing your dashboard to light up can only be read by the Dealers's DBIII reader as a PCI bus is used....off the shelf readers cannot red this PCI Bus.

But you can read out codes using the KEY method.

Without starting the engine, rapidly turn ON and OFF the ignition 3 times. After the 3rd time leave the ignition ON.
The Odometer display will display the stored codes from oldest to newest. Write them down and refer to the documentation to see what these codes are telling you.

You cannot erase these these codes but they seem to fade away with time...the old codes may no longer be relevant.

I find on my 2002 Export 2.5 L CRD that I have to do this ON/OFF action 4 times!

Have fun!;)

www.colorado4wheel.com/manuals/Jeep/KJ/
 
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FinKJ

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Thanks for all the comments and tips.

I have and OBD reader that I can use to check the codes. I have also checked the codes through the 3x key turn process and they match. Like said, the fault codes and related issues were connected to the codes and mostly fixed with changing engine coolant tempo sensor and oil pressure sensor. I still occasionally get the engine coolant temp sensor warning and it seems to be connected to engine load / high rpms. So might be still some bad wiring or such. Jeep runs great now and mpg got a lot better as well as the hot starts.

I also have the owners manual, the service book and lots of service receipts from previous owners.

This liberty is no stranger to the crappy hand brake (self adjument) issue either. I ned to see, if I manage to do some sort of DIY spring tensioner fix to that.

I'm thinking of removing the mud flaps and running boards, any comments on that?
 

LibertyTC

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I've never really liked the in hat parking brake design. Give me a disc (no hat) lever action anytime.
The parking brake shoes pad inspection and then new spring kit needs to be adjusted properly with the the exterior spinners.
A visible inspection of pad conditions along with keeping salt away from rear brake plate rivets, inside & out is something I stay on top of.
I wish they would have incorporated a audible alert, if & when you drive off with the brake on. Those shoes can fall apart easily.
Mine seem to work ok, but I still use the slotted screwe driver trick to keep the hand brake holding well. The slack adjuster aint the brightest on the block.
In winter I have the Mopar Rubber mudflaps, that can still be found on ebay, no isses. Cuts down on salty spray, even "cool" to see the icicles. LOL
Running boards, I dont have or need. I'd be worried about corrosion issues in behind if I had them on?
I had my Jeep fully under coated, and try to keep the rust at bay.
 

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