Random questions all in one thread! ;-p

[02LibertyLimitedChick]

Hey guys!!! It's been a while since I've been here! I miss ya'll! LOL
Well, I STILL have my Liberty. She's up to about 97,000 miles now....eek!
For the FIRST time since I've bought her (back when she had only 55,000 miles, in December of '06) I'm havin a mechanical issue. There's a crack in the side of the radiator, that I rigged with some hardening putty stuff, but I am now able to actually buy a brand new radiator. Is there a specific place that's best to order one from? Or should I just go to my local AutoZone and buy one?

Also, times got a lil rough, and I have MAJORLY slacked on general maintenance, which I NEVER EVER do.....but I will have the money in the next week to do a full tune up. Oil, plugs, wires, air and fuel filters, pcv valve. I think that's everything? Do you guys have any specific reccomendations as to what products to get?

Last question, I swear (for now) lol, I want to install a tow hitch. What is the best kit to get that's reasonable and economical for the Libby? Opinions MUCH appreciated. I won't be doing any heavy duty towing or anything, just a light trailer. THANKS GUYS!!!

OOOOH I forgot to add, my driver side rear window motor went out just a couple days ago! Where's a good place to order one? Thanks!

 

[Khaki-KJ]

Hey guys!!! It's been a while since I've been here! I miss ya'll! LOL
Well, I STILL have my Liberty. She's up to about 97,000 miles now....eek!
For the FIRST time since I've bought her (back when she had only 55,000 miles, in December of '06) I'm havin a mechanical issue. There's a crack in the side of the radiator, that I rigged with some hardening putty stuff, but I am now able to actually buy a brand new radiator. Is there a specific place that's best to order one from? Or should I just go to my local AutoZone and buy one?

Also, times got a lil rough, and I have MAJORLY slacked on general maintenance, which I NEVER EVER do.....but I will have the money in the next week to do a full tune up. Oil, plugs, wires, air and fuel filters, pcv valve. I think that's everything? Do you guys have any specific reccomendations as to what products to get?

Last question, I swear (for now) lol, I want to install a tow hitch. What is the best kit to get that's reasonable and economical for the Libby? Opinions MUCH appreciated. I won't be doing any heavy duty towing or anything, just a light trailer. THANKS GUYS!!!

OOOOH I forgot to add, my driver side rear window motor went out just a couple days ago! Where's a good place to order one? Thanks!

Tune-up Parts - Autolite Single Platinum Plugs, I just switched over from NGK V-Grooves and I am really impressed. Very smooth idle and very quiet engine. The NGKs were a little rough at idle and I could hear some engine ticking with them. I change plugs every second oil change, so the NGKs were still in almost perfect shape.

Fram PCV Valve part number FV408. It is sitting beside me on my desk waiting to into the Jeep this afternoon.

Air Filter is Amsoil. I have used K&N and it messed up a Mass Air Flow sensor on an old Mustang I had. I fixed it and switched to Amsoil and no problems. The Amsoil filter is about the same price s the K&N, but I find it "feels" better performance wise.

Oil - Amsoil, just because. Personal choice.

Jeeps have coil packs, so no plug wires are needed. If a coil pack goes bad, replace all 6 at the same time, not just the bad one. TJKJ can explain this better than I can.

The fuel filter is only available from Chrysler if I remember correctly.

Trailer hitch - I went with the Mopar hitch and wiring harness. There is a thread somewhere in one of the sections, not sure where yet. If I can find it I will post the link. I looked around a lot at different hitches and harnesses. In the end it made the most sense to go with the factory stuff. The harness is very easy to install and the hitch is like any other hitch insall, I just figured I would "keep it all in the family". I have heard good things about both the Draw-Tite and Hidden Hitch. They are both made by the same company, I do not have a link handy right now. If you are only doing light towing, then you will only need the 4 pin harness. If you want to tow more than 3500 pounds then you should get a 7 pin harness, but if you do not have the trip computer you will also have to buy an adapter for the harness to work properly. It is also available from Jeep.

Window Regulators - There are two threads over on LOST about this very subject. It may be that the nightmare is over. There is supposed to be a TSB that covers this problem issued Monday. Links;

http://www.lostkjs.com/forum/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=39643&highlight=

http://www.lostkjs.com/forum/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=39590&highlight=

Hope that helps.

 

[belvedere]

I've had good results with NAPA radiators...exact fit and function as OEM.

Everyone will have a different opinion on plugs, oil, etc. My '06 had nearly new Bosch Platinums when I bought it. They're not what I would have used, but I must admit, they seem to work fine. As for oil, just pick your favorite name-brand and stick with it. Yes, I have my preferences (just like everyone else!), but with today's SM-rated oils, there really aren't any BAD oils anymore. For filters, WIX or NAPA Gold are great. Purolators are fine, too. Just stay away from FRAM.

 

[JeepJeepster]

Hey!! Its been awhile! An old thread popped up the other day that you had posted in and I was wondering how everything turned out(With that job).

First off, the liberty doesnt have spark plug wires. It has a coil on each plug so all you need to change is the plug.

The fuel filter in part of a regulator and its $$. Its on top of the tank which means you can either drop the tank or use an 'access' panel in the cargo area(gotta pull the carpet up). According to Jeep this is a lifetime filter but we all know thats BS. Most people never think of replacing that beside tjkj and other OCD people.

Its really up to you but the transfer case oil, front+rear diff oil, and the oil in the ****** could be done also. Gotta be careful with those though, a lot of those 'quick lube' places will really give you a 'quick lube!' With a ****** that has that many miles I would not want to get a flush done. Just drop the pan and change the filters then refill. Make sure ONLY ATF+4 is used. That can also be used in the transfer case.

Front and rear differentials are ok with 80w-90 for regular driving and 75w-140 for towing.

PVC valve should be changed.

I bought my hitch from etrailer.com. Got the drawtite 7500/750lb version which is actually stronger than what the kj can handle. With a liberty that has that many miles it would be a pain to get that hitch on. The bolts are welded to the inside of the frame rail and usually needs a tap ran through the bolts to clean the threads out. A good shop would understand how to do that.

Hope everything has been going good!

Also, I didnt read what the above people said but it looks like its the same thing I said..

ohh, yea, napa is good.

 

[02LibertyLimitedChick]

Thanks guys! All of your info was very helpful........I shoulda remembered that the Jeep doesn't have wires.... Guess that tells ya how long it's been since it's had a tune up! I feel so bad, but I'll be totally caught up at least. It's had a K&N air filter in it since before I bought it, and it's been cleaned twice, but I think I may just replace it with a new one alltogether. I do always use Synthetic oil, usually Mobil, the high-mileage formula, and I get the Fram ToughGuard filter. Don't know if those are good or not per se'. I'll go check those threads on the window motors. I've been lucky. This is the first one to go out on me, and my truck is an '02. I'll also call Napa to check on a radiator. Other that that, I have had NO mechanical issues at all with this thing, and I've put ALOT of mileage on it. My ONLY ***** is the mileage, lol. My Aunt has her '08 Liberty still and she loves it.

JeepJeepster: I didn't end up gettin that job. Right now I am currently seeking employment, and it's rough, as the job market is CRAP here right now.....It really *****.....

 

[JeepJeepster]

Fram filters are known to bring the suck but from what Ive read the tough guard filters are better than the regular filters. I like to get the Pure-One Purolator filters from Advance Auto. Some other places may carry them but thats all we have in my home town. PureOne also has just the regular purolator filter which is also good, its a few $$ cheaper.

Mobil is a great oil.

 

[sleeve]

Being unemployed does have a certain suck factor going with it.

If you need to do things on the cheap:

1) Autolight platinum plugs [less than 3.00 each I think]
2) PureOne oil filter & penzoil synthetic oil [instead of Amsoil] or Mobil1
3) Ditch the KN air filter and get a wix stock replacement filter from NAPA
4) 1800radiator or similar online shops are a great way to get cheap replacements.

Save up for the transmission fluids and other items. Good luck and keep searching. The jobs are out there!

 

[TigerClaws]

I have a 2004 Libby i bought last month. As you all know, a jeep owner has to try it....
So i went in the snow to drive it, and of course, i got to the point where snow was rolling down under the front bumper. I did a bout 500 feet in there before i hit somekind of a bump that stopped me and made me get stuck there. When i put it on reverse, to see if i had any freespace to get on reverse, i saw the jeep had stalled... When i went to start it the oil heat light lit up (yeah the red one). So, i let go the ignition and figured id let it rest there and check how bad it was outside (let it cool down). Outside when i got to the front, i had a smell of oil,... , but the jeep's temperature was still in the middle so no engine heating at all. Is there a heat sensor for tansmission or differential that makes the jeep stall to protect it ? Cause im not sure, but i think it lost a bit of engine oil (thus explaining the oil smell). Samething with the coolant, no smell but a yellowish spot in the snow underneath the jeep where i was stuck. I've checkes coolant and oil and cold out, i need to put some. I swear it never went up in heat on the gauge, so im a bit comfused...

 

[TigerClaws]

After 2-3 min je Jeep did start back as normal and with use of traction aid and a shovel miracles happens its been a week now and i did it again only deeper so i needed 4 traction aid to get out and the same thing happened again .... Thought the jeep seems in perfect shape and runs great it is still making me wondering about it ...