UNRESOLVED: Unusual overheating problem with wife's 2002 Jeep liberty sport?

Question

Car overheats intermittently. Have done the following:
Jeep dealer replaced thermostat - Jeep dealer replaced resevoir, and cap, pressure tested, system tested good ($460). - I replaced water pump, I replaced fan clutch, I blead cooling system, Car will run at normal temp for 30 miles, then overheat. I've spent $600 so far and can't keep paying to replace parts without problem being fixed. IS NOT THE GAUGE, ENGINE GETS REALLY HOT. I posted this last week and received good suggestions but none resolved problem. Am I missing something? I can sometimes rev engine and engine will cool for a while. Thanks and please help. email: [e-mail]

Answer 1

well,lets see.except for the radiator being plugged up.which i would think they would have found at the dealer.while i was a dealer tech for the past 20 years.i had two times that a vehical did this.one was that it had a non vent cap on the radiator or wrong cap for the car.and when it warmed up going down the road it sucked the radiator hose flat ,like a pancake,thus no flow.which i found by driving the car with the cap loose to the first notch,and no overheating.then i changed the rad hoses and cap and it was fine.rubber hoses break down inside,from old coolant.and look fine outside.the other time was a motor that had quite a few miles on it.and had not had regular flushes.and the rad and block were plugged up.took three times of flushing the block,and having the rad replaced to fix it.my other question is,does the car use coolant?do you have to fill the res quite often.possible you have a bit of a headgasket issue.that only shows up hot.if you let this sit and run.does the car just go right to overheating.as it warms.and does the fan come on.if elect.should be on by about 210 degrees or so.if you take the cap off and let it sit and run,will it still overheat.if not check the hoses and cap.realistically going down the road at 45 miles an hour,forces more air than the fan,at 45 the fan is pretty much useless.so that leaves airflow through the rad,or the block or the rad plugged up.or the rad hoses collapsing.good luck.email me and let me know what happens.i like problems.i have a site for this.

Answer 2

The cooling system should be pressure tested again for leaks. Free of charge since they failed to fix the problem the first time. That vehicle may also have an auxiliary electric fan that aids in engine cooling so that fan should be checked for operation. Does it overheat while driving, I mean on the highway would it still overheat? You could have a defective radiator, as someone else pointed out you could have bought high end aftermarket parts instead of allowing the dealership to throw parts at the vehicle and not fix the problem. If you don't mind spending money then go ahead and get a new radiator and new hoses. Don't forget that the temperature gauge sensor could be faulty as well unless you verify engine temps with a thermometer. Good luck.

Answer 3

All that money and parts and not one "mechanik" looked at the radiator ??? That's what you get from a dealer, all they know is warranty work. With cold engine , remove radiator cap, start engine, let idle till warms up to operating temp. Look in radiator fill opening for water movement, if thermo opens should see activity of some kind. Let idle for few minutes then turn off engine. feel the inside of the radiator with your hands and check for cold spots. If there are places that are hotter than others you need to have the radiator rodded. take to a radiator shop not a "mechanik" If someone had looked at the radiator FIRST it might have saved a lot. Lesson learned.

Answer 4

well by the sounds of it, it sounds like you have a blockage somewhere in the cooling system, or the thermostat is defective. Im a parts manager for a jeep dealer and ive been with chrsyler for 13 yrs and never heard a liberty do that??? weird I would take out the stat and put it on the stove in a pot of water and make sure the stat is opening, if so gotta be a blockage maybe radiator....good luck

Answer 5

well, you say it overheats immediately, then later you say it takes 30 miles to overheat. which is it?by the sounds of what you say you replaced, may i suggest you look at the radiator ? about the only thing left. is the drive belt tight? slipping? look at the fin area of the radiator. is it loaded with leaves, and crap that hinders air flow? look between the a/c condenser and the front of the radiator. shine a strong light from behind the radiator toward the front and get down at eye level. can you see light? if you can't see light, then air may have trouble getting thru.electric cooling fan (if equipped) working? some veh. have a mechanical fan and an electric fan.

Answer 6

I suggest you flush the system. There could be a slight flow problem that doesnt show up when first started. It could be some loose sediment that doesnt give you problems until it is loosened by runnning the engine for a while. Then after its loosened it clogs up the system.

Answer 7

The best answer you might ever get is to sell your wife's jeep and get a TOYOTA.
Jeep is known to have "unknown" problems. These problems are mainly due to defective Engine Control Units (ECU). The ECU in engine controls fuel flow and other things in the engine. It might be possible that the engine runs rich for a while which increases the pressure as well as the temperature in the engine.
Again, instead of paying thousands of dollars on repairing a Jeep, I strongly recommend that you buy a Japanese Car. They are known to be much more reliable than their American counterparts.

Answer 8

im not sure on jeeps,but on chevys there are some years that have reversible flow water pumps,double check your application,also recheck your fan clutch and see if it is the correct one also.

Answer 9

all the money you have paid out you could have gone to summit racing and got a good aluminum high flow radiator and fixed the problem.