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2002 Jeep Liberty Renegade (3.7 L) overheating with AC loss
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mjb2066
New User
Sep 23, 2013, 7:40 AM
Post #1 of 4
(2086 views)
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2002 Jeep Liberty Renegade (3.7 L) overheating with AC loss
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Hello,
I don't know much about cars and was hoping to get some tips, advice, or help from some of the members of this forum. Recently, the engine of my 2002 Jeep Liberty Renegade (3.7 L) has begun to overheat whenever I run into stop and go traffic. This occurs regardless of whether or not I have the AC running in the cabin. However, when I do have the AC running in the cabin, I notice that the engine overheating is accompanied by warmer / uncooled air coming out of the cabin vents. The engine temperature goes back to normal (just left of the middle of the gauge) and the AC starts working normally again, as soon as I'm able to maintain forward motion for the most part, even at surface road speeds (25-35 mph). Putting everything together, I assumed it was a problem with air flow over the condenser and radiator when not moving forward, and figured the electric radiator fan is only working intermittently. After doing some searching on various jeep forums, I decided to replace the radiator fan relay, as it was a cheap fix and seemed to have a long history of problems and design revisions. The problem persisted after changing the relay, so I began to suspect the electric radiator fan itself. Yesterday, I drove around for a while, pulled into my driveway, popped the hood, and let my engine idle. Shortly thereafter, I could feel the air coming out of the cabin vents warm and noticed the engine temperature climbing, but the fan never stopped working. Is it possible that the fan is still the problem (i.e. spinning too slow)? I have no way of knowing how fast it should spin and no way of knowing how to quantify how fast the fan is spinning. If it's not the fan, what else could be malfunctioning that would cause the car to overheat and a loss of AC when stopped for prolonged periods of time? Could it be the thermostat or the dual function high pressure switch? I thought the AC compressor was acting a bit strange when I had the hood open yesterday and the engine began to overheat. It was kicking off and on quite frequently. I could see the clutch engaging and disengaging.
Anyway, any help would be greatly appreciated. For the last month, the only way I've been able to work around this issue is by avoiding traffic and running high heat in the cabin when the engine does overheat. The old girl has run faithfully for 140,000 miles, but I'm probably going to be getting a new vehicle soon, so I don't want to spend a lot of money on repairs, if possible. But at the same time, I don't want to pass my problem on to the next owner.
Thanks,
Matt
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Discretesignals
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
Sep 23, 2013, 9:14 AM
Post #2 of 4
(2069 views)
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Re: 2002 Jeep Liberty Renegade (3.7 L) overheating with AC loss
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Does this have heavy duty cooling? You can tell if it is heavy duty because it will have an engine driven fan along with the electric fan.
You really need to pull into a shop and have them check that fan out to see if it is working properly. We can't tell you if it is spinning fast enough without looking at it.
You really shouldn't be driving it overheating because not only are you overheating the engine, but your also overheating the transmission. It is also causing the head pressure in the compressor to get really high. That will damage your compressor.
Since we volunteer our time and knowledge, we ask for you to please follow up when a problem is resolved.
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Hammer Time
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
Sep 23, 2013, 9:14 AM
Post #3 of 4
(2066 views)
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Re: 2002 Jeep Liberty Renegade (3.7 L) overheating with AC loss
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Of course it's possible that the fan is running too slow but you're already throwing parts at it without even knowing if thew fan works or not. Someone needs to look at this that knows how to recognize issues before you do some engine damage.
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We offer help in answering questions, clarifying things or giving advice but we are not a substitute for an on-site inspection by a professional.
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mjb2066
New User
Sep 23, 2013, 9:22 AM
Post #4 of 4
(2064 views)
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Re: 2002 Jeep Liberty Renegade (3.7 L) overheating with AC loss
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Thank you for your reply and advice. It does not have heavy duty cooling. It only has the electric fan. It will be going into the shop this week. I'll only have to drive it locally, which never causes any problems with the engine overheating.
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