Any Jeep/dodge 3.7 people who can advise me?

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
May 30, 2013
Messages
97
Location
Long Island, NY
This is a long post, with many spelling and other grammar mistakes. I have dyslexia so please go easy on me.

So i picked up this Jeep liberty, 2003 3.7 with around 160K miles on it, its very clean seems almost new inside, original owner used to to drive from eastern long island to the city in the winters. Never been off road, decent service history, no leaks, sounds, slips or bangs. No rust or human slime, pet hair or kid stank. Im sure i paid to much but winters here and need something for the snow...

ANYWAY in addition to my OCD and anxiety I have head gasket fears and ill explain why.

Dude told me his mechanic replaced the water pump and radiator because it overheated on him and his mechanic said there was a crack in the radiator and the water pump was leaking. He then told me he had his guy also check for head gasket issues after doing the water pump and radiator. He even let me take it on a 15 mile test drive in long island rush hour traffic and on back roads where i could get it up to speed. around a 30 min test drive, it was great.

So decided to buy it. Later that night i noticed the heat was very weak when in park or idle but at speed it was fine. I started to have nightmares about the issues i once had with a 2001 Chevy Malibu that had a blown head gasket, the first symptom were issues with heat.

So with the motor running i noticed one of the hoses for the heater core was cool and one was hot, i then slowly opened the overflow bottle and a bubble came out then the heat was fine. Then i took out my block tester kit, you know the kind with the blue juice and the plastic tube and tested for exhaust fumes in the coolant, it was very hard to get decent suction but when i did the fluid stayed blue.

There is no white spew in the oil, there is no steam from the back end

Then i used a scanner to test the operating temp several different times and some times it would get no hotter than 190f other times it would go up to 218 and the fan would come on and it would drop to around 201, all in all the temp is between 185 and 218 never hotter than that.

Drove the jeep all day today, put around 135 miles on with zero issues and then again tonight at idle the heat was weak, not cold like last night just no as HOT as it is when driving.

Also on the coolant bottle there is 3 chambers, the far side to the passenger wheel is FULL to the absolute top, the middle one fluctuates between the cold fill line and just to the top of the what i assume is the "hot" fill line and the one towards the drivers side is empty.


Does any and all of this sound normal? Am i just freaking out? Does it sound like there was hidden head gasket issues the P/O did not fully tell me about? Again, AM i just going insane?
 
Is it possible that the heater core is clogged/partially clogged and thus giving you the heat issues?
 
Ok, ill go off topic here and post a small list of somethings. Ill leave out the truly bad stuff.

when i was 8 years old a dog attacked me and i nearly lost my leg

Im a Juvenal diabetic who now as an adult have kidney disease

When i was a young man i witnessed the death of my mother, and two of my older brothers.

I suffered a spinal injury that resulted in not being able to walk for 6 moths, i had to [censored] in a bag and S""" in a pot, learn to walk again

BUT despite all that [censored], im still alive and i work, went to college, i have a wife of 22 years, a new car and i take care of my 85 year old father who [censored] his paints today.

Does that make any more of a victim than you or anyone else, probably not, because i have no idea what you deal with. THAT SAID, i just wanted to point out if there were a lot of spelling mistakes or grammar its because i have dyslexia not because im drunk posting, the comments about OCD and anxiety were just poking fun at my self to bring humor to the fact i seem frantic about my jeep.

SO can you help me with my issues regarding the powertech 3.7 v6 in my Jeep?
 
Last edited:
Well said OP, I've seen people comment "Are you drunk ?"' before, so I can see your caution. I felt your warning about possible errors, while not required, showed respect and concern for the reader. Thank you.

Sorry, I have no Jeep experience to help you with.

Good luck, I hope you get it sorted quickly and easily.
 
Last edited:
There are two more tests you can do to rule out the head gasket. One would be to pressure test the cooling system, and the second get a UOA next time you change your oil, and see if there's coolant in the oil. From the sound of it I think your head gasket is fine.

With regard to the heat, I'd flush out the cooling system thoroughly and while I'm at it forward and reverse the heater core. Then make sure tp fill it with the correct antifreeze for that year Liberty, and properly bleed the cooling system.

Many of us here suffer with automotive OCD, that's why we're here. Good luck, report back when you're done.
 
Originally Posted By: KCJeep
I would suspect the heater core as well. Especially if the coolant in it is green.


Being a 2003 it should have G-05 in it. Now is a good time to flush the entire system with a chemical flush and refill with G-05 and distilled.
 
Originally Posted By: Farmer
Originally Posted By: KCJeep
I would suspect the heater core as well. Especially if the coolant in it is green.


Being a 2003 it should have G-05 in it. Now is a good time to flush the entire system with a chemical flush and refill with G-05 and distilled.


Mixing or using the wrong coolant can be a problem. In the later model Jeeps OAT and HOAT were mixed and really screwed things up. With a good flush the OP might get lucky and not have the problems associated with the OAT HOAT mix. A chemical flush is a good idea, with emphasis on getting 100% of the stuff out of the cooling system and reverse flushing the heater core. If that doesn't work, and the thermostat is working properly a new heater core might be in the cards.
 
Originally Posted By: demarpaint
There are two more tests you can do to rule out the head gasket. One would be to pressure test the cooling system, and the second get a UOA next time you change your oil, and see if there's coolant in the oil.


Originally Posted By: demarpaint
Mixing or using the wrong coolant can be a problem. In the later model Jeeps OAT and HOAT were mixed and really screwed things up. With a good flush the OP might get lucky and not have the problems associated with the OAT HOAT mix. A chemical flush is a good idea, with emphasis on getting 100% of the stuff out of the cooling system and reverse flushing the heater core. If that doesn't work, and the thermostat is working properly a new heater core might be in the cards.


demarpaint is spot-on with his suggestions.

I will add that if overheated severely, the 3.7 has a tendency to drop valve seats later. Just keep a close eye on the temp gauge.

Overall, the 3.7 is a good engine. I've never had any problem bleeding ours after a coolant drain, but I've read that some people have had issues. Sounds like you might just have some air still working its way through.
 
Originally Posted By: zrxkawboy
Originally Posted By: demarpaint
There are two more tests you can do to rule out the head gasket. One would be to pressure test the cooling system, and the second get a UOA next time you change your oil, and see if there's coolant in the oil.


Originally Posted By: demarpaint
Mixing or using the wrong coolant can be a problem. In the later model Jeeps OAT and HOAT were mixed and really screwed things up. With a good flush the OP might get lucky and not have the problems associated with the OAT HOAT mix. A chemical flush is a good idea, with emphasis on getting 100% of the stuff out of the cooling system and reverse flushing the heater core. If that doesn't work, and the thermostat is working properly a new heater core might be in the cards.


demarpaint is spot-on with his suggestions.

I will add that if overheated severely, the 3.7 has a tendency to drop valve seats later. Just keep a close eye on the temp gauge.

Overall, the 3.7 is a good engine. I've never had any problem bleeding ours after a coolant drain, but I've read that some people have had issues. Sounds like you might just have some air still working its way through.


Thanks for the kind words. I have a buddy who owns a machine shop and told me about the 3.7L dropping valve seats. So far so good with mine.
Bleeding the cooling system properly is a good idea, if it's not it can have negative impacts on heat and operating temperature. I make sure the front of the vehicle is slightly higher than the rear of it, and the bleeder is opened up when adding coolant and bleeding the system. I found this funnel to be a great tool for bleeding the cooling system and not spilling any coolant during the bleeding process. It looks like another gimmick tool, it's not. It works quite well. https://www.amazon.com/Lisle-24680-Spill-Free-Funnel/dp/B00A6AS6LY
 
You got some great advice from others, I had a 3.7 in a Dakota owned it for 10 years the heat out put was crazy hot so the potential is there, I just drained and filled the radiator every 2 years with Zerex G-05. Good luck
TOTO.
 
Definitely flush the heater core. If it has overheated before my guess is that there is still gunk floating around in the cooling system. That was the case with mine, it had no heat after I bought it and the system was full of crud. I'd flush the heater core, maybe even do a system flush with that Prestone kit, then change the coolant and you should be good.
thumbsup2.gif
 
Originally Posted By: Chris142
There is a bleeder on the upper hose connection. Does it look like they removed it? May try a proper bleeding before panicking.


Someone tried messing with it and its stripped so thats not coming out any time soon.

Thanks for all the ideas and tips, tomorrow when its not raining ill plan on doing a flush, it also seems whoever did the water pump and radiator flushed the system and put regular green coolant in there (the coolant is a very bright day-glow green and smells a bit different than your average low cost green stuff) I guess that is not so bad if they got all the other stuff out of the system.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top