Heater Problem... Again!

WarriorMP31B · **Posted:** Thu Jul 10, 2008 3:13 pm

So I know most of you are probably thinking "why the heck is he using his heater this time of year?!" Well, to make a long story short, my A/C did not work at the start of the Summer (it probably never did as I bought it in the fall and didn't use it). So I had the condenser replaced. $500ish. Shortly afterward I noticed my heater would blow out cold air when idling... So I took the Jeep back to the dealership and found that the right A/C vent was leaking and that my Heater Core was clogged. I had it flushed and filled... $300. Now, not three weeks after I had the latest work done to the KJ, my darn heat (checked it just for the heck of it today) blows out luke warm air even when I'm driving! I have an appointment at the stealership tomorrow. It'll be free if all they have to do is unclog the heater core, but if it's something else (which couldn't possibly have been a result of their previous work) I have to pay for the parts, labor, and the $89 fee to just hook the darn computer up to it. AH!

Sorry, I felt the need to vent my frustration with stealerships...

WarriorMP31B · **Posted:** Fri Jul 11, 2008 12:13 pm

Well, it may be time to retire my KJ... I just got a call from the dealership. Apparently there's a leak in the radiator ($600ish) and there's problems with the vents, switches, etc... and that could be about $1,200 for that... AH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!..... Decisions Decisions. It only has 52,000 on it and all of this!?

WarriorMP31B · **Posted:** Fri Jul 11, 2008 5:15 pm

Well I'm dishing out $550 for a new radiator. The other $1,200 was due to the fact that apparently the vents aren't moving properly for one reason or another. Basically they're saying that sometimes when I have the air directed at my feet, some comes out of the defroster. Well, I could care less about that as long as it blows the air towards my face when I ask it to, which it does. Now that I think about it, actually, my Jeep has done that since I got it a year ago.

Considering my Jeep is an '02 and has 52,000 miles on it and I've had to replace the condenser ($500) and flush the heater core ($300) and now this radiator ($550) and I've only had it for a year, what would be anybody's suggestion? Should I trade the vehicle in? My trade in value is only $6,000!

Part of me tells me to get a different vehicle, but I've grown to love the Liberty so much! Any suggestions anybody?

DryBones · **Posted:** Fri Jul 11, 2008 5:27 pm

you already answered your own question...you love it..enough to keep it? remember once things are fixed you will have a reliable vehicle with a service history that you know.

WarriorMP31B · **Posted:** Fri Jul 11, 2008 5:39 pm

Except where do the repairs end? Plus I'll know there's still something wrong with it that requires $1,200 worth of repairs. At this point I'm afraid to purchase anymore stuff for it for fear it'll just break immediately afterward...

DryBones · **Posted:** Fri Jul 11, 2008 6:09 pm

I say no more mods until you have a fully functional KJ. sink your mod money into getting it fixed right. Mods are toys but the KJ is your means of transportation first and foremost. At least that is what I keep telling myself :lol:

BTW, what's blocking the vents from moving? could this be a vacuum problem or was there ever any damage to this area of the vehicle that you know of? I had an Astro van once that had a tree limb fall on the windshield and after they fixed that the heater controls would function right. turns out the repair guys disconnected a linkage while fixing the window/dash area and put it back together wrong. Got a CARFAX report on it before you bought it? maybe it has a "history"?

Hopefully somebody will chime in about your heater control problems.

tjkj2002 · **Posted:** Fri Jul 11, 2008 7:21 pm

The HVAC controller uses vacuum to move the blend doors,if there is a problem in that controller that will be why your not getting hot air or cold air and where you want it.Try going to a junk yard and snagging a HVAC controller(the 3 knobs in the KJ) and see if that is just the problem. As far as the raditor you could have gotten a new one from JSC raditors for less then $200 shipped from DPGOffroad.After time the plastic side tanks will crack on our raditors,seems to happen more often if you wheel your KJ hard since the unibody will flex more and that will weaken and crack those side tanks.

And if your heater core got plugged,well what plugged the heater core then? 90% of the time it's from the fact your impeller on the water pump was eatin away from old coolant.

Guest · **Posted:** Fri Jul 11, 2008 8:16 pm

tjkj2002 wrote:

And if your heater core got plugged,well what plugged the heater core then? 90% of the time it's from the fact your impeller on the water pump was eatin away from old coolant.

But, GEE, it's only got 52,000 miles on 150,000 mile (OR FIVE YEAR) coolant!

tjkj2002 · **Posted:** Fri Jul 11, 2008 8:19 pm

ThunderbirdJunkie wrote:

tjkj2002 wrote:

And if your heater core got plugged,well what plugged the heater core then? 90% of the time it's from the fact your impeller on the water pump was eatin away from old coolant.

But, GEE, it's only got 52,000 miles on 150,000 mile (OR FIVE YEAR) coolant!

Yeah but you got to read the fine print with that 5 year or 150,000 mile coolant,after you read the fine print it turns into 3 years or 75,000 miles :wink:

.

Oh and last I checked it's 2008,that would put it 1 year past the useable(already way over shot coolant) life of the HOAT coolant in the most perfect conditions.

Guest · **Posted:** Fri Jul 11, 2008 8:20 pm

tjkj2002 wrote:

Oh and last I checked it's 2008,that would put it 1 year past the useable(already way over shot coolant) life of the HOAT coolant in the most perfect conditions.

That was what I was getting at;)

WarriorMP31B · **Posted:** Fri Jul 11, 2008 8:52 pm

The radiator has a leak... What bothers me is I had this problem shortly after spending $500 for a new A/C Condenser. I spent $300 to "fix" the problem that occurred almost immediately having a "completely unrelated system/part" replaced. When I say "fix" I mean that I spent money that solved the problem for about a day. Now I'm spending an additional $550 on a new radiator that was probably the problem to begin with and was probably damaged by them in the first place when they went in to fix the A/C Condenser. Not to mention my friggin' battery looks like it leaked a little (didn't before the A/C Condenser was replaced that I can remember) and the battery tray is cracked... All in all I'm fairly certain this isn't all a coincidence. Yes the A/C was broken and needed a new Condenser (which was probably like that when I bought it which is most likely why it wasn't certified), but this radiator problem just seems too darn expensive and lucrative for the dealership to be a coincidence.

My plan at this point is to have the vehicle back tomorrow and see what it's doing. If it's blowing out cold and hot air when I tell it to and for the most part where I need it to, I'll probably keep the vehicle as $6,000 towards a new vehicle just isn't worth getting rid of it. My friend said he could easily take a look at it (without using their fancy computer for $85) to diagnose what the problem with the blend doors is. He also said he could get inside the vehicle and fix the problem if I really cared enough about it. So unless I run into anymore problems when I get the thing back, I'll probably keep it. At this point I'm going to finish wiring my lights (they're just wired up temporarily for now) and finish mounting my Grille Guard (still missing the top mounting bracket that goes under the hood) until I deem the vehicle having been working properly long enough to go ahead with the purchase of the lift kit, etc...

hyedipin · **Joined:** Thu May 11, 2006 10:20 am **Posts:** 1667

I am with you, if I had the opportunity to get rid of mine, I would. I just paid $750 and got the radiator replaced becuase it wouldn't blow heat last winter, and now after 6 months or so (i forgot how long), A/C stopped blowing cold on Fan #1 setting. I always kept hearing horror stories about fan problems, etc..etc.. and never thought I would face them, but it looks like only at 45k it started. I really hate this. I loved my jeep, spent a lot of money on it, tried to keep it in tip top shape and this is what I get in return.

DryBones · **Posted:** Sat Jul 12, 2008 8:33 am

as Artie Lange would say........... WWWWAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH :lol:

WarriorMP31B · **Posted:** Sat Jul 12, 2008 3:54 pm

Just got the KJ back today. Total cost was $552.21. I asked to take a look at the vehicle prior to paying and I noticed quite a bit of coolant on the engine and in a puddle under the vehicle, so even though I figured it was simply spilled coolant, I dipped my hand in it and showed it to the Technician inside. Apparently he had spilled some and tried to hose it all out but couldn't get all of it because they didn't take the front end entirely apart in an effort to keep my Grille Guard in place. He was nice enough to hose the engine compartment down for about ten to fifteen minutes. I'll keep an eye on it for the next few days to see if it's leaking for some reason.

The A/C and Heat works great. The air will blow on the defroster and face when I ask it to, but when I tell it to blow only onto the feet (which I never do) it blows about half and half with the feet and defroster. Who cares! Certainly not me for $1,200! Considering how much I'd get for a trade in (the dealership actually said it would only be about $5,000 if I'm lucky) I think I'll keep the KJ baring any unforeseen problems.

tjkj2002, you were right on the money as far as where the radiator was leaking. I guess this was all a coincidence after all...

Heater Problem... Again!

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