What is the coolant capacity for a 2002 Jeep Liberty?

Answer 1

Check your owners manual, it is 10.7 Liters. There is also a very specific way to purge the air from the cooling system once you drain it. We learned this the hard way over the weekend. Here are the important things to do.

1- The vehicle has to be cold. After old coolant is flushed, make sure all drains are closed and remove the lid to the plastic coolant reservoir (close to the passenger windshield). Disconnect the engine end of the large hose at the top driver side of the radiator. Pour a 50/50 solution of water/coolant into the hose to fill the radiator. Gently rock the vehicle to help get any trapped air out. Reconnect the hose.

2- Fill the coolant reservoir to the "cold fill" level with the same 50/50 solution. Put the lid back on with a good seal. Start the Liberty and let it idle with the heat on full blast. Watch the temp! Gently press the gas and keep the tac between 2k-3k rpm's. The engine temp should increase gradually and then fall back to normal as you do this over 5-10 min. Turn the engine off, let it cool completely.

Watch the coolant reservior, boiling in there is bad, but you are purging the air so be patient. It should have filled itself pretty full and then as it cools it will pull all the fluid into the engine. After cooling and drawing some (all) of the coolant, take the lid off the reservior and repeat 1-2 at least 3-4 more times.

You will have to this several time, do not rush and always let the engine cool completely before you break the seal on the lid to refill coolant. Again, the Liberty takes 10.7 Liters of coolant and you can only refill a little at a time. You have to get all of the air out or you will continue to get hot.

3- After you have done the refilling and while idling the temp stays pretty normal and no more fluid needs to be filled, take it for a short test drive. Bring all of your tools and coolant with you. Put the heat on full blast while you drive and you can watch the air works itself out as the temp gradually raises then falls back to normal.

Good Luck! Don't forget the cheapest and easiest fix to the overheating problem is to replace the coolant reservoir cap and the thermostat. Be sure the thermostat is installed with the spring TOWARDS the engine. DO NOT strip the bolts to the thermostat housing or you will taking your whole front end off to drill those puppies out :)