Thinking of buying 07 or 08 Liberty. Advice.

[Johan]

Hi first post and would love some advice/feedback as a jeep novice.

I am planing a winter road trip from Toronto to the top of the North West Territories (Arctic Ocean) and back, 16000km round trip roughly. It will be very cold, hardest part will be Dempster highway and a little ice road driving. Both are fine to drive unless bad weather hits. Will need something reliable on a budget that hopefully wont leave me stranded.

Looking at the 07 or 08 Liberty as seems well priced.

Anyone have experience driving the Liberty in extreme cold? Main worry.

Roughly how many KM's do you get out of tank? Handy to know for budget.

Love to hear your thoughts. Thank you.

 

[HoosierJeeper]

I've had mine in -27F before, no issues. Block heater helps a lot but I think all Canadian Libertys have that. I get about 250 miles from a tank in the extreme cold, about 12-13MPG but that's with a ski rack on.

 

[Johan]

Thank you Hoosier.

Great info, yes thinking about block heaters as are often not fitted in my area.

 

[Tinkrr]

I have driven to Dawson city in early May, from the GTA. We encountered a lot of snow and spent qite a bit of time following Pilot trucks in road rehab areas.
In extreme cold my 05 3.7 litre gets more like 7-8 MPG

I would recommend that you purchase a battery blanket, block heater is nice but your jeep won't start with a flat battery.

I worked line construction on a winter road only project -40 to -50. Each vehicle was outfitted with quick disconects in the heater lines and all parked face out in a common yard, fueled up,block heaters plugged in. Each morning two men with trucks left running overnight would arrive at 06:00 hs., connect 3metre hoses to two other trucks and circulate hot antifreeze though the engines for ~10/15 minutes. Once they had all four vehicles running they would connect to four others, and so on till by 07:30 when the work crews showed up every vehicle was running and warm.

Enjoy your trip!

 

[M38 Bob]

I may be a total brand traitor, but I'd put Toyota at the head of the list with GM a bit behind. Probably even Ford ahead of MOPAR for reliability.

Bob


EDIT; my Jeep was bought just for a toy, can't think of them much any other way.

 

[Johan]

Thanks Tinkrr.

Great advice. Nice to hear that you have traveled that way in your jeep. Yes was looking at the blankets, good tip, not sure what to do about a block heater, did you need/have one? Will have to look into having one fitted as know want find one pre-installed out this way.

The trip is planned for March up to Tuk, NWT.

The Liberty does seem quite hungry for gas.

P.s I see you live close to me. Would be making a similar trip to photograph and film.

Cheers. J.

 

[Johan]

Thanks Bob.

Yes don't won't to stir the pot but will consider all advice, appreciate.

The 07/08 liberty's cost over here is decent for lower KM. Like the look of it for the money, quite a few for sale to choose from. My previous neighbor has an 04 and she seemed to like it. Drove it daily.

Again not to stir the pot but did look at Ford Escape is an option, Toyota's are pricey, (could buy an older one with higher milage) Hyundai Santa Fe also looked at though more money.

After the trip will keep to lug gear around.

 

[k99jk99j]

I have both a gen 1 and gen 2 liberty. My advice is the 08 and up. Alot more room and comfort. Also a lot more refined, but.... more expensive. It gets to -20 here in winter on occasion and i haven't had any cold weather problems. As with any used vehicles, inspect carefully, condition is a sign of your future success.

 

[Johan]

Right, thank you k99jk99j. Will check out the 08's. There is a nice 07 for sale at a dealer near my house that will check out. The 08s do look promising from research. Will see what I can find.

 

[Tinkrr]

I checked my jeep's build sheet it says " built to Canadian market specs " that includes a block heater as Hoosier Jeeper said earlier

 

[sota]

07's have a mechanical transfer case. 08's have an electronic one. which would you prefer to have when it's -40F outside. (i'll give you a hint as to my preferences... I don't like electronic things.)

 

[Birdman330]

07's have a mechanical transfer case. 08's have an electronic one. which would you prefer to have when it's -40F outside. (i'll give you a hint as to my preferences... I don't like electronic things.)

This right here, having dealt with an electronic transfer case I'll never go to a vehicle with one again.

 

[Cardhu]

Block heater would be nice but an Odyssey PC 1500 34/78 battery would be a better choice for a short term trip if your never going to use the block heater again.

Replace your power steering high pressure hose before you leave and you'll make it a year with those temperatures.

 

[u2slow]

Realistically, our '05 Liberty is a bit small for me, but just right for the gf. (I feel like I'm playing Mario Kart driving it :gr_grin I would pick a Commander myself if it came with a manual trans - can be had with V6 or V8 power.

Most recent 450km summer highway commute netted 18mpg (US) or 21mpg (CDN).

Back when we were Jeep shopping, the other candidate was the Xterra. 4runner had dropped the manual trans by '03. Escape didn't make the cut because I didn't want to wrench on a fwd 'car' that had rwd assist :thumbsdown: Jeek JKU and Hummer H3 carried too high a pricetag (although may not be so bad now). The last of the S10 Blazer ZR2 were attractive, but really small being only a 2dr.

 

[LibertyTC]

Any good 4x4 to the North. I would do it in my KJ Jeep no problem, because it is already properly equipped!!
-35c to -55c is heads up on any vehicle.
First off, full synthetic engine oil, like Mobil 1 extended performance or Penzoil Platinum. Then onto gear oils. Dino gear lube can be way too thick and will suck away mileage quickly in rear & front diff. Even though I don't recommend synthetic gear lubes, at those extreme cold temps, it is a consideration, if you are parking outside for any length of time.
Battery, forget lead acid, time for a good AGM battery like an Odyssey or an Exide Edge.
They offer tons of Cold cranking amps in the extreme temps.
Ya a block heater & battery blanket wont hurt either.
Ethanol gasoline's absorb moisture which can freeze in lines, so lots of bottle of gas line anti-freeze with a moisture remover is a must have as well.
Tires, dedicated AT snows or Snowflake rated (good year wrangler Mt'r) wont leave ya stranded and have real tough kevlar belt & sidewall for protection.
Even with kevlar treads & snowflake rated,
Goodyear WranglerAll-Terrain Adventure With Kevlar would be a good choice too!