Trying to find correct radiator fan

[shad0wxcalibur]

So I'm new here and I'm actually not on here for myself as I don't own a Liberty. But my best friend does and he's not mechanically inclined at all so I do all this stuff for him. Anyways, lately his Jeep has been overheating. He's been more specific and notices when it happens. It only overheats when he's idling and he said the A/C stops blowing cold. So I had a hunch on the radiator fan and sure enough, I noticed it never came on when I popped the hood even with the A/C on. The plug to the fan is getting a full 13.~ volts from both positive leads (3-prong fan). But the fan just does not work. It spins freely by hand but doesn't work. I went to look for a fan thinking it'd be easy but I notice there are 2-prong and 3-prong fans for this vehicle. I can't seem to find any that specifically say they are 3-prong except on a few websites for local auto stores and the prices are stupid high AND have to be special ordered. Can anyone tell me where I can get a replacement fan that is for sure a 3-prong? Until then, I've advised him to keep moving and avoid heavy traffic and immediately shut it off if he stops for an extended period of time and really just not drive in general unless he has to.

Oh and its an 04 V6 2wd automatic.

 

[LibertyFever]

I have to assume that the o4 Liberty has just the electric fan and not a mechanical one since you never mentioned

I've recently shopped for a replacement electric rad fan for my 04 Liberty Sport. From the dealership they can easily cost you over $300. I bought a used one from a local wrecking yard for less than $150 but quickly discovered it was in worse shape than the one in my Liberty. I got lucky and managed to build one out of the two.

Have you thought about removing the electric rad fan and dismantling it to clean it out? Maybe that's all you need to do. I've done it myself, it isn't that difficult.

 

[shad0wxcalibur]

I can try to take it apart and see what happens. It doesn't have a mechanical fan. I thought it would but it's just got the one electric and when I unplug it and power it directly, not a peep out of it still.

 

[HoosierJeeper]

Unless it has the tow package, it only has the electric fan.

Welcome btw, and good job on calling it a Jeep, not a car.

 

[kskj]

I doesn't take much to keep the fan from working. I little dirt or mud on the commutator. Try taking the fan motor out and spraying it down with electrical contact cleaner.

 

[shad0wxcalibur]

Well I asked him to come over so I could take it apart but his dad insisted on looking at it. I tried to tell him there's nothing to look at. It doesn't work. The wiring is tested working via multimeter and yet the fan doesn't spin. It's actually pretty simple. Unless he has a bunch of liberty fans for whatever reason, there isn't anything he can do. It's getting to the point where I'm just gonna let it blow a headgasket. He drove it for almost a month like this before he even bothered to let me look at it after me telling him a thousand times that an overheating engine is not anything to play around with. I hate it when people ask me what to do about their problem then don't listen to me.

 

[LibertyFever]

Those lights on the dash are called "idiot lights" for a reason y'know

Routinely overheating the engine will lessen it's life. I'd imagine that the rad hoses will blow first then the water pump. You done what yo could for your buddy. If he doesn't want to listen then too bad, so sad sad2.gif

 

[kj924]

Welcome.

If you do need a new fan, try E-Bay. I had ordered an electric fan a couple years back from a seller on there for a friend of mine. It was less then $90 shipped. It actually arrived broken, and the customer service sent me a new replacement..no charge.

 

[shad0wxcalibur]

Yea. He called it a piece of crap recently because it kept overheating and wanted to trade it in. I told him that was completely stupid because that's something all vehicles will most likely do at some point in time and I've offered to fix the damn thing for free as long as you buy parts. You could replace the entire cooling system and still not spend $1000 compared to getting another vehicle. I especially found it crazy that he would think it's a piece of crap when it probably saved his life. He was doing 70 mph on the interstate in a really bad storm (not smart) and hydroplaned at some point and went off the side and it flipped and landed back on it's wheels with the only damage being the fender flare plastic ripping off. I couldn't believe it. That alone is enough to make me wanna get one. Plus it is a pretty quiet and smooth ride when I ride in his (even despite the sagging front end). Now if I can just get past the somewhat crappy gas mileage, I may have one of my own.