Electric Fan Mod? anyone done this?

02blkram47 · Nov 19, 2011

Well I just put a plow on my 02 Ram 1500, I got the snow way poly blade so light weight won't hurt the truck much. However as with most of the dodges I've read about this thing is causing my truck to over heat all the time.I have to put the plow down to where it nearly hits the road to get any air to my radiator. I'm thinking about installing one of those electric fans on a switch so I can prevent this when driving any distance with the plow. Has anyone installed one? and if so how do you like it?

bigtigga84 · Nov 19, 2011

I have. I like it when it comes on and off by itself. The controller i had went bad and its know a switch now. Pain in the ass remembering to turn it on sometimes. Other than that i like it

02blkram47 · Nov 19, 2011

did you replace your regular fan or did you add a fan to the front to push air into the transmission?

bigtigga84 · Nov 19, 2011

Replaced the clutch fan

02blkram47 · Nov 19, 2011

I thought it was my plow causing my heat issue but I took the plow off and went for a drive. This picture is after only 10 minutes of driving. Can low coolant cause this much heat? I put over a gallon of coolant/water in today. Well I can't add the picture right now but it basically
A picture of my gauge right at the H mark.

quietpeen · Nov 19, 2011

sounds like you have something wrong...after you added coolant did the gauge go back down?

txbass06 · Nov 19, 2011

Yeah low coolant will cause over heating

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02blkram47 · Nov 19, 2011

I haven't had a chance to add more coolant and right now I'm not sure what my mixture is. I know I added a gallon of coolant and then dumped probably half a gallon of water in there but as it sits cold in my yard it' still not up to the cold add mark in my resevoire. I'll have to add more tomorrow or just take it to Jiffy lube and have them do a flush. What would I see if my t-state was bad? The temp of the truck goes down to half way between Half and Hot when I'm moving but if I idle then it starts to creep up to Hot.

txbass06 · Nov 19, 2011

That could just be the low coolant level causing that. Have you noticed any leaks anywhere?
Could also be a water pump failing. Happened to mine.
If its your thermostat, they'll usually stick open or closed. If its open, it'll take longer than normal to reach operating temperatures. Closed will cause it to just overheat or you'll notice the temp drop suddenly if it opens

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02blkram47 · Nov 19, 2011

I'm hoping that its just low level. Is there a way for me to check the water pump? I don't see any leaks as I've added coolant and water and nothing ends up on the driveway. How much does one pay for a coolant system flush?

The_ocho · Nov 19, 2011

you need to be careful with the 4.7 and cooling issues, they are known to overheat and kill the motor or blow a head gasket. keep an eye on the coolant level and make sure it doesn't keep dropping.

02blkram47 · Nov 20, 2011

Thanks for the advice I'll make sure to keep an eye on it. I'm going to check the level this morning, add more to the correct level. Let it idle and see how hot it gets. I guess if it gets hot again the next place to check would be the water pump? I'm not sure how to check that to see if it's working. One thing I noticed last night was I was parked on hill facing down the hill, after I got back from my short trip and noticed that it was still hot even without the plow. I got out of the truck and heard a gurgling sound coming from the engine. I popped the hood and could hear the water/coolant running through the pipes.I even felt one of them and could feel the coolant flowing through it with the truck off. Is that normal? I'm assuming it's not because I've never heard that before. I'm hoping that is a sign of low coolant and the only reason it was moving through the pipes is because the system was not full.

The_ocho · Nov 20, 2011

that is just the air in the system. when you check it for propper level start it up with the cap off and move the hoses around and all that to get the air out and fill it up again and it should be good

iSlacker816 · Nov 20, 2011

Sounds like the coolant is so hot its boiling in there. Here Valvoline charges 89.99 for a coolant flush. Like The_ocho said, the 4.7's like to pop head gaskets so if it does start over heating let it cool down and flip the heater on to help extract the heat from the engine. cheap fix do a T-stat and flush and see how that goes, whats your mileage on your truck btw?

02blkram47 · Nov 20, 2011

I filled the coolant to the proper level but didn't start it with the cap off so I still have air in there I guess. I let it idle for about 25 minutes to get the temp up. I got it to half way between half and Hot. Took it for a ride to tax the engine a bit and the temp stayed pretty even, went down a bit with the cold air hitting the radiator. Went back to the house and parked it and the temp didn't hit HOT this time. But I did have coolant coming out of my overflow hose, I must have put too much in. Can I still get the air out by starting this with the cap off now?

I have 133K miles on the truck now. I think I'm going to try some of that Restore engine treatment, can't hurt to try and bring back some compression it may have lost. I don't get much smoke out of this but if I let it sit and idle for a while ( like 10 minutes ) and then step on the excelerator I get a small amount of smoke out of the exhaust and it has an oily smell to it.

Electric Fan Mod? anyone done this?

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