Heating issue 2001 Ram 1500 V6

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Byrd19rr

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Joined
Dec 14, 2016
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Ram Year
2001
Engine
V6
Hey! Im new on here and recently ran into some heating issues in my 01 Ram V6 2wd. I had cold air blowing out from vents, no temp reading. Through my research I figured my Tstat was stuck open. I replaced it and it was stuck open. Temp gauge works, but still no heat after that. Then I flushed and cleaned coolant system and flushed heater core hoses. I get some heat but not much. When I step on the gas it gets hotter but then gets cooler on idle. Also if its on lowest fan power ill get a warmer temp than I would if it was on full blast. Im thinking it could be a water pump issue or a loose water pump belt. I don't know what else to do, any help would be greatly appreciated. Id rather do the work myself than take it in. Thanks so much!


Ryan
 

dudeman2009

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Arizona
Ram Year
2001 1500 Sport with enough electrical modifications to make my brain hurt
Engine
Magnum 360
It is very possible that its the water pump, however it could be the heater core.

Both are about the same difficulty to replace (at least in my case, mines the v8, only the water pump might be different)

A quick and dirty way to see if the water pump is working is to remove the radiator cap, start the truck and rev it while looking into the radiator. The coolant level should drop by a few inches when revved up to 3500rpm (just use your hand to move the throttle valve) If it doesnt move much, replace your water pump, if it does, i'd be looking at that heater core.

That is a quick and dirty way to check. Just the same with anything quick and dirty, its not super accurate, but its good enough for the girls I go out with.
 

IrocRam

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Phoenix, Az
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1997
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5.2
but its good enough for the girls I go out with.

hahaha.

Kind of a sidebar, but I have owned 3 2nd gen rams, all three have had the heater core go bad, 2 were gassers one diesel. Never replaced them on either. I have replaced the water pump on my current one. It tool me maybe a combined total of 3 hours to do it. I hear all day long for a heater core. Is there some sort of trick to doing it that doesn't require the dash to come out? This might help this guy too. Not trying to piggyback here, so sorry for the intrusion.
This is good advice. I second it.
 

dudeman2009

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Ram Year
2001 1500 Sport with enough electrical modifications to make my brain hurt
Engine
Magnum 360
hahaha.

Kind of a sidebar, but I have owned 3 2nd gen rams, all three have had the heater core go bad, 2 were gassers one diesel. Never replaced them on either. I have replaced the water pump on my current one. It tool me maybe a combined total of 3 hours to do it. I hear all day long for a heater core. Is there some sort of trick to doing it that doesn't require the dash to come out? This might help this guy too. Not trying to piggyback here, so sorry for the intrusion.
This is good advice. I second it.

The first time I did mine it took me about 4.5 hours.
Yesterday I did the heater core on my friends dads ram, it only took my 2.5 hours. You do have to pull the dash back but its only 10 or so bolts on the dash. Then you just hold it back with a ratchet strap or rope and squeeze behind it. For the HVAC box, you have to remove 4 nuts on the engine bay side, and two from under the dash. You also have to unbolt the accumulator to get enough play on the AC lines so you don't have to unhook it. Then you cut the old tubes off the old heater core (not the rubber, cut the copper/brass tubes in the dash) and pull the tubes out into the engine bay. Then slide the old heater core out and, if you have wiggled the HVAC box out far enough, you can slide the new one back in. If it won't fit, look for what is binding and loosen it. I have done two heater cores on Gen 2 Rams, neither had to have the AC disconnected.
 
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