Bad Radiator?

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Joined
Aug 17, 2014
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Location
Mississippi
Ram Year
1998
Engine
3.9L Magnum V6
Hello guys,

So just yesterday I noticed the temperature in my truck go up to about 200-210 degrees. I drive it everyday to school and back (about 4 miles round trip) and it's always sat comfortably around 180-190. I didn't think much about it, as it was kind of warm outside (80) and I had let the truck idle for about 15 minutes. Well, I came and got it in a few hours later, and the temp gauge shot up to 210 really quickly. I pulled over off the highway and did a short look over, and I found a small, pinhole sized leak near the top of the radiator where the plastic tank meets the aluminum. I checked my water level, and it was low, so I just added plain water for the time being and filled up the reserve bottle as well.

My question is, what should I do from here? Should I just go on ahead and spend the $150 on a replacement radiator and associated parts? Or should I milk this one as far as a I can and possibly try to JB Weld the pinhole.

If I replace the radiator, which one do I need to get? I have a 1998 Ram with the 3.9 V6 with the auto transmission.

Thanks,
Brandon
 

dapepper9

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I would suggest just getting a new one. Any piece from Advance, Oreillys, Autozone, Rockauto, Napa. Any replacement, shop around find the best deal
 
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MCIntoDarkness
Joined
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Location
Mississippi
Ram Year
1998
Engine
3.9L Magnum V6
I would suggest just getting a new one. Any piece from Advance, Oreillys, Autozone, Rockauto, Napa. Any replacement, shop around find the best deal

I probably am gonna just go that route. I need to get a new overflow bottle as well, I cracked the very top of mine this morning trying to get the cap off. While I'm there, might replace the thermostat as well. Anybody know anything about the 180 degree part from Hughes Engines? Or is this something that should wait until I replace my plenum pan and gasket in December?
 

dudeman2009

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2001 1500 Sport with enough electrical modifications to make my brain hurt
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Magnum 360
The thermostat is kind of a pain to get to. You either have to loosen the accessory bracket that holds the alternator and AC compressor, or you can fight around them. The thermostat is wedged between the Alternator, AC compressor and intake.

As far as temperatures go, there is no reason to go lower than 180 on any stock engine. If you live where it gets cold in the winter, you'll want to stick with the 190 or 195 T-stat, you wouldn't think it'd make much a difference, but trust me, it does.
 
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MCIntoDarkness
Joined
Aug 17, 2014
Posts
81
Reaction score
13
Location
Mississippi
Ram Year
1998
Engine
3.9L Magnum V6
The thermostat is kind of a pain to get to. You either have to loosen the accessory bracket that holds the alternator and AC compressor, or you can fight around them. The thermostat is wedged between the Alternator, AC compressor and intake.

As far as temperatures go, there is no reason to go lower than 180 on any stock engine. If you live where it gets cold in the winter, you'll want to stick with the 190 or 195 T-stat, you wouldn't think it'd make much a difference, but trust me, it does.

Thanks for the input. I live in central Mississippi, so our winters may be anywhere from 20 degrees in the day to 80 degrees in the day. I may just leave the thermostat until I do the plenum job this winter.
 

Gr8bawana

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Rockauto $80-$92 for your radiator.
 

Yeret

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Dropped $150 for my radiator a few weeks back at O'Reilly's. The old one blew on Friday after my beer run and I don't have a backup vehicle, so I didn't have time to wait on mail order.

It's actually a pretty nice piece, however the upper transmission cooler line is in a slightly different spot than the OEM. It was just enough to where I couldn't line up the cooler line. I was planning some goofy ass plumbing extensions and stuff before I realized that I could just simply bend the sucker a little bit to make it fit.

From what I've read, general consensus is that a cooler thermostat doesn't really offer any improvements on these engines. It might help with pinging but if your engine is pinging anyway, you've got problems other than the operating temperature. I've had the plenum repaired and am running a 91-octane tune and there isn't a pop to be heard even under heavy throttle uphill in overdrive.
 
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MCIntoDarkness
Joined
Aug 17, 2014
Posts
81
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Location
Mississippi
Ram Year
1998
Engine
3.9L Magnum V6
Dropped $150 for my radiator a few weeks back at O'Reilly's. The old one blew on Friday after my beer run and I don't have a backup vehicle, so I didn't have time to wait on mail order.

It's actually a pretty nice piece, however the upper transmission cooler line is in a slightly different spot than the OEM. It was just enough to where I couldn't line up the cooler line. I was planning some goofy ass plumbing extensions and stuff before I realized that I could just simply bend the sucker a little bit to make it fit.

From what I've read, general consensus is that a cooler thermostat doesn't really offer any improvements on these engines. It might help with pinging but if your engine is pinging anyway, you've got problems other than the operating temperature. I've had the plenum repaired and am running a 91-octane tune and there isn't a pop to be heard even under heavy throttle uphill in overdrive.

Thanks for the info. So next week I'm going to replace the radiator and add a transmission cooler while I'm there at the front of the truck. Any tips I need to know for plumbing that up?
 

Max78

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Magnum 5.9
Get a new radiator cap while you are at it.
 
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