Truck overheats, tried everything! Help!

BIG SYMPTOMS/ISSUES: Non-stop drip of coolant coming from the water pump (weephole I believe), coolant temp. gauge rises w/o dropping down to normal operating temp. at idle.



Hi, my truck had a slight leak at the water pump, so i went ahead and bought a new one from O' reilly's, even though it wasn't overheating. The radiator was junk due to it being clogged up with rust and deposits from the previous owner that I bought it from. The entire cooling system is brand new with thermostat, water pump, radiator, hoses etc. and it still overheats. I tried using the special yellow funnel to purge the air and no luck! When it idles, the temp gauge just keeps going up until I have to shut it off around the 3/4 mark before it hits the redline. I'm starting to think O' reilly's sold me a junk water pump because everytime I put coolant in the radiator coolant tank, I can see coolant drip out of the weephole! Way more than normal. Honestly, my old rusted up water pump did a better job than this new junk I got at O' Reilly's.






Please let me know of any advice you might have. Thank you

Shouldn't be any drip. How are the hoses at the firewall going into the heater core and coming out?

I agree, drips out of the water pump, bleed hole or not, are not normal. I don't know anything about the 'special' yellow funnel, but if you have all the air bled out of the system, which is unlikely since you say it is still leaking, I'd say the thermostat is in upside down.

dapepper9 said:

Shouldn't be any drip. How are the hoses at the firewall going into the heater core and coming out?

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The water pump is torqued to spec and everything. Even used gasket maker. I'm going to replace the heater core hoses because I know they're corroded on the inside. When the engine is warm, one of the hoses is hot, so I know it's flowing.

Rustycowl69 said:

I agree, drips out of the water pump, bleed hole or not, are not normal. I don't know anything about the 'special' yellow funnel, but if you have all the air bled out of the system, which is unlikely since you say it is still leaking, I'd say the thermostat is in upside down.

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Which side is supposed to go into the intake manifold, spring-side down or the opposite?

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This is the funnel I use to bleed the cooling system in cars. It basically slowly releases air bubbles in the cooling system

Pump needs to be replaced. With your engine cold, pull the coolant hoses highest on the motor one by one and fill or ensure they are filled with coolant. You may need to pull the t-stat and fill the engine block if you drained the system.

Thank you sir! Will be taking the water pump back to O' Reillys, I believe it's still under warranty

If you were not overheating before. you not only need to replace the water pump and GASKET, but once that is done purge the system of air.

Keep truck park at angle with fron of vehicle up if possible

Leave radiator cap off fill up system with 50/50 coolant and turn heater on high. you will see bubbles and possibly even some overflow. THIS IS NORMAL.

Once you have done that and engine has reached op temp and heat is hot for about 30 minutes you are done purging the system.

DodgeTx said:

If you were not overheating before. you not only need to replace the water pump and GASKET, but once that is done purge the system of air.

Keep truck park at angle with fron of vehicle up if possible

Leave radiator cap off fill up system with 50/50 coolant and turn heater on high. you will see bubbles and possibly even some overflow. THIS IS NORMAL.

Once you have done that and engine has reached op temp and heat is hot for about 30 minutes you are done purging the system.

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Hi i'm back everyone, I figured out the leak issue... Basically one of the bolts on the left side of the timing cover was to short allowing leakage... However, the truck overheats no matter what! I even drove up on a curb so my front end is higher! No luck! The temp gauge keeps going and going until I have to shut it off before it gets to the redline... I don't know what to do. Honestly thinking about selling it...

Considering the overheating started with the new pump, I'd pull the pump and be sure the clearances are correct and the impeller is either turning the right way(wrong impeller) or it's turning on the shaft (not pumping well). Too much clearance will reduce the pumping. May have been a bad housing that got through. IAC replace the pump.

Also I have noticed a couple time that Tstats once used for a while then exposed to air when doing coolant work will no longer work. This happend to me with my Jet 180. Had to replace a hose. Drained the system replaced the hose then the Tstat stopped working once I filled.

Have you tried flushing and reverse flushing everything out? From what I read, it was overheating like this when you bought it. Since you have a new radiator and water pump, there has to be restriction somewhere. As for the thermostat, spring side down into the block. Since its overheating like mad, try running it without the thermostat. That will eliminate one more variable. If it still overheats, it's for sure a flow problem. The heater hoses being warm is a good thing, however that only tells us that there is some coolant flow.

What color is the coolant now that it's been run through for a little while? While you are troubleshooting, just put straight water in, no need to spend money on coolant just to dump half on the ground.

My guess would be a crap filled block, reverse flushing will help get a lot out, but you will want to get a can of super flush or something like that to break up all the scale inside the engine.

UPDATE: It's been a while.. the issue I found was that one of the bolts on the timing cover was not the correct OEM length and that bolt hole led into a coolant passageway in the engine block. I knew this because I found that collant would leak from this hole. Basically how I solved the problem 1) went ahead and put the original water pump back on, 2) got a longer bolt and used thread sealant 3) after reassembly I parked the truck up on a curb with the bleeder funnel, it still would overheat, but I would shut it off before it got too hot, came back when the engine was spoon cold and kept trying. Eventually the temp gauge would stop at normal operating temp. my truck runs and drives as sweet as a nut!


Thank ya'll for your advice it really does help!

There's a bolt on the timing cover on these trucks that runs into a coolant passage? I just replaced my water pump and one of the bolts runs into a coolant passage and needs extra care but the rest I believe were fine. I was going to suggest getting the head gasket tester from o reilleys. Also, I would refrain from using a water pump from o rellieys. I personally am starting to go there less ans less because of how many defective parts I have been getting the last year. I mainly go to Napa now as their quality is significantly better. They also sell performance parts in some instances whereas o reilleys usually only allows vendors to buy the performance stuff. Napa has been becoming more competitive with pricing too so it's not going to break the bank. I'd still go to o reilleys for parts for my Hyundai for the most part as the stuff I'm replacing was never good quality oem.

But if this issue returns, id flush the hell out of the entire system. Then I'd rent that head gasket tester just to be sure. I have witnessed it being used and it does work pretty well.

It's been awhile, there is at least two, maybe more, long bolts that thread into holes in the block water jacket. You have to use Form a Gasket goop on the threads. It doesn't harden, remains pliable, which is necessary because the bolts have to be loosened occasionally to adjust belt tightness.

Rustycowl69 said:

It's been awhile, there is at least two, maybe more, long bolts that thread into holes in the block water jacket. You have to use Form a Gasket goop on the threads. It doesn't harden, remains pliable, which is necessary because the bolts have to be loosened occasionally to adjust belt tightness.

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Those bolts do not have to be loosened to adjust belt tightness. The belt tensioner is used for that purpose.

Now that your coolant system is working for you you can clean it and keep it running better with a good water wetter additive.
I'd recommend RMI-25 .
Just follow the instructions & good luck !