04 Ram Overheating Issues

[OldBull]

Hey Guys, I have a 04 Ram 1500 5.7 SLT with issues I can't drill down. The truck has 170,000 miles.

1. Overheating when traveling under 30 mph. It hasn't overheated yet but I have to watch the gauge, turn off the A/C and turn on the heater. The water pump and 203 degree thermostat have been changed. The original thermostat was also 203, with the new thermostat temps run slightly higher under normal operating conditions. When traveling under 30mph and/or idling for 15 minutes or so, the temp gauge rises. Flushed and added new antifreeze, the correct antifreeze.

2. Gas mileage is erratic. Premium conditions, 65 mph on flat ground sometimes I'll get 23-24 mpg and other times it will be 16-18 mpg.

3. P0404 code has been displaying for about 1 year now, sometimes two identical codes. The EGR valve has been replaced about 1 year ago. The EGR valve was taken off and cleaned recently and still get the same code.

Could these symptoms add up to one condition? There are no other indicators of engine issues, just these three issues. I'm perplexed and looking for answers and hoping someone here can explain what's going on with this truck. I love that truck. Thanks guys!

 

[MikeT]

Have you done the "newspaper test" on your radiator fan if it has the clutch type fan? I believe the process is as follows: roll up a bit of newspaper, start the engine cold, the fan should be turning with the engine, slowly carefully stick the newspaper into the fan blades, if the fan stops you have a bad fan clutch - replace same.

Guys much more familiar with the Hemi hopefully will correct any errors by me and add additional helpful information.

Mike

 

[Fast69Mopar]

Do you ever hear your fan clutch engage when the temp starts to climb?

What are you basing your fuel economy off of?

Are you using the overhead trip computer as the reference or are you using pen and paper to calculate actual fuel economy like filling the truck up, driving until you need fuel and then refilling the tank and taking the total miles driven and divide it by the actual gallons used?