2017 2500 5.7 Coolant & Oil Temperature

[Wolmf]

Hello everyone, I had just purchased a 2017 Ram 2500 HD 4x4 with the 5.7 Hemi. Love the truck so far as it is able to handle all my needs perfectly. About 2 weeks in now to owning it and I just started to notice the coolant and oil temps being a little high at times. At highway speeds the oil and coolant reads around 195F - 205F, but as soon as I get off the highway and sit at a stop light or drive at low speeds in stop and go traffic, the temps start to climb. The highest I saw them reach was 235F for coolant and 230F for oil while idling parked with them steadily climbing higher. After seeing those temps I started to drive again and the temps went back down. I have no Idea what the correct temps are supposed to be for this engine and truck set up. I scheduled an appointment with the dealership as I am still covered under warranty but would like suggestions on what could possibly cause these issues. Thanks.

 

[HuskerRam]

Is your fan running? If not that'll contribute to running warm when you're sitting still. Once you get rolling, you've got air being forced over the radiator, which will cool the engine. Once you stop, that relative wind is gone and temps start to creep up again.

 

[csuder99]

The fan clutch might be going out, and it's hard to see if the fan is spinning at the right speed. Turn the engine off after idling for bit and the temperatures high, there should be quite a bit of resistance trying to move the fan.

 

[Richard Kim]

Wolmf,

I have a 2016 2500 5.7 with 147K miles on it. My coolant temps will climb when idling have never gone up to 235 and my oil temp at idle will actually cool down from 224 (Texas summer 75-80 mph) back towards 212.

Per csunder99, I would check the fan clutch. I also recently removed my grill and rinsed out all radiators; it was never washed and it was dirty. I used a degreaser (Simple Green) first (let it soak for 5 minutes) and then hit it with the hose (no pressure washer as it might damage the aluminum fins). I hope this helps.

 

[Treburkulosis]

Make sure the coolant is full. Mine did this about 2 months ago and it freaked me out. Mine never gets hotter then 215 no matter sitting idling or driving it. Im at 159k and still on the stock t stat, water pump, and clutch fan.

 

[Richard Kim]

Wolfmf,

Just wanted to update you. At 150K I replaced the following:
1. Water pump (preventative); replaced with OEM.
2. Upper / lower rad hoses
3. 190 T-stat
4. Cooling fan module (apparently these go bad around 100K)
5. Coolant flush

In the intense Texas heat, my coolant is now at 195 (might climb to 201 stewing in traffic) and my oil temp is around 205 - 212.

Before I did all the work, my coolant temp would fluctuate wildly especially idling in traffic with the outside temps hitting 106 (saw 225 once) and oil temps would climb past 220 on the freeway.

Out of everything done, I believe the cooling fan module made the most difference. Just my $.02. Hope this helps.