2001 Ram overheating issue

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VegasCharger

Junior Member
Joined
Feb 16, 2020
Posts
13
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6
Location
Akron, Ohio
Ram Year
1985
Engine
318
Hello,

I have a 2001 Dodge Ram 1500 5.9 V8 and I'm having an unusual overheating problem. There are no signs of visible steam. No hissing/leaking hoses. Temp gauge will climb to the halfway point (and more during summer). The oil dipstick shows NO signs of a milky residue. But the anti-freeze in the overflow bottle will evaporate, so I keep re-filling it to nurse it along. I parked it for the winter and would like to tackle/resolve this issue for the spring/summer season.

So to recap:
Temp gauge reaches to the halfway point (210°)
No steam under the hood
No milky oil dipstick
Overflow bottle keeps evaporating

I will also add that one time last summer the temp gauge was climbing towards the 260° mark. I had to pull over and shut it down. The overflow bottle was boiling but still no leaks or steam anywhere.

Could it be as simple as a thermostat issue? Or something more serious?

Thanks in advance.
 

RamRod37

2014 Ram 2500 HD 5.7 Hemi
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Jun 28, 2014
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478
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Location
Georgetown TN
Ram Year
2014
Engine
5.7L Hemi
I would have said radiator stopped up but the fact you state you have to keep adding coolant tells me you got a blown head gasket. with it cold take rad cap off start it and let it get operating temp watch for air bubbles coming back to cap that is one sure sign of a blown head gasket
 

Fast69Mopar

Senior Member
Joined
May 10, 2019
Posts
1,997
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Location
Texas
Ram Year
2004
Engine
5.7 HEMI
Hello,

I have a 2001 Dodge Ram 1500 5.9 V8 and I'm having an unusual overheating problem. There are no signs of visible steam. No hissing/leaking hoses. Temp gauge will climb to the halfway point (and more during summer). The oil dipstick shows NO signs of a milky residue. But the anti-freeze in the overflow bottle will evaporate, so I keep re-filling it to nurse it along. I parked it for the winter and would like to tackle/resolve this issue for the spring/summer season.

So to recap:
Temp gauge reaches to the halfway point (210°)
No steam under the hood
No milky oil dipstick
Overflow bottle keeps evaporating

I will also add that one time last summer the temp gauge was climbing towards the 260° mark. I had to pull over and shut it down. The overflow bottle was boiling but still no leaks or steam anywhere.

Could it be as simple as a thermostat issue? Or something more serious?

Thanks in advance.
If you want to verify whether or not you have a head gasket leaking it is easy enough to do a block check kit. You can buy one from Napa or your local parts store.

To use the block tester you need to remove a little bit of coolant from the radiator so it's not full to the cap. The block test kits use a blue fluid called combustion fluid and when the fluid mixes with combustion gases it changes colors from blue to green. You place the tube on top of the radiator and there is a vacuum bulb at the top that allows you to pull a small vacuum on the radiator and it allows any gases to pass through the combustion fluid so if there are any in the cooling system you will see the fluid change color.

My local Napa sells the block tester kits for $39.99. Here is a link...

https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/BK_...iw1v64L1tqGVL7gdG9cdXwGl7B2yCBxoCR1IQAvD_BwE&
 
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