justinmccan
Junior Member
i have a 2011 ram 3500, studded and new head gasket. truck runs perfect except every so often it starts to run hot. new thermostat ( 3rd one i have put in, never checked them just replaced them hoping for the best ) new water pump, new engine fan and radiator cap.
i can drive the truck for several days with no issue ,upper and lower hose both feel hard, no coolant leak or loss of coolant and i can visually watch my temps rise then drop when i assume the thermostat opens. no oil in coolant or coolant in oil. out of the blue the temp will spike and i shut it down as soon as possible to try to stay under 230 degrees. i can pop the radiator cap and relieve pressure and temps instantly drop and hoses get soft again, put cap back on and drive for another 3 to 4 days roughly before it just randomly does it again, driving technique and flat versus mountain driving doesn't seem to make a difference. is it normal for the hoses to be hard even when just idling in my drive way?
The fact i never lose coolant, and it just randomly does this has me puzzled.
for example: i drove 2 hrs to the beach, over mountains etc with a heavy foot enjoying the drive. parked and went fishing all day, fired up the truck and drove 2 miles and it started getting hot, stopped and pulled the radiator cap and let off some pressure and temps again instantly dropped ( had a friend visually watching my monitor ) got back in truck and made the 2 hr drive home with no issues thru the mountians etc.
everything was fine for next 2 or 3 days til it did it again on my way to work.
ive bled the system numerous times, even drained the radiator, flushed it, bled it multiple times again and still does the same thing.
really hoping its something stupid and not the head gasket again!
has anyone had a similiar issue and what was the culprit or fix?
i can drive the truck for several days with no issue ,upper and lower hose both feel hard, no coolant leak or loss of coolant and i can visually watch my temps rise then drop when i assume the thermostat opens. no oil in coolant or coolant in oil. out of the blue the temp will spike and i shut it down as soon as possible to try to stay under 230 degrees. i can pop the radiator cap and relieve pressure and temps instantly drop and hoses get soft again, put cap back on and drive for another 3 to 4 days roughly before it just randomly does it again, driving technique and flat versus mountain driving doesn't seem to make a difference. is it normal for the hoses to be hard even when just idling in my drive way?
The fact i never lose coolant, and it just randomly does this has me puzzled.
for example: i drove 2 hrs to the beach, over mountains etc with a heavy foot enjoying the drive. parked and went fishing all day, fired up the truck and drove 2 miles and it started getting hot, stopped and pulled the radiator cap and let off some pressure and temps again instantly dropped ( had a friend visually watching my monitor ) got back in truck and made the 2 hr drive home with no issues thru the mountians etc.
everything was fine for next 2 or 3 days til it did it again on my way to work.
ive bled the system numerous times, even drained the radiator, flushed it, bled it multiple times again and still does the same thing.
really hoping its something stupid and not the head gasket again!
has anyone had a similiar issue and what was the culprit or fix?
