Princeton_Man
Senior Member
- Joined
- Jul 2, 2020
- Posts
- 212
- Reaction score
- 226
- Location
- Princeton, WV
- Ram Year
- 2011
- Engine
- Hemi 5.7
Last week on my way home from the lake, I noticed my engine temperature starting to rise while pulling a hill with the boat in tow. I eased off the accelerator but, just as I crested the hill, the overheat warning light up. I took my foot off the gas, knocked her into neutral, and coasted down the hill. The temperature began to drop quickly. The warning message was only on for maybe 5 seconds before it went out. During all of this, it never occurred to me to bring up the actual temperature on the display, so I have no idea what the highest number actually was.
Since the temperature gauge was back at center quickly, there was no odor of coolant, and I was less than 5 miles from home, I decided to watch the temperature closely, drive gently, and if it stayed cool, limp the rest of the way home. During those few miles I discovered that anytime I started to pull a little harder, the temperature would start to climb, ease off, and it would drop. When I arrived home, the gauge was still showing normal.
I left the the engine idling while dropping the boat in the garage, everything stayed normal, so I took it up the road. As I accelerated, the temperature gauge climbed, pulled over and idled, it came back down. That told me it was likely the fan clutch. So I ran down to the autoparts store, picked up a new fan clutch, and installed it. Probably the easiest repair I've ever had to do. The problem though, it didn't correct the problem. Even the slightest load causes the temperature to climb. My thought was maybe a head gasket, but the coolant is perfectly clean (orange) and there no sign of oil in the coolant or coolant in the oil.
I hate having to take it to the dealer, but it looks like my last option.
Since the temperature gauge was back at center quickly, there was no odor of coolant, and I was less than 5 miles from home, I decided to watch the temperature closely, drive gently, and if it stayed cool, limp the rest of the way home. During those few miles I discovered that anytime I started to pull a little harder, the temperature would start to climb, ease off, and it would drop. When I arrived home, the gauge was still showing normal.
I left the the engine idling while dropping the boat in the garage, everything stayed normal, so I took it up the road. As I accelerated, the temperature gauge climbed, pulled over and idled, it came back down. That told me it was likely the fan clutch. So I ran down to the autoparts store, picked up a new fan clutch, and installed it. Probably the easiest repair I've ever had to do. The problem though, it didn't correct the problem. Even the slightest load causes the temperature to climb. My thought was maybe a head gasket, but the coolant is perfectly clean (orange) and there no sign of oil in the coolant or coolant in the oil.
I hate having to take it to the dealer, but it looks like my last option.