No Heat 2016 Dodge Ram 2500 6.4 Resolved and Wanted to Share

[Ram2500Gasser]

Just wanted to Post this as I have not seen many results to the No heat Saga and hope it can help somebody.

2016 Ram 2500 6.4 L 100k Miles

Started to notice a lack of heat on the driver's side which is typically a sign of a failing heater core. Verified airflow and blend door actuator function.

Tested heater core hoses at the dash with little return flow via an infrared thermometer. I decided to backflush with water. I quickly learned it's easier to disconnect the heater core hoses at the manifold near the heads than try to remove them at the firewall. Additionally, if you remove them at the manifold you can insert a standard 5/8" garden hose repair adapter for flushing. Initially, I performed multiple 15-minute flushes via a garden hose each flow direction with no improvement.

Its getting colder so I decided to give it one more shot before I started pulling the dash apart.

This time my setup was 3 gallons of hot water to half a gallon CLR Pro Radiator Flush and Clean. I found it at Grainger Mfr # G-A-HDRFC-4PRO. I circulated it via the heater core hoses with the Garden hose repair couplings and a 12v utility pump from Amazon. I connected my pressure line to the bottom port as I understand it to be the return port. Let it run 30 minutes and I got about a teaspoon of what looked like red sand in my bucket. Flushing it with hot water 4 more times I got about the same amount of sand the following times and am back at full heat.

I think the CLR really did the trick and wanted to share as I was about a day from having to pull my dash apart.

Hope this can help somebody with a similar problem.

 

[Sherman Bird]

Just wanted to Post this as I have not seen many results to the No heat Saga and hope it can help somebody.

2016 Ram 2500 6.4 L 100k Miles

Started to notice a lack of heat on the driver's side which is typically a sign of a failing heater core. Verified airflow and blend door actuator function.

Tested heater core hoses at the dash with little return flow via an infrared thermometer. I decided to backflush with water. I quickly learned it's easier to disconnect the heater core hoses at the manifold near the heads than try to remove them at the firewall. Additionally, if you remove them at the manifold you can insert a standard 5/8" garden hose repair adapter for flushing. Initially, I performed multiple 15-minute flushes via a garden hose each flow direction with no improvement.

Its getting colder so I decided to give it one more shot before I started pulling the dash apart.

This time my setup was 3 gallons of hot water to half a gallon CLR Pro Radiator Flush and Clean. I found it at Grainger Mfr # G-A-HDRFC-4PRO. I circulated it via the heater core hoses with the Garden hose repair couplings and a 12v utility pump from Amazon. I connected my pressure line to the bottom port as I understand it to be the return port. Let it run 30 minutes and I got about a teaspoon of what looked like red sand in my bucket. Flushing it with hot water 4 more times I got about the same amount of sand the following times and am back at full heat.

I think the CLR really did the trick and wanted to share as I was about a day from having to pull my dash apart.

Hope this can help somebody with a similar problem.

That's really dandy! BUT, what's the long game? How do you or anyone prevent a repeat? Is this really "sand" per se? Or could it be the cast iron delaminating due to electro/chemical reaction to coolant or possibly cavitation?
I wonder what the ph of the coolant is? How about electrolysis? Is the pressure cap working at specs? Does the design have a flaw, rectifiable by installing a restrictor orifice? (GM had a problem of the heater core tube(s) eating out from the inside on Full sized pickups and SUV's. The cure was installing a restrictor which slowed the flow, thus reduced laminar flow friction. Poiseuille's law.

 

[Wild one]

That's really dandy! BUT, what's the long game? How do you or anyone prevent a repeat? Is this really "sand" per se? Or could it be the cast iron delaminating due to electro/chemical reaction to coolant or possibly cavitation?
I wonder what the ph of the coolant is? How about electrolysis? Is the pressure cap working at specs? Does the design have a flaw, rectifiable by installing a restrictor orifice? (GM had a problem of the heater core tube(s) eating out from the inside on Full sized pickups and SUV's. The cure was installing a restrictor which slowed the flow, thus reduced laminar flow friction. Poiseuille's law.

Appears to be a fairly common problem.Whole thread on the issue here.

Casting Sand: 6.4 Hemi HD Coolant Filter

PFA. I’ve noticed a bunch of people dealing with casting sand in their coolant that clogs up their heater core. Seems to be a big enough issue with the penstar that there’s a class action lawsuit over it. I’ve got a continuous flow of casting sand in my 2014 2500 6.4 w/140k miles I’m hoping...

www.ramforum.com

 

[Burla]

Nice info on a first post, thanks for all of that info. The fact it took 8-9 years and 100k miles makes me think you could have some stray current finding it's way in the coolant, more common then we all think. I am glad to see success with another coolant flush on the board. I have used rmi-25 for a long time now maybe twenty years and it is too a radiator flush, but more like an additive as well, part of what it does is stop any electrolysis and removes any contamination in the system and puts it into overflow where it is trapped so someone can extract it. It also prevents damage from hose water and everything that does, so it might be some benefit for you to run it from now on.

I have seen some sacrificial anodes like they have in water heaters as well, but for radiators. I'd look into that as well.

Did you buy the truck new? Has coolants ever been mixed? What coolant did you put back?

Welcome to the forum, good to see great contributions right away.

 

[Sherman Bird]

Nice info on a first post, thanks for all of that info. The fact it took 8-9 years and 100k miles makes me think you could have some stray current finding it's way in the coolant, more common then we all think. I am glad to see success with another coolant flush on the board. I have used rmi-25 for a long time now maybe twenty years and it is too a radiator flush, but more like an additive as well, part of what it does is stop any electrolysis and removes any contamination in the system and puts it into overflow where it is trapped so someone can extract it. It also prevents damage from hose water and everything that does, so it might be some benefit for you to run it from now on.

I have seen some sacrificial anodes like they have in water heaters as well, but for radiators. I'd look into that as well.

Did you buy the truck new? Has coolants ever been mixed? What coolant did you put back?

Welcome to the forum, good to see great contributions right away.

Working on wet-sleeve engines and seeing "sand" and severe etching at the base of the cylinder sleeves is like "show-and-tell". I worked for a few years at a strictly European garage back in the day. The Alfa Romeo's and the French V-6 used in Volvos, Deloreans, and other cars would present with overheating and "head gasket" symptoms, when, in fact, the bottoms of the cylinder liners and the block casting were eaten away, often totaling the block. Big Rigs suffered from this phenom as well.

Cavitation, electrolysis, and corrosion were all factors. This water pump came out of a 2002 Taurus with a bad radiator cap. Another shop replaced the radiator twice and thermostat 4 times to alleviate overheating. We determined that there was no flow and narrowed it down to this. After all the other shop did, the radiator cap was totally SHOT. Gotta have a pressurized system lest cavitation eats things up!

 

[CalifPhil]

Nice info on a first post, thanks for all of that info. The fact it took 8-9 years and 100k miles makes me think you could have some stray current finding it's way in the coolant, more common then we all think. I am glad to see success with another coolant flush on the board. I have used rmi-25 for a long time now maybe twenty years and it is too a radiator flush, but more like an additive as well, part of what it does is stop any electrolysis and removes any contamination in the system and puts it into overflow where it is trapped so someone can extract it. It also prevents damage from hose water and everything that does, so it might be some benefit for you to run it from now on.

I have seen some sacrificial anodes like they have in water heaters as well, but for radiators. I'd look into that as well.

Did you buy the truck new? Has coolants ever been mixed? What coolant did you put back?

Welcome to the forum, good to see great contributions right away.

Never heard of RMI-25, went to the website and read up on it. Think I am going to give it a try.

 

[Burla]

Never heard of RMI-25, went to the website and read up on it. Think I am going to give it a try.

You want to avoid bulk size bottles, as in it doesn't age well when bottle is shared with air. Best to buy 16 or 32 ounces size and use that up.

 

[04fxdwgi]

Way back when building 2nd gen Hemi's and many other dragstrip engines, we would boil them out for 24 hours. Then put the block and heads in a huge ultrasonic cleaner ( one made for big submarine battery spark arresstors and with heater built in) over night in hot soapy water.

In morning, would take then out and have almost 0.1" of sand on the bottom of the ultrasonic. It was all casting sand coming out of the pores of the cast iron. It all had the potential of destroying a $50k (back in the 70's) engine.

Wouldn't have believed it if I didn't see it myself.

 

[Sherman Bird]

Nice info on a first post, thanks for all of that info. The fact it took 8-9 years and 100k miles makes me think you could have some stray current finding it's way in the coolant, more common then we all think. I am glad to see success with another coolant flush on the board. I have used rmi-25 for a long time now maybe twenty years and it is too a radiator flush, but more like an additive as well, part of what it does is stop any electrolysis and removes any contamination in the system and puts it into overflow where it is trapped so someone can extract it. It also prevents damage from hose water and everything that does, so it might be some benefit for you to run it from now on.

I have seen some sacrificial anodes like they have in water heaters as well, but for radiators. I'd look into that as well.

Did you buy the truck new? Has coolants ever been mixed? What coolant did you put back?

Welcome to the forum, good to see great contributions right away.

Many moons ago, I owned an AMC Hornet with the 232 in-line 6 cylinder engine. (about 50 years)

I was installing a water pump and thermostat due to a water pump seal leak. I noticed what looked like a straight piece of heavy gauge wire just behind the thermostat. This wire resembled coat hanger wire. I grabbed it with pliers and pulled... and pulled; and LO and BEHOLD! That wire was the length of the engine. I wondered what idjit put that there, and tossed said wire!

Some time later, I was relating this to my mentor (He was a Rolls Royce Master), and he informed me that the piece of wire was an anode, and that I shouldn't have removed it. DOH! Live and learn!

"When all else fails, Read the instructions"!