Overheat, HELP!

[EdGs]

2015 Ram 1500, 196k miles

Got stuck in horrendus traffic in a parking lot, as I was pulling in to get gas, my dinger went off.

Coolant temp high, 240°. SHIIIIIT!

Shut her off, waited to cool.

I have coolant on driver sde of rad, a little on crossmember below ac compressor.




I went in and bought a pack of spring water and slowly added to rad, only got 4 bottles in, about 2 qts.

Temp was 160, started her up and let her come up to about 195 noticed my clutch fan wasnt spinning very fast and i was able to stop it with my fingers.

Rad is full, but waiting on a tow truck, $173 for 13 mile tow.

Was leaving in the morning, glad it happened when it did although it still sucks balls.

Thoughts? Rad? Clutch? How do I check the fan clutch?

TIA.

 

[tron67j]

Some possible different things in same system. First. Where did coolant that sprayed around come from; the cap or overflow tank? Was it from somewhere else? Honestly, it has been towed and the mechanic will diagnose it so would go with what they say. If parts are to be replaced, my advice is spring for brand new over rebuilt. I have never had any luck, I mean ANY, with rebuilt parts.

The spray could be the overheating. You should always add coolant and water through overflow tank so you don't overfill anything. Probably should flush system to be sure things are correct there and put a new thermostat in while there. I don't normally tell people to throw money at issues but this is mostly maintenance that for your year truck may be over due.

Good luck.

 

[HEMIMANN]

Water Pump, my man - you got yer life's worth outta that one. change thermostat too.

 

[EdGs]

Funny, nothing coming out the weep I can see. But I'm sure its gotten moneys worth.

I was preparing to service at 200k anyway, so it might br due. There was no slinging of coolant either, snd neither hose is leaking.

I'm leaning towards rad but have to change tstat as well, incase stuck closed.

 

[Burla]

Sounds like the fan regardless with it spinning that weak. Usually without that knowledge can be like ten different things or so. I'd hit the RMI 25. Double check oil dip stick for bubbles or signs of water/coolant.

No pump whining? My past water pumps always whined when they went out.

 

[HEMIMANN]

At our age a lot of guys are deaf, so I threw that out there.
I can't hear the startup exhaust leak without my electronic ears in. (so I usually leave em out, ha ha)

 

[EdGs]

No whining.

I am not familiar with the viscous fan clutches, but it was barely spinning with the temp about 195, and I stopped the fan very easy with my hand.

I need to check the electric fan too. My luck it is a combination of things, normal Ed luck.

 

[EdGs]

Oh, and the overflow was still full, not quite sure what that means.

Got her parked at the in-laws for now until I get back and check her out deeper.

As much as it sucks, I'm glad it happened before we left, because I could've been stranded on the side of the interstate out in BFE. I'd hate to see that tow bill.

Hopefully I didn't lose a head gasket.

 

[GTyankee]

facing the engine
on the right side of the water pump, there is a Temperature Sensor

Take a look at it,

By the way, that temperature sensor is at the Highest Point of the Coolant System, it is the easiest way to bleed the AIR from the coolant system

5.7 hemi coolant temperature sensor

Coolant temperature sensor replacement on a 5.7L Hemi (Chrysler 300) with #moparbro fred_eazy21Replacing the coolant temperature sensor on a 5.7L Hemi engine...

www.youtube.com

 

[04fxdwgi]

If the engine was hot and the clutch fan was easy to turn / stop by hand, then it has seen better days. and probably kaput.
Your electric fan for the A/C should have come on to help the clutch fan.

Also, anytime you have an overheat, ALWAYS replace the stat with a new one. Overheats kill them.

 

[GTyankee]

Gen 4 2013 Dodge Ram heat on passenger side, cool or warm on driver side.

Gen 4 2013 Dodge Ram heat on passenger side, cool or warm on driver side.I flush the heater core to fix the heat, no heat problem.Follow up video:https://you...

www.youtube.com

 

[EdGs]

Thanks everyone! Keep the comments coming! I will need all the help I can get.

It will be a week before I can even check things over, when the overheat hapened, I was going to fill up for a road trip, so a misfortune and a blessing at the same time.

I know the recommendation for w/p is oe, but that may be out of the question, so I will ask:

If you had to get one that is not oe, what brand would you recommend?

Thanks again, everyone. You all are awesome!

 

[inuyasha-rules]

I know the recommendation for w/p is oe, but that may be out of the question, so I will ask:

If you had to get one that is not oe, what brand would you recommend?

Don't know the brand, but my dad ended up getting one from napa after going through 3 "OEM" pumps from O'Reilly's a couple years back.

 

[pscarbor]

2015 Ram 1500, 196k miles

Got stuck in horrendus traffic in a parking lot, as I was pulling in to get gas, my dinger went off.

Coolant temp high, 240°. SHIIIIIT!

Shut her off, waited to cool.

I have coolant on driver sde of rad, a little on crossmember below ac compressor.

View attachment 556858
View attachment 556859

I went in and bought a pack of spring water and slowly added to rad, only got 4 bottles in, about 2 qts.

Temp was 160, started her up and let her come up to about 195 noticed my clutch fan wasnt spinning very fast and i was able to stop it with my fingers.

Rad is full, but waiting on a tow truck, $173 for 13 mile tow.

Was leaving in the morning, glad it happened when it did although it still sucks balls.

Thoughts? Rad? Clutch? How do I check the fan clutch?

TIA.

Suggest you invest in a Slant radiator pressure tester, or borrow one. Pump it up to around 16 psi (I think for Dodges) and see if it leaks. If it does find where the water is coming out.

Your pictures show you have the standard Dodge plastic glued-together radiator, not one of Dodge's better ideas. They will split and leak and that may be where your radiator fluid is coming from. I got all aluminum tig welded replacements for each of my Ram 1500 radiators on Amazon for about $250, lots better than the stock crap that Dodge puts in their trucks.

Good luck with your dinger too. Help with that is beyond my level of knowledge although I understand they have pills that work well.

 

[EdGs]

Suggest you invest in a Slant radiator pressure tester, or borrow one. Pump it up to around 16 psi (I think for Dodges) and see if it leaks. If it does find where the water is coming out.

Your pictures show you have the standard Dodge plastic glued-together radiator, not one of Dodge's better ideas. They will split and leak and that may be where your radiator fluid is coming from. I got all aluminum tig welded replacements for each of my Ram 1500 radiators on Amazon for about $250, lots better than the stock crap that Dodge puts in their trucks.

Good luck with your dinger too. Help with that is beyond my level of knowledge although I understand they have pills that work well.

Yes, just the stock radiator. I do believe the driver side plastic is leaking, either at the crimp or cracked. I do have a pressure tester, so I will give that a go first thing.

Also will crack my oil drain plug loose to see if coolant in the oil, I had no coolant at the exhaust and no smoke when I ran it after topping it off, but I didn't run it very long. Had to go out of town, so it will sit until I get home.

DInger needs no help at the moment, thank you very much.

 

[Hemi395]

Thanks everyone! Keep the comments coming! I will need all the help I can get.

It will be a week before I can even check things over, when the overheat hapened, I was going to fill up for a road trip, so a misfortune and a blessing at the same time.

I know the recommendation for w/p is oe, but that may be out of the question, so I will ask:

If you had to get one that is not oe, what brand would you recommend?

Thanks again, everyone. You all are awesome!

If you can wait for rockauto, they have a Melling water pump and they usually make pretty good parts.

For the fan clutch, it is normal for you to be able to stop them with your hand when they are not engaged. However, you should hear a whoosh on a cold start.

And it should be active and produce that similar whoosh when the coolant temps are slightly higher than normal. This time of year its tough to test vicious fan clutches because most of the time the cold ambient air will cool the rad pretty quickly and hot air never reaches the thermostat on the front of the fan clutch which is what engages is.

 

[EdGs]

I was planning on ordering from RockAuto once I get back. The OE pump is reasonably priced, the radiator and fan clutch, not so much.

I also have to make sure my e-fan didn't crap the bed on me. All that stuff is original. I do have an OE tstat at home, but will have to get coolant, I was going to change it at 200k anyway.

 

[EdGs]

This might be a stupid question, but should I replace the hose clamps?

 

[GTyankee]

Cheaper Hoses last between 10 & 15 years
Better hoses do not seem to harden & crack as soon as that

You are close to the Anti Freeze change at any time now

Check the Serpentine belt for stress, where it rides on the pulleys

https://na.daycoaftermarket.com/en/techhub/signs-of-a-bad-belt-tensioner/

 

[EdGs]

Original hoses still look great.

Changed my coolant at ~100k, will be doing again with water pump and anything else I find this time around.

I only have about a gallon of coolant on hand, will need to get more Mopar stuff.

Serpentine belt on the list for a check/change if need be.

Tensioner is original, too. Gonna have to look that over.