Hi Scotty,
last year we privately bought a 1997 Dodge Ram B 3500 (it's a 15 seater) with a 5.9l engine with about 160k miles on it and we live in Florida. A year after owning it, the car started to warm up a little to much: after driving for about 20-30 minutes we have to stop to have the car cool down (temp is on 75-85% on the gage - starting to feel dangerous).
So far we exchanged:
water pump, thermostat (we removed it completely and just put a washer, so it seals the connection but let's through fluid), fanclutch is new, radiator gets hot as well as the upper and lower hose. Dipstick doesn't show any signs of water/ cooling fluid. Did exchange the water pump a second time just a couple days after Amazon warranty was expired, the thing dripped small amounts of cooling fluid just where the belt goes. That's fixed but it still gets hot after 20-30 min.
Currently we have water in the cooling system, until we find the true problem.
Would love to fix the old lady and get her on the road again.
Thank you so much and thank you for all the videos you posted!
Ruben
Ps: What work be a good alternative to upgrade on a budget, we currently have 8 kiddos 10 years and under.
This one is easy. Go to Harbor Freight or Amazon or Ebay.
Buy one of those infrared laser guns for $25
Point it to the top, the bottom, and then side to side of the radiator.
You will see if there's an obstruction
Have you checked the radiator for clogs? Is the lower radiator hose soft and collapsing?
That might be it, cloging in the Radiator. I will have to flush, the system and hope the source of rust doesn't come back to soon.
If the radiator is clogged it will have cold spots after the engine warms up. If badly clogged flushing it may not help.
The lower radiator hose doesn't collapse, it has a spring built into it
Most of them do. The spring can rust, weaken, and break causing the hose to collapse due to water pump suction.
That might be it, cloging in the Radiator. I will have to flush, the system and hope the source of rust doesn't come back to soon. Thank you! The lower radiator hose doesn't collapse, it has a spring built into it (which from the freshness of the spring seems to be original -> time to replace).