I forgot about the Viper having the same pattern(its a b***h getting old)and I didnt know that the pathfinders were the same, too new for me. I had the dubious honor of getting to talk to a bunch of the Chrysler engineers at the All Chrysler nationals in Carlisle PA. one time and I remember asking why they wouldnt put the 5.9 magnums in the pre 96 Dakotas and the answer was that they couldnt get them to cool. He went on to explain that they had certain requirements that had to be met to make it go into production and one of them is to load the vehicle to its maximum hauling/towing capacity with all of the accesories on and pull a 5 or 6 percent grade for 5 miles and if it overheated it wouldnt make it into production. I thought about it after that and realized that they just have to cover their own butts as far as warranties go and a lot of the decisions made behind the scene were made within those parameters.I have installed several 5.9 and4 inch stroked 5.9s in the 92 through 96 Dakotas and can testify that its absolutely true, they wont cool.God help you if you get caught in traffic without an electric fan(which by the way there is no room to mount in the Dakotas). They send the engineers out to a lot of the shows with their concept cars and they are really interesting guys to talk to.

 

Hey hemichuck! not to get off subject, but I have installed the 5.9 in my truck And I have no cooling problems. I do have eletric but when I had the engine driven fan. I still had no problem. I do live in the desert and I drive the sh*t out of it with towing up hills and no problem. So I was wondering what is the problem you have came across with the cooling sys.

 

When I bought my truck new in 1992 it had a 5.2 magnum stock and it was usually fine but when you let it sit and idle with the air on it would get well over 220 and keep climbing.It would also warm up when you were towing a lot of weight in the warm summer months.I made a miserable trip to Savannah Ga. once to pick up a Dart convertible. It was over 100 degrees with 98 percent humidity and I had to drive the whole way with the windows down.After I changed the engine to a 5.9 it did the same things except it was more apparent because there was more motor to cool.I tried 160 and 180 thermostats,changed the radiator several times,changed the clutch fan ,even tried 2 styles of fan clutch.I installed an electric fan out front and that cured the problem in normal use but it would still heat up under extreme conditions.I might mention that I had Marsh underdrive pullies after I went to the 5.9 and used them on the 4 inch motor too which I am sure compounded my problem. I.m not the only one that had these kinds of problems,I run with a pretty large group of Mopar guys who were racing Dakotas and every one of them could tell you at least one overheating horror story.I guess I should have mentioned that I was talking about high performance motors up front but I'm so used to all of my buddies building up their stuff that I just assume that the whole worlds doing the same thing(and we all know what happens when we assume!) or maybe thats just another assumption? Getting a little off base... I wonder if the humidity is a factor since you live in the desert there is an obvious lack of humidity in the air, and I live in Kentucky where 60 percent and up humidity is just a fact of life? Do you tow anything like cars and Firewood(probably a stupid question since you live in the desert) Is your truck all stock or does it have any mods?

 

A Hell of alot of mods. My engine is 5.9rtbord over .030 and milled down heads and block, ported heads. High performace injectors coil wires plugs. RT OBD2 computer. 52mm throttle body.KegIntake. No SC not yet! I could keep on going. Ya maybe the humity has something to do with it. The mostwe get is 10-15 percent normaly. Of corse itgoes up higher when it rains.I have gone in 110 deg while towing a large trailer up in the mountains some steep hills. And Ac on. NO Over heating. Im always towing my TA to the dragstrip and cement and tile, building materials around.

 

I once had to haul a bunch of tools, shelfs, metal cases in a trailer and in the bed. Truck was really load down, it was like 100 degrees and humity propley around 90%. I had the A/C going but had to shut it off as I was goin up the highway ramp. But as I reached a crusing speed I was able to turn it back on with out it overheating. And I have no electric fan only a 180 thermo

 

I heard 6 lug fords will interchange but i'm not a ford guy. As a matter of fact I've never owned a ford.

 

6 lug fords will interchange with dodge 3/4 ton 6 lugs but not Dakotas

 

Crazy4x4RT ,Maybe I need to move to the desert,I dont like cold weather anyways and my sinus problem hasnt gone away in 40 years. I'm getting ready to stick a 5.9 in an 87 Dakota shortbed with a carb and a 5 speed. I'll see how it works out in that one and get back to you if I need directions to the desert.As they said in Raising Arizona,I could get me a suburban Tempe starter home. I'm thinking maybe some of my heating problem in the later days was from my trans slipping causing excessive heat.But that trucks gone now so maybe this other one will be different

 

RE: Above picture OUCH!!!!!

 

You aint kidding, Its still ouching and that happened last January. Drunk driver hit me at 70 while I was sitting still.At least nobody got killed