I noticed my efan kicking on the other day which has NEVER happened. so i checked the coolant level and was almost a full gallon of coolant low!!! I see no leaks from any hoses or the rad and havent seen or smelled anything? Shes not leaving puddles either. WTF gives? I am now checking the fluid level every day before i drive it but it is right where i topped it off? I checked the fluid level at the beginning of the winter and it was fine in both the overflow and rad...am i missing something here? Ive obviously got a leak somewhere but i cant for the life of me locate it. Anyone have a suggestion as to what may be leaking?

 

Is your oil milky? Could be a freeze plug on the back of the block

 

did you have to add to the radiator? or just to the overflow?


if you only added to the overflow i would just keep an eye on the level, and spend some time looking around all the hoses/water pump ect for signs of a leak, it could be a freezeplug, it could be the heater core (unlikely as you would smell coolant in the cab) or just a small leak which evaporates as it hits the engine never leaving a mark, if the level doesnt keep going down i wouldnt bee too concerned about it.

you havent overheated it have you? if it overheats and overfills the overflow it just blows the coolant all over the road

 

no milky oil on the dipstick or signs of it when i changed the oil last week. There was some on the oil cap but its done that in the past. It was only a film on the bottom of the cap.

I had to add roughly a half gallon to the rad and about the same to the overflow. It hasnt overheated but the temp was 3/4s of the way across the the temp gauage when the efan came on. Which seems to be about 1/4 to a 1/3 farther than it has ever been(hope that makes sense). It usually sits at an 1/8th under halfway. Where is the freeze plug located? Is it something i can check or should i have my mechanic check it out for me?
Thanks for the help guys.

 

If it was that hot it was overheated and it could have lost the coolant from the tube at the top of the overflow. Keep an eye on the level of the coolant. Next time it seems to start gettin to hot turn the truck off

 

I would also check where the hose from where the overflow goes into the radiator, that hose could have been cut, rotted out, or just came off. Also check where the plastic tank meets the aluminum part of the radiator

 

as long as the temp gauge does not get past the high hash mark on the dash you did NOT overheat, so im not sure where it made it to, but usually if it gets too hot the check gauges light will come on and the truck will ding at you to catch your attention.

there are a few freeze plugs, at least one of them is behind the transmission bell housing, and i would think one on each side of the block



the temp gauge on the left is between two has marks in this pic, as long as it stays between those you did not overheat, if it goes over to the right you have a problem, you need to tell us if that happened or not

 

Based on my knowledge if u go over 220* your overheating. There's no reason a motor should be going that hot. My cluster is different than yours shrp. Mine has a hash mark at 130*, 210*, and 260*. 3/4 of the way would be just about 220* maybe more.

 

you have this dashboard then, however the OP has the same one that i do



and yes 210 seems to be just a hair above normal, 220 is warm, but not enough that i would be alarmed at having it get there, dodge built the alarms into the truck to tell you when you are operating in unsafe conditions for a reason, SO THAT YOU STOP WHEN IT BECOMES BAD FOR YOUR ENGINE, as long as you dont ignore those warnings and use common sense id say you wont have any problems, there is some play built into the gauges so that you can see it getting warm before it does any damage.

that said unless the alarm went off and got ignored i would say the engine was NOT overheated and is most likely fine.

and btw 260 is where the temp gauge pegs on that dash, its the highest temperature reading that will display

 

I thought he had my dash, oops.

You are correct but for safe measures if mine is around 220 it gets shut off. Runnin a constant 220* can ruin internals and seals, I've seen it done before so I just tend to play things safe.