Been a while since I post on the forum. Still have the D after 14 years and haven't had any issues in quite some time. Over the last couple of months though it has developed an over heating issue. I can't turn on the a/c with out the temp shooting up! It will run just fine all day with out the a/c but as soon as I turn it on it over heats.
After reading several posts I decides to do some work to the car. Replaced:
Fan clutch, water pump, hoses, thermostat (180 degree), radiator cap.
The radiator it self is only a couple of years old.
I also had the trani dropped to replace all the gaskets and fluids.
I can't think of anything else I can do. I've read about the electric fan convention but I'm hesitant going that rout and throwing more money at it. My oldest son now has his permit and will be driving come March. I would love to keep the car around for him if I can but not sure if it's practical any more.
Any thoughts or advise is greatly appreciated.

 

Is it ok if you're driving down the highway with the a/c on?

 

I mostly do city driving, lot of stop and go. Temps in Miami now run in the high 90s. If I turn the a/c on the temp will climb even while ideling in the driveway.
If I keep the a/c off, I can run the car all day with no problem.
I thought I had an issue with the system not being effective enough to handle the excess heat from the a/c coil but I'm out of ideas now.

BTW, what does "burping" the cooling system mean? I've seen a couple of threads on this. I just got the car back from the shop and I'm not sure if they did that after replacing the water pump and adding the fluids back.

Thanks!

 

I had a similar issue with my 2001 Durango after having the transmission changed. It all of a sudden would get hotter than normal...by "burping" the system it seems to be all good now. Burping the system refers to removing any trapped air in the system when topping off fluid in the radiator. There is a torx head screw that is supposedly for this purpose, I however chose to open the radiator cap when cold, start the engine, and added fluid as it was running...I could see air bubbles coming into the opening...once they stopped, and all was full again, no more issues. Hope this helps..

 

Seeing how it behaves on the highway would let us know if the issue is airflow related or not.

 

Could it be an issue with the a/c and the condenser? I drove the car last night for an hour in stop and go traffic with out the a/c and the temp ran no higher than 210. Stayed at about 195 most of the time.

 

There are a lot of factors possibly at play here which is why I'd like to try and rule things out first.

 

That guy,
I did what you asked this morning. Drove on the highway doing 60 to 65 mph for about 10 miles and the car was perfect. Stayed below 210 all the way. As soon as I hit the surface streets to turn around it shot up to about 220 and then back down again on the highway. I had both a/c units on at full blast.
As I took the exit home, the car overheated again. There wasn't much traffic and the temp out side today is about 85 degrees.
When I got home it was running about 230 and there was a faint smell in the cab. I'm not a mechanic and don't have a lot of experience so I wouldn't be able to tell you what it smelled like.
No smoke in the engine area or out of the tail pipe. Felt a lot of heat moving out of the fan on the left side. Condenser felt hot but not unbearable. I could also feel the fan pulling air through the radiator and condenser. More air around the perimeter than the middle.
Thanks.

 

Sounds to me like the fan isn't pulling enough air through the radiator and fan then. What kind of fan clutch did you get? Can you hear it engaging when the engine is getting hot (starts roaring like a big turbo diesel)? Can you see lots of rocks or other debris blocking the condenser?

 

Bought it at Advanced Auto Parts. Not sure who the manufacturer is. The fan runs right when the vehicle is turned on and it doesn't seem to go any faster unless I throttle it. Not sure how it's suppose to work properly but if you describe how, I'll check and get back with you.
Thanks