Hi all - I am hoping someone here can help me. I have a 2004 Dodge Dakota , 4.7 liter with tow package. I was on a 200 mile trip pulling my boat today and the truck started over heating (according to the dash) in trafic. When at freeway speeds it would cool down to normal temps. There apears to be no leaks but at idle it will overheat. Any ideas?

 

there is a couple of thing you have to look at,how hot did your gauge go to? did you actually overheat? your gauge may be reading off, did your electric fan go on? you said that when you are moving the temp gauge goes back down, that is telling me your coolant system is still working, when you are towing you are putting more stresss on the truck. another thing to look at is that your clutch on your fan may be bad.

 

The gauge went all of the way to red. As soon as I gotback on the highway it went back to a little below mid-level. The electric fan is working. How could I test the fan clutch? What else could I trouble shoot prior to going to the dealer? Is the thermostat easy to get to in our truck? Could that be stuck?

 

moe in wichita ks
could the air flow through the rad be blocked? ie dirt, bugs, paper ect.

 

you'll hear that fan kick in when shes around 205 degrees, it the fan keeps freewheeling at high temps, the clutch is more than likely shot. also what i would do, at long red lights, is put the truck in neutral and race the engine too 1200 rpm to keep the water pump moving the coolant faster than at idle, running the engine between 1200 - 1500 rpms simulates highway speeds when doing garage work on a vehicle

 

From accross the state of PA:

How about a general review of coolant system? Check these simple items: cap, coolant level, stuck (in closed position) thermostat.

If your engine runs hot and your upper hose is cool to the touch, I bet your termostat is shot??

Let us know what the issue is.

 

if any of those were true, the engine would overheat regardless he were on the highway or not, changing the rad cap and thermostat is still a wise choice but, it honestly sounds like this issue goes deeper. what ive come to find out with my v6 is that the fan will work up til a certain rpm before it kicks off where the water pump is moving at a high enough speed to flow the coolant fast enough for the electric fan to work with the assistance with enough speed to ram the air past the radiator. this is what ive noticed at slow speeds, however at highway speeds, i dont know if the fan kicks on or not, i would assume no, but il find out.

 

Did anybody ever reply to as what the fix for the overheating issue was? I'm currently dealing with the same problem. Thought I fixed it with a new clutch fan and upper rad hose cap assembly.....I thought wrong. It was actually working fine no overheating issues until today on a long trip it decided it was going to act up again. The problem is the same as if your driving on hiway your fine the temp wants to come down as soon as you idle then it becomes hot and the temp guage will start to rise. The fan is working but that upper rad hose still gets pretty hot and the one I replaced was bulged.

Any ideas????? or am I better off trading it and getting a Tacoma ..lol. Just sick of the bs. 4.7L V8 wasn't towing ....so frustrating.!!!!!!!!!

 

On the 3.7s and 4.7s, to find the thermostat, follow the lower radiator hose I believe.

Never let stress push you to just give up and buy a new truck. It's always better to hash it out and be patient and get it resolved than let yourself get into further debt just to feel better.

Unfortunately, I do not know exactly what could be causing this issue. I only have a working knowledge of the cooling system. I am subscribing to the thread because I would also like to know.

Come on, dodge forum, pull through for us on this one lol

 

I sure hope it is the thermostat???? that would be such an easy fix. I have already brought it to a dodge dealer and they said the thermostat was fine. I'm just hoping its not the heads??? I had the oil done and they mech said that it was fine no water... the water pump is good, no leaking from the rad and it seems to be running fine.

Thats the weird thing is that after I had the clutch fan done I took the truck to Whistler. So about 2 hours from where I live during the heat and no problems even let it run idle to test it and it seemed like problem solved. Then all of the sudden on the way back today it starts all over again which means i'm already out the dough from changing the upper rad hose assembly with cap, the clutch fan and had a diognostic which proved nothing....what a rip off don't let Dodge talk u into that waste of money. So frustrating right in the middle of summer with all the camping and trips already planned....... That's why I say Toyota.....at least you can take your family out and not worry that we might be some bears dinner...lol.