Hey guys,

I don't post at all, but I do crawl around the site from time to time.

My dad has a 2000 R/T, and yesterday he came home complaining that the truck might be overheating. I got in the truck and drove it for a good 10 minutes and noticed that the temp gauge would go up, and in to the red.

We left the truck over night with some flattened cardboard boxes underneath the motor so we could check for leaks. I came out this morning and found a stain on the boxes.

My question to you guys is this...Is there a way to check the water pump to see if it's dying or dead? What is the best way to check if the thermostat is working? And if there is anything else you guys can think of, please let me know!

- Chris

 

step one, top off the coolant.
you can add a UV dye to the coolant and it show up real nice with a UV light,
really theres no way to check the pump or the T-stat while they're in the truck, t-stats are cheap enough id just replace it to be sure,

 

First of all, QUIT DRIVING IT. R/T engines are not cheap. 2nd, inspect your water pump, around the pulley you may notice some white looking stuff if you follow it you will notice a hole in the pump that is designed to leak a little bit of coolant when the pump starts to go bad. usually they don't just go all at once though and your problem is most likely due to a sticking t-stat, and or a cloged radiator