I have a 2002 Dakota 4WD that has been overheating if driven over 50 miles or lots of stop and go. The temp will skyrocket if I was driving and then hit traffic but the moment I get going again the temp will drop.
If I pull over and look under the hood, coolant has sprayed out of the spout from the coolant reservoir and is all over the engine. I have to add approx 3 cups of coolant a day.
I've changed the coolant, thermostat, all hoses. It drove fine for about a month and now it's worse than ever.
Only place coolant is coming out is that spout from the reservoir. No other leaks. Gonna drain the coolant and use a flush. Any suggestions?

 

Get that radiator checked.

Also, there's a chance that the water pump is failing (as in the vanes have corroded out).

Plus, you may still have an air bubble in the water jacket.

Which motor, does it have an electric fan, and is the electric fan if it has one running?

RwP

 

How many miles? You "might"have a cracked head. I had similar problems with a BMW decades ago. For some reason it ran fine on the highway but would cook during around the town or sitting and idling.

But the radiator could be a good idea too. I'm not a fan of the bubble theory. I see it on many forums of many varied vehicles as the end all to overheating problems but I can't wrap my feeble head around that idea.

 

I have high mileage on the truck, 260k. I did a backflush on it this weekend. No other leaks found. I've driven it twice and in morning commute traffic. It hasn't overheated yet but it did spurt out coolant from the overflow reservoir again. I had to pour in about 2 cups of coolant to replace it. It's been doing this on and off for about 6 months or so.


If it was a failing water pump (2 years old), do you think it would have completely failed by now?


I have a regular fan with fan clutch and an electrical fan which comes on with the A/C. Both are working. Checked the relays and did volt meter test on the electrical fan's plug just in case something weird was going on.


So...should I replace the water pump and radiator? I'm trying to troubleshoot everything the cheap and easy way and not replace parts that do not need to be replaced. Also, I've never replaced a water pump or radiator. Is it simple enough? Is it worth buying a fan clutch wrench or just borrow one from someone?


Thanks guys! I truly appreciate the help!

 

How old is the rad cap if old replace with a quality cap a STANT.

 

I have had 2 dakotas act up like this. It turned out the clutch on the fan was not fully engaging on both.

 

It's not so much the air bubble as the lack of coolant where the air bubble is ...

And as it runs around in the water jacket, the hot spots move around.

Plus, where there's air not coolant, what you end up with is superheated steam. In addition, the coolant won't pressurize properly (since the air pocket will compress), so it's less capable of cooling.

Consider if you drain the coolant out, all you HAVE is an air bubble ...

RwP