So I recently went on a 10 hour round trip with my 02 Dakota and noticed that when I let it warm up for it to be warm in the truck, the temp guage was half way in between, it has always stopped at about a quarter at other times and at normal. When the temp guage is this high and I'm idling, the heater also doesnt blow warm air until I get the truck moving again. What could be causing this? No CEL

 

Low on coolant?

 

oh I feel like an idiot now, it was low, but it there common places where coolant leaks? I topped off couple months ago and its low again

 

Bypass hose from water pump to intake manifold is one. And it's a pain. Pressure test the system, see if anything obvious presents itself.

 

how much would this make it leak? Mine leaked from the max line to a little under the minimum in about 3 months

 

All leaks are different. You just need to keep it topped off with coolant, till you fix the leak. Check it once a week or so. Also, are you only checking the overflow tank? You should also pull off the radiator cap and fill that too.

 

I've been checking the the tank with the cap that says "engine coolant only" which I'm assuming is the overflow tank, do you mean the metal radiator cap?
would a coolant leak additive be a good idea since it's a pretty small leak?

 

bars leak likes to plug up the heater core. Not suggestable.

Yes you need to remove the metal radiator cap (engine cold), fill the top hose, then fill the overflow bottle.

What year truck? 00 and newer will have an electric fan that may not be engaging. Your mechanical fan clutch may also not be working properly.

You could be losing coolant to a cracked head (common issue), a slit bypass hose (also common), or elsewhere in the system (unlikely).

 

Yes, the metal cap. It's actually much more important than the overflow, but you should keep both topped off. If the coolant in your radiator is low and you just add to the overflow, the coolant will only make it back to the radiator/cooling circuit once the engine is run and fully cooled again (google how a radiator cap works). Depending on how low the system was, the overflow might be low again, till you keep adding and the system reaches equilibrium.

Now don't be a dummy like me and forget to push down and close that metal cap ALL the way. LOL https://dodgeforum.com/forum/2nd-gen...the-4-7-a.html

And yeah, like Magnet said... don't add an additive. Not if you like having heat in the winter. Plus, you don't even know where it's leaking from. It could be a rubber hose, etc. You can rent a pressure tester from the auto parts store (which ends up being free when you return it). It's basically like a big bicycle pump with a radiator cap on it. You pump it up to the max level marked on your metal radiator cap and it pressurizes the cooling system. If there is a leak, you can search for it without dealing with moving engine parts or heat. You can drive it up on ramps, pressurize it, get under it and wait for the drips. All this while engine is cold.

This is from a thread of mine where I found a leak. Pictures are always better than words.

https://dodgeforum.com/forum/2nd-gen...ml#post3268109

 

is there a way to see which one it is without taking half the engine apart?