i drove my truck from the shop back to my school and i got back the engine was hot as sh*t and the cap to the radiator was still cold not cool, cold so i went and flushed the coolant and when i opened up the valve what came out was about the consistancy of warm maple syrup so i flushed out the radiator until it ran clear water all the way thru and i filled it back up and got the air out but when i ran it water was leakin out of the pump the guy before me left a bolt out of the water pump and then poured stop leak in that he never flushed back out but is there anything i can do to make sure the coolant is flowin thru the engine and do yall have any advice or words of wisdom about workin on this

 

yes, use the period key (.) occasionally so i can stop and breathe. stand by while i try again to read it.

 

I would run regular water, through it a couple times, to get rid of all the stop leak

 

sorry i grew up in tennessee proper grammer wasnt emphasized that much in school

and ive done run about 6 gallons of water thru it just fillin it up and then drainin it and fillin it up again but how can i make sure all of the air is out

 

If you run it long enough all the air will escape, just make sure your resevoir bottle is full

 

you may have 2 or 3 different problems.
the overheating engine could be a failed (stuck closed) thermostat, not opening up and letting the hot (195*) coolant out of the engine and into the nice cool radiator.

the thick maple syrup could be rust, could be something else. i'd recommend draining not only the radiator, but removing the block drain plugs on each side, tucked in by/behind the engine mounts, and flushing the block, and also removing or cutting the heater hoses and backflushing the heater core both ways.

generally t-stats either work right or they don't, so you should test it for normal operation by starting it up and letting it idle in the driveway. keep an eye on your temp gauge. it sould fairly quickly warm up to about 195. (5 min or so unless you live up in santa land) at 195 the top radiator hose should change from cool to warm to hot, and the temp gauge should hold a steady 195. if it doesn't do that, its bad and needs replacement.

sometimes its easier to just cut the heater hoses and then splice in a short plastic pipe with clamps, than it is to jerk and yank on the heater core pipes. my opinion.

if the wp has not leaked before, then there's no good reason that it just started, unless the seal around the shaft is worn out, and the whole wp needs replacement. the missing bolt should have either always leaked, or always not leaked.

 

the guy who owned the truck before me said he pulled the thermostat and what do i need to pull the plugs on the block im at a boardin school and tools are limited and how do i get to the heater core on a dodge (im used to workin on camaros, ive owned 2)
but another problem is a bad head gasket (which i think was caused by this f*ckheads hackwork on everything) and the water pumped always leaked when the engine was revved but i caint see good enough to tell if its leakin at idle i replaced the missing bolt and it still leaks so im wonderin if the pump is bad like you said or the other bolts are loose or what but i plan on takin it off tomorrow to check it out

 

the block plugs on my 01 were about 9/16 hex heads and they were tighter than a sob. seems like there was no room for a socket and ratchet but i can't remember. one plug came out with a wrench and the other started to round off. i put the vise grips on it to break it loose.

heater core pipes come through the firewall on passenger side, up high. a hose from each side of the engine connects there.

 

good deal thnx i appriciate it

 

don't throw any money into it until you figure out what's what.

first of all, if i were you, i would pull the water pump and inspect the passages and replace the bolt. check your gaskets while you are in there, its cheap insurance. firststep to having the engine run good is NO LEAKS. i will write this assuming your clutch fan is working properly, or if you have electric fans, they are working as they should.

take your thermostat out and throw it in a pot of water and boil it. if it works, it should open before the water boils. if it is ok, flush the system with a good flushing product and follow its instructions. ifthe thermostatis bad, replace as necessary. then put the thermostat back in, problem fixed.

feel the radiator or the upper radiator hose once the engine gets to operating temperature. if you verified the thermostat is opening as it should, the hose and radiator should be hot. if they are not hot, take the thermostat out completely and run the engine. if your temperature does not stabilize, you may need a new water pump. i would replace the water pump before i replaced the radiator because radiators arent that prone to staying gummedup after agood flush or two. the final thing that may be causing the problem, which is evenmore rare isthe coolant passages in your block and/or heads may be gummed up enough to where it prohibits flow. like i said this is very rare. also keep in mind that a thermostat will clog up much faster than the radiator or engine block, and this will be evident when you pull the thermostat to verify it is working. don't forget gaskets!


PRIORITIES:

1.) Leaks
2.) Coolant level
3.) thermostat
4.) water pump
5.) radiator
6.) engine block/heads and fan