Hey guys,

I just bout this ram not to long ago and I noticed a puddle when i was letting it idle one day. When i popped the hood i saw coolant all over the inside of my passenger side fender. Upon further inspection I saw that right under the dipstick for the oil where I believe is the water pump meeting the block it looks like the guy that replaced the serp belt and water pump used that RVT make a gasket and its leaking out when cold. Is this the water pump? Also how hard is it to pull apart and replace gasket in there.

Thanks Anthony.

ps i can post pics if needed.

 

May be water pump or timing cover gasket. if you do the WP, you might as well go for the timing chain.

and if you have basic mechanical knowledge you can do it. IMO its a piece of cake.

 

Check Here. I am in the same boat. gl
scroll down to #17. Water pump replacement

 

Yeah, that is the water pump leaking. Its a pretty easy job. Just get a new gasket at Napa and you'll be set.
Here is a DIY that also covers the replacement of the timing chain:
http://www.pavementsucks.com/tech-article-37.html

 

Just finished changing my pump today, got back from the test drive about 15 minutes ago actually. I started on it yesterday and found the heater core bypass tube was rusty and the area where the o-ring goes split open when I was removing it, the upper hose(short one) was swelled up bad so I replaced that also. Mine was doing the same thing when driving it would sling the leaking coolant around the engine bay and ground, when parked it would drip down along the belt under the WP pulley and around the crank pulley then to the ground.

On mine the gasket was fine but the weep hole on the pump was leaking, first was just a small puddle for a couple months, like a cup worth, then got worse to the point that it was pushing all the water out within about 10 minutes of driving.

It isnt difficult thats for sure, but Ive changed water pumps on other cars/trucks that are MUCH easier. After the fan is off its pretty basic stuff.. if you have a pressed on pulley you may have to jerry-rig something or rent/buy a tool.. Autozone does not rent the proper tool for pressed on pulleys.

 

yea they do...

 

Not around me they dont.. the Dodge kit they had didnt have the spanner wrench with the "pins" and had the wrong size wrenches even though Dodge 5.9 was listed on the back of the box, the Ford etc kit had the 36mm wrench but again no spanner wrench with pins to go into the holes on the pulley.

I ended up using screws stuck into the holes and a screwdriver between them to hold the pulley still.

 

Very easy to do, if you have common sense. From what I remember, you don't have to worry about getting a special tool for a "pressed on pulley".It's as simple as, take off the old WP. Clean both mating surfaces real well. Then just apply the new gasket as you would any other gasket. One thing I will say is to apply RTV on the long bolts to aid in preventing any leaks.

 

check closely for where your leak is. if its coming out the weep hole on the bottom of the water pump, or around the pulley shaft/seal, then the water pump must be replaced.

on the other hand, if its ONLY leaking from the timing cover gasket, (and you're lazy as hell like me), then you might be able to remove any loose RTV, dirt, grime, etc, and put a nice big fat glob of rtv all over the whole area and seal it up.

if you do decide to replace wp, its a good time to replace timing chain, front seal, and fix the plenum. removal of harmonic balance requires a pulley which you can borrow from the parts stores.
pics of where you're headed...
https://dodgeforum.com/forum/2nd-gen...ater-pump.html