So im pretty new to dodges and 4x4s in general and i picked up a 97 ram the other day. It runs only at about 140-150 degrees and i cant figure out why. I flushed the cooling system and changed the thermostat with a stock 195 replacement. The only thing i can think would be the problem would be the radiator is clogged because the coolent that i flushed out was pretty old and gunky or the fan because it is always running and in not sure if it is supposed to be clutch driven or not. Anybody had this problem or have any insight on what it could be????

 

Clutch fan will always spin when the engine is on.Try checking your Coolant temp sensor if it's going out it could give you a faults reading

 

it just seems like the fan is pushing a whole lot of air even at idle. im pretty sure is a correct temp reading because i can hold the radiator hose that goes to the thermostat and normally it would start to burn my hand pretty quick. also that hose feels real pressured up like the thermostat never opened. i think the radiator might also have a problem because there is a pretty big temp difference from side to side. so im pretty stumped at this point.

 

What part of the country are you in

 

colorado

 

eh could be the cold but i doubt it, it's in the mid 20's to low 30's here and my running temp is right around 200

 

ya i really doubt that its the temp. i have never had a car with this problem before and i have lived here my entire life. one of my buddies that is a mechanic said he had a problem similar to this in a 98 or 99 ram and the only way it would get up to temp would be towing something in the middle of summer and he ended up changing the radiator and it fixed it. could it be that easy in this case?

 

No idea man, cause if shes not warm to the touch then you know shes not overheating atleast. dont fix what aint broke

 

ya its not overheating but its just not right. i just want the piece of mind knowing that everything runs right and continues to in the future. this will be my first fuel injected car coming from a 62 fairlane and a 64 ranchero. im just tired of working on cars every couple of days haha

 

Id say give it a week or two of normal driving, usually if something is wrong it will surface in that time frame.