My 96 ram now has a overheating issue , this just started after setting around for a month or so while i messed around tring to fix a loss of fire issue. When i start it the heat gauge after a minute will go to red line ...steady and fast. ..anyone know where to look , i took the thermostat out and it didn't seem stuck at all , hope its not a head gasket or worse ?

 

Yeah you probably loosened the connection to the temp sender which is a one wire connector under the alternator and runs real close to the area you probably were working in. It is a gray connector and is to the left of the thermostat housing facing the engine down by the bolts that hold on the manifold. Or the sending unit is bad which is what this connector goes to. Your truck is probably fine. No vehicle gets that hot that fast.

 

I was thinking the same thing but my top rad hose gets hot and radiator cap stays cold.

 

In a period of a minute? The hose on my truck gets hot and I can put my hand on the cap and it is cool and this is after the truck has run for ten minutes or so. Pull the cap of the radiator and run the truck. Watch your temp gauge and when it pegs see how hot your coolant is. If this is happening in a period of a minute, your coolant will be cool. The truck can't get up to proper operating temp in a minute.

 

I acually went on a 4 km drive when i discovered the guage , the hose was to hot to hold onto and the cap was cool . Just messing with it in my yard it only seems to run a minute from cold before the heat guage starts climbing, fast than normal. This truck has always had heating issues , when not moving and seting at an idle it will overheat , unless its dead of winter cold outside, it needs air moving around the motor from driving to keep it cool.

 

You still have your factory clutch fan, right?

 

Yes.... but i feel rather stupid to say this.... it was super low on coolant , its now working good... thanks !

 

Glad it was a simple problem. Those are the ones that always get you... you automatically assume the worst, and many times it ends up being something simple.