A few days ago, my roommate noticed his 1997 Dodge Ram 2500 was running hotter than usual, and he was smelling coolant inside cab. I then discovered that roommate had been putting 100% antifreeze in truck, and lately has been adding a quart every month or so to keep full. As I have spent the last few months learning to work on my own 1993 GMC Suburban K2500 with great success, I offered to try to help roommate with his Ram.

So... we siphoned off nasty dark green sludge from his radiator, then filled with water and ran, then siphoned again. Repeat until no longer nasty. Then we isolated the radiator (he has a piggy back radiator set up that I have never seen before) and flushed/backflushed it until it ran clear. Then we removed old thermostat, inserted a flush tee into the heater hose and flushed entire system until it ran clean. Then, we installed new thermostat, gasket, cap, and re-filled to proper blend.

After test driving it, it sprung a visible seeping leak on the front driver's side of radiator at the metal/plastic seam. So, I added a bottle of Bars Leak Pelleted Radiator stop leak. The radiator is no longer leaking, and it seems to be running a little cooler.

I believe he has a leaking heater core (coolant smell in cab) and obviously, his radiator is in trouble. His radiator and heater hoses are also basically cooked at the junctions with block. I am told the bar's leak should work until the system gets flushed again, but I am concerned his heater core and radiator are both ticking time bombs and he may find himself stranded with a gallon of coolant in his cab. I am told there is no way to repair the radiator and it needs to be replaced. I am also told that the heater core is located in such a way that it is very challenging to get to it to replace.

Being a GMC girl, the Dodge Ram set up is VERY weird to me, and I'm not sure if I should continue trying to help him, or throw my hands up. My roommate does not have much money and cannot afford to take it to a shop right now. Plus, we are having an extremely bad winter so far, and I really don't want to bypass his heater core.

Any suggestions on how to fix his truck... even if it is a temporary solution until he can save money to take it to a shop?

Thanks for your help!!!
Janet

 

There aren't really any "temporary" solutions.

Replace the radiator, all associated damaged stuffs and the heater core.
Thats it. Thats really all ya can do.

BTW, the heater core REQUIRES removal of the dash, yeah, its a b1tch.


However, don't just take all this from me, wait for another member to come on here...

 

Your assessment of the situation is essentially correct. It is a problem, waiting to happen. Keeping some of the appropriate tools, and some coolant in the truck, in the event of the heater core finally giving up the ghost wouldn't be a bad plan. (the stuff you need to bypass the heater core on the side of the road......)

The heater core is indeed a fun job. Gotta drop the whole dash to get to it. Paying a shop to do it is a bit on the expensive side..... (understatement....) the heater core itself really isn't that expensive, just the labor that kills.

If you have a warm place to work, and a reasonable supply of tools, it isn't that bad of a job, just time consuming. There are walkthru's available on the net for just such an exercise. Have a read thru a couple, and see if it is something you want to tackle. Otherwise, the "wait till he has the money" thing is about your only choice.

Welcome to DF.

 

Thanks for the excellent suggestion about giving him the stuff he needs to bypass heater core on side of the road in case of emergency for the time being. I have an extra flush n fill capped tee adapter & clamps that would do the trick.

I also wondered.. his truck seems to run high compared to mine. I had gotten him a 192 thermostat, but then read somewhere that perhaps getting a 180 thermostat may be better? And, by the way.... why did they design the ram so that even getting to the thermostat is a bit of a pita??

I did a little reading on this forum about replacing his heater core. Seems like a SERIOUS PITA, but do-able. Have not figured out the piggy back radiator set up. Can he remove just the main radiator which had the visible leak, and leave the little one in front alone.... or are they replaced as a combination unit? Also, do you have to replace with the plastic/alum type radiator? I don't understand why this kind of radiator is used??

Thanks for the welcome and the help!!

 

The temp gauge isn't as accurate as you would like. If his truck runs around the 200 degree mark, its all good.

Not sure on the piggyback radiator. I seriously doubt it is stock. Maybe you are referring to the aux trans cooler, that comes with the heavy duty package?? Got pics? (of the radiator.......)

They went to the plastic/aluminum radiators for a couple reason, one was manufacturing costs. They are cheaper to build than the copper/brass fellers. Another was weight. They are a good bit lighter as well. They do the job, but, I don't particularly care for them either.

Why is the thermostat such a pain to get to? My Theory: Because automotive engineers HATE mechanics. They stay up nights thinking of ways to make the simplest of repairs an all day job. Look at the heater core on these trucks.......

 

ROFL! No offense, but GMC engineers are much nicer than Dodge!

He was just over the 200 mark before flush, now he is pretty much on or just under the mark. His temp gauge doesn't seem like it is 100% accurate though. Another dodge thing, I guess....

I have pics of the piggyback. So this is not a standard ram set up? I will try to figure out how to upload them to post on thread. I seriously don't get why it is there. Would love to just remove the whole thing and replace with a solid metal radiator.

Just thinking about the heater core makes me want to bang my head into a brick wall. Oh... and his dash is not cracked now. Is that really something he can expect to have happen if we replace the heater core ourselves??

 

It's a 2500 so I was thinking the same thing, it is the aux trans cooler

 

Be vewwy vewwy caweful when removing the dash, and do NOT over tighten the screws at the base of the windshield when putting it back in. Maybe you will get lucky. Cracked dashes were just about standard fair for these trucks.

Upload your pics to someplace like photobucket, or imageshack, then, use the image tags to insert the pics into your post.

GM engineers are just as guilty as all the rest. Working on a front drive car, don't even remember which one....... (just that it was a GM product....) had a V-6 in it. There was one bolt on the front of the motor, that HAD to come out, to get whatever I was really going for..... but, it was recessed back behind a few other parts, such that a normal socket wouldn't reach, but, with a deep well socket, there wasn't enough room between the engine, and the frame horn, to get the deep one in there.... not even pulling the dogbone mounts and rocking the engine EITHER direction would let me get a socket in there. I ended up having to drop the entire ENGINE CRADLE on that side, to get out ONE bolt...... I was NOT a happy puppy.

 

AH!! I see now. Just googled aux trans cooler and it looks like that is what it is. But, an aux trans cooler?? Again, wth?? Got the pics uploaded in an album on my profile. Not the greatest pics, but hopefully you can see well enough.

Hey you, I agree. At least my burb is laid out almost as if engineers wanted to make it easy for owners to work on themselves. I got to help my friend change his coolant temp sensor on his 2000 v6 blazer last night. After having to remove stuff to even see the sensor, you still needed teeny hands to get to it. I understand now why he calls his engine compartment a sardine can.

Roommate's ram is too big and designed by a twisted person, friend's blazer is too small and crammed... my burb is just right. LOL

Darn it about the dash.... I don't even want to try to replace core.... but from what I read, it is a $1000 repair job for a $60 part???

 

Yep, starting at the one closest to the engine, it is Radiator, the little feller in the middle is the aux trans cooler. (part of the heavy duty/towing package) and then the A/C condenser. Reasoning for the aux trans cooler is: Heat kills transmissions. Towing/hauling generates more heat in an automagic trans, so, additional cooling prolongs the life of the trans. (and these guys sucked from the factory.)

V-6 in an S-10 blazer? Yep. They install those with a shoe horn, and a sledgehammer. I want to be able to actually SEE the part that I want to work on. None of this "You can see it, OR you can touch it, but, never both at the same time." And the occasional, you can't see it at all...... just gotta try and find it by touch.... "Cramped" takes on a whole new meaning there.