I have a 98 Ram 1500 5.2 with major overheating problems. I have a small leak in my radiator that I sealed with Epoxy and haven't had problems. I also changed out the thermostat which seemed to fix the problem, it ran about 160 where it should be no leaks or anything. A few days ago I was driving and the radiator and reservoir were both full, and it started overheating and got up to 210, I didn't think too much of it then about a mile after that I was at a light, it went up to 260 and shut itself down. After it cooled down I was able to park it and got it towed back and it was completely out of water, but just the radiator not the reservoir. I never heard a loud bang, no smoke or water coming out of my tailpipe, and my oil looks the same, not like a blown head gasket. Last night I took the thermostat out because I figured it wasn't opening and letting water in but I haven't driven it anywhere yet in fear of getting stuck somewhere. Has anything like this happened? Help please!!

 

https://dodgeforum.com/forum/dodge-r...s-section.html

 

welcome to df. you have a water leak.

fill it up with water and let it run awhile.
check the condition of the engine. you're checking for noise, overheating, water in oil, skipping or misfire or running poor.
check for obvious leaks with radiator cap off. this also burps air.
if all ok, top it off and put the cap back on and let it run awhile longer.
check for leaks (you have one somewhere).
shut if off and let it sit awhile, keep checking for leaks.

safety - don't remove cap when hot.

don't drive it very far until you fix the leak.
any overheating above 210 is not right and you need to stop immediately, as excess heat can damage your engine very quickly.

 

Thanks. I still haven't found the leak, I was driving it around to check it some and it was popping, not a bang but sounded like a pop from the tailpipe and felt like the transmission was lurching. Any ideas?

 

Check this thread out. https://dodgeforum.com/forum/2nd-gen...um-thread.html . And also in your first post you say "it ran about 160 where it should be" is not correct. It should run hotter than that, providing you installed the correct 195 stat.