Quick Question. My truck (00 Ram 1500 5.9l) Runs when fully warm about 170*F (With a 190 Temp Thermostat) Unless my guage is messed up.. I got it two months ago, never noticed an issue, just thought it had a low thermostat in it. On the guage, there is 130, middle is 210, and then there is overheating.. Mine runs directly between 130 and the middle of 210. It was pretty cold the other morning.. I warmed it up, but the heat was horrible.. We froze! I though maybe the temp was to low to get enough heat, or that there was no thermostat in it.. I bought a 190 thermostat yesterday, and installed it.. Same thing.. Still runs low, (Unless of course the guage is off, possible, I took out a 190 thermostat) and my heat is still Barely there.. The antifreeze level is full, and there is no leak. My fan works, all speeds.. and like I said, you CAN feel a small amount of heat.. more like barely warm. Now, I know on the newer models, the defrost runs off the A/C Compressor.. On this truck, that is nonexistant.. The compressor is froze up and has been bypassed with the belt. Would that have anything to do with it? Or, the heater core? I havent checked the heater core, but there is no leaks.. I am going to run it today with the cap off to see if I can get any air out of the system.. Is there something I am missing? Thanks in advance!

 

I am gunna add this, though I am NOT happy about it.. I did get a look at the antifreeze that came out yesterday, and it was full of little pepper looking stuff.. Stop leak.. =\ Is it possible it has clogged my heater core? I was searching some posts, nothing to similar, but I did notice one about someone's heater core being plugged up.. Then it hit me, When I saw the stop leak...... Ew.

 

Stop leak does like to clog heater cores. If the system was leaking at one point, good chance there is still air trapped in the system as well. These trucks can be a pain to purge all the air from.

You could try backflushing the heater core...... it might help some. I would also replace your thremostat. Doesn't sound like yours is quite right.

 

Id do what HeyYou said , but flush the entire system not just the core.

 

Then he'll find out why the stop leak was in there.

 

Well if it is the heater core have fun. Just did one today on a '97 Ram and it sure was a pain. Try the flush and purge to get any air out, then thermostat. All else fails put a new heater core in. They arent that $$ and you can honesty do it yourself, it just take a bit of time.

 

my core and system was clogged to high heavens. every time i turned the truck on i heard the gurgle from under the dash. got it flushed and now the heat burns me out. im still getting a very faint smell of coolant coming through the vents but i don't think its the core.

the guy that flushed it said something about it pulls heat from near the windshield or something? i happen to notice that when i used some de-icer on the windshield i could smell it in the cab. does that sound right or am i losing my mind?!

 

On normal settings, the blower draws air from the base of the windshield. So, anything that gets down below that nice grillwork there has the chance to make its way into the cab. Completely normal.

 

that would explain the de-icer smell coming in since it was running down the windshield.

another thing i notice is when the heat is in the off position i still get a LOT of heat coming through the vents. also that seems to be when i get the most of the coolant smell.

 

There is airflow even when the blower is off. (so long as the truck is moving....) If you are getting more of a coolant smell with the blower off, need to look for coolant leaks under the hood.