okay, so here's the story.

im 19 and ive got a 1996 ram 1500 with a 5.9L that i got from my mom after she got herself a new car. the thing is, she never maintenanced the truck and she always waited for something to go wrong before she fixed it so now im kind of stuck with this time bomb (dont get me wrong, i love the truck.) the cooling system is probably the worst, its got years of corrosion from her adding water when the fluids were low.

the trucks been overheating lately, so im replacing my thermostat from 195 to 180. if this doesn't fix my overheating then im gonna get a new radiator for it, which i have no problem installing.

heres my problem. i was under the truck today and theres tons of oil running down the sides of the engine so i checked my oil levels and everything was normal which was weird. then after looking closer, both of my valve cover gaskets are blown so...

Q #1. could overheating have anything to do with the gaskets blowing?

by no means am i a mechanic. i know my way around an engine and ive replaced a few things here and there but ive never pulled off valve covers with the engine still in the truck so...

Q #2. Is this something i could do by myself or should i take it to a mechanic?

Q #3. while ive got my valve covers off, should i go ahead pull of my intake manifold and replace my plenum? looking at it through my throttle body, i dont see any liquid or corrosion so i think its alright.

Q #4. anything else i should do while im under the hood?

 

I will tell you right off the bat that a 180º is NOT going to fix the over heating issue. People who think they are only fooling themselves. There could be many issues why the truck is overheating such as:
Faulty radiator cap
Pinholes in the radiator
Clogged radiator
Clogged passages in the block
A worn/defective water pump
A head gasket leak

Your first order of business is to learn proper trouble-shooting and not just swapping parts *****-nilly.

 

well that wasnt very helpful. i know swapping parts isnt going to fix it but between school and gas, i dont have the money to throw into the truck to fix my entire cooling system -as much as i want too - so this is the best i can do.
plus, my thermostat wasnt opening fully, so i needed a new one anyway and i live in florida where its hotter than hell so id be better off with a 180 anyway. instead of being so rude, would you mind helping answer some of my questions?

 

Ok if you want to start cheap start by flushing the entire cooling system and putting in a stock 195 stat. A water pump might not be a bad idea either... Valve cover gasket can be done when in the truck. Not difficult at all.. If you have the money go ahead and do the plenum repair while you are in there that way you dont gotta worry about it.

 

just drained the system, i'm putting in a 180 stat. I've replaced my water pump about 4 months ago, the pump fins were completely gone, i'm sure that contributes to the crap i'm dealing with now. and i'm gonna hold off on the plenum, I've gotta save money for a new rad. im afraid its clogged, we'll see.

 

Put a 195 stat in. Just because you live in florida means nothing. If you cant afford to fix it right. Then for now , remove the old and don't bother to install a new stat. If it still overheats with the correct(working and tested stat 195), the problems are obviously elsewhere.

 

Agree with ZMAN.. the 180 stat is only good for you if you got a tune from SCT... The 180 will possibly give you a CEL. just stick with stock and test it before you put it in. If the water pump is pretty new and the stat doesnt help id say the radiator is an issue..

 

96 won't care about the 180 stat, fuel economy will suffer though.....

Flush the cooling system. Twice.... and maybe even a third time.... see what happens.

Valve cover bolts on the trucks are self-loosening.... might just try and tighten them up, and see what happens.

Clean off what you can, so you can see if anything new is accumulating.

VW may not be the most politically correct member here, however, everything he said holds true. He is rather knowledgeable, so don't write him off just because he can occasionally come across as rude.

 

i wish i was 19 again....

ok, i'll be different, i'd put in a 180 tstat anyway, but don't expect it to solve your problem. it will only ALLOW it to run 15* cooler if the radiator is any good which it probably is not.

do all this yourself. read the DIY posts on here and pavementsucks. also download any of the pdf service manuals on the DIY stickies for free.

first check that your valve cover bolts are not loose. if they are not loose, then replace with a set of felpro rubber gaskets. they vary in price, some are expensive as hell. i got those and they haven't leaked a drop in 6 years.

valve cover gaskets and plenum repair don't overlap/intersect, so don't worry about doing them at the same time. DO consider plenum, water pump, and timing chain as one event since they overlap.

#4 - don't waste money on throttle body spacer, cold air intake, chrome air filter, or any other bull**** part.

welcome to df.

 

lol..