Dodge Ram 1500 2001 250,000 miles

During the winter, the check engine light would come on, and I took it to Autozone, and they said the engine wasn't getting hot enough. I didn't worry about it much since the summer was coming. Now we are in Spring, and I noticed the temperature going to 210 when I am idling after driving. About a week ago I changed the thermostat with a 192 Failsafe from O'Reilly, and not the 195. Today, while sitting in the Whataburger drive thru with the A/C on, the temperature got up to 220. After driving off, it went back down to 190 or so. Any ideas? After changing the thermostat, I filled it up with antifreeze coolant. The water pump was changed about 3 years ago. I am worried about it overheating being in Houston, with the Summer heat coming soon. Thanks!

 

Check the clutch fan

 

It didn't look eradicate. It engaged with the A/C and disengaged when turned off. It didn't wobble or anything. We are talking about the A/C clutch right?

 

No, the fan clutch . Sorry, screwed that up.

 

+1 on fan clutch. mines shot. also check you thermostat. mines stuck open. lucky for me that they cancel each other out and i dont over heat anymore . but i am going to fix both eventually

 

Also make sure your cooling system is burped too. You might have an air bubble.

 

How do you get rid of that? Drain and refill?
I just replaced it with a brand new one two weeks ago.
How do you tell if it's bad? When I replaced the water pump 3 years ago, I didn't change the fan clutch. I just bolted the whole thing back on to the water pump. When the engine is off and I give it a spin, it moves a little, but only about 1/4 rotation. It seems kind of stiff.

 

No. With the truck cold, drive the passenger side up onto a ramp or something to get it higher than the drivers side. Remove the radiator cap and have plenty of coolant mixture ready. When the t-stat opens, it will start circulating coolant and will sooner or later burp and spit coolant everywhere. Just make sure you keep coolant in the rad while it's burping.

 

Do yourself a favor and download the free service manual from the FAQ/DIY section. The procedure for testing it should be in it, along with a lot of other valuable info.

 

I thought I would install a new fan clutch, since I don't think it has ever been replaced, and I didn't see any improvement. I went to O'reillys to ask for input, and he said to maybe try a new radiator cap. I bought one for $5, and it seemed to stay cooler longer, but then it went up after idling. I thought I would check the coolant level again, and it was very low. I could of sworn I just filled it up a few weeks ago. This time, I let the engine run, and filled it up to the top. Now, it is almost staying too cold. It tends to stay around the 150 mark. My check engine light came on, and I know it's because it wasn't getting hot enough. I will keep an eye on it for awhile.