Have a 2001 ram, 5.9L, 170K miles. Towing the boat back from the lake today and the lower radiator hose blew. Was only running water doing a flush so I didn't smell anything. No lights came on and no warning sounds....

I heard it start to ping and noticed my temp about 220. Went to pull into the gas station and the truck died. Tried to turn it over and it almost acted like it was frozen. Barely turned over and wouldn't start. A guy towed me into the station. That's where I found the hose blown. Put it back on and filled it with water. Took about 1/2 hour getting fixed so it cooled down. It started, but was not happy. Brother said black smoke was coming out of the exhaust when I circled the lot.

He pulled the boat home for me and I drove mine back home about 10 miles. The gauge kept reading like 240 and would drop to 185 and then back up. I kept pulling over to inspect and it didn't seem to be running hot. Parked it in front of the house and hasn't leaked a drop of oil or water since. Did start it back up just now and it's running really rough at idle.

I'm thinking the heads are probably smoked, but what else may have fried along with them. I can tear it down, I just need to know what to look for. This really sucs!

Thank you,
Mike

 

Heads are likely toast but to a compression and leak down test to verify.

 

put a hose on and put water in it. take it to a close good shop have it checked for damage. ie head gasket so on. keep a close watch on coolant level.

 

I put new heads on it 1.5 years ago so I'm handy enough to do it again. I have a complete top end gasket kit in the garage. I was going to pull the drivers head because something was going on inside cylinder #5. So this job just moved it to the top of the list.

Did the lifters, water pump, heater core, timing chain and gears when I did the heads.

So if I yank the heads and take them to the local shop for inspection, What else is there to check while in there? Could anything have happened to the block or pistons/rings? Looked at the oil on the dipstick and there's no water in there. I'll drain it to confirm.

Thanks

 

It would more than likely crack/warp a head before doing any block damage. I have a hemi in my wifes durango that got over heated by po and dropped all 8 valve seats,damaged pistons and heads were toast. There went that engine but the place to start is pulling your heads and having them checked. Hopefully it is just a head gasket..

 

Do the tests as posted see what you get for numbers. Overheated motors can go both ways some can be just fine with a few parts, others are just never the same again no matter how much work you do to them. If the heads are warped good chances the block is as well, machining the heads smooth and then trying to bolt them to a warped block don't work too well most times. With the way your temp was up and down I would guess your system was not full, kooling and reheating to those temps was not good.

Edit: Just from your description of how things went I would be ready for a full rebuild top to bottom.

 

cast iron block and heads can withstand a lot compared to aluminum. 240* shouldn't warp to my knowledge.

 

First, burp the system. Probably have air trapped in it. Pull dipstick and see if water is in oil. Then check for exhaust gasses in coolant while running. Then do compression and leak down. Pray for a good outcome a=on all of these...

 

They don't warp, but the stock heads crack.

 

I know they crack from clogged cats but didn't know about them cracking from overheating. I guess if you run it long enough.