CANNOT EDIT THE TITLE - SHOULD READ 1996!

New user and hope I'm in right place and following rules. Think I know what should be next but not sure and any help would be appreciated. Not experienced too much with cars since I picked this truck up in 96.

96 Ram 1500, 5.2, 4 wheel drive. Original owner, 110,000 miles.

Recent issues and where I am:

Nov '13 - check engine light. Misfire cylinder 8. Oil on plug, burning oil. Very slight oil leak onto manifold from valve cover gasket. Mechanic replaced plugs, added fuel injector cleaner which I had already done just before this. Leak not bad and mechanic said could wait. No more check engine light...slight burning oil smell from time to time from the /oil manifold - no real reduction in oil levels.

1 month ago. Driving on highway, squealing noise started and a bit of shuddering. Got to off-ramp when started to overheat. Got to about 250 or so, a bit before red and stopped immediately and could smell coolant. Found belt partially off, water pump pulley very loose, lots of coolant on ground and on engine but could not tell where it came from.

Towed to mechanic, diagnosed bad water pump and new belt needed - $500 estimate.

Couldn't afford. Replace water pump and belt myself and found serpentine tensioner was jammed/locked and would not move. Replaced that.

Reassembled and this is where I screwed up. Used youtube who did not mention to bleed and flush. Assumed was empty. Takes 2.5 gallons anti-freeze and then water according to Autozone. Put almost two gallon non-diluted antifreeze in radiator when it would not take anymore. Started up, waited til got to normal operating temp waiting for thermostat to kick in. No leaks anywhere, fan operating fine (did not replace fan clutch...tension seemed fine from what I read.) Antifreeze never went down.

Decided to drive around block to see if that opened it up to get more fluid. When left, temp where it belonged. Then about a block and a half away, rapid heat up. Pulled over and turned off at about 250 or so again (before red). Waited ten minutes, opened radiator cap and antifreeze overflowed out. Returned cap. Restarted and temp was about 130 (went down pretty fast it seems to me), then went up to 250 or so again by time I got to driveway. Turned in and went to a little higher than normal rapidly. Waited a moment, temp oscillated slightly back and forth and parked. Hoped the thermostat was open but then started to get hot again and turned it off before red (at about 250-260 again). Been parked since last night.

Seems next steps: empty out radiator, bleed, flush out and replace thermostat and then refill with mixed antifreeze/water.

Notes: When I went to remove water pump, bottom left screw was all the way unscrewed and I could just pull it out when turning. Thread fine and screwed in like it should after replacement. About 4 or 5 year ago replaced water pump, thermostat and radiator. Only flushed out once since - boo on me.

Questions I am asking myself: 1. Can a bad tensioner damage water pump? 2. Can a bad water pump damage thermostat? 3. Do I need to worry about head gaskets at this point and how can I find out if that is a problem here. 4. Can the valve cover gaskets be part of this issue in this? 5. Is the anti-freeze not being diluted causing an issue? 6. What have I not considered or am I missing?

Any assistance as to site use or these issues would be much appreciated. And thanks in advance. Have consulted this site often but first time posted and will say you guys are great and I always consult before going to mechanic and after they call with diagnosis! Has been invaluable and has helped me set a few mechanics straight.

 

Thinking...is it possible thermostat did finally open up when I got back and the fluid went into engine and just now needs more water? Did not even consider that. Having a duh moment here and also sort of afraid now. Out of work like so many and also have to get back and forth from doctors for some health problems and cannot afford to cost myself $$ I don't have. Had to sit for a month due to funds. How hot does it have to get before damages engine? Sorry if I am being a pain here.

 

After changing water pump, there is a lot of air in the system. I think what you are seeing is the AIR getting hot, and as no coolant is touching the sensor, that's the temp it reads. (mine did this too.....)

Burp the system with the radiator cap off. Just let it idle, see what it does.

 

Thanks for your reply. Topped off coolant with some H2O and put 50/50 mix in reservoir. Then did what you said. I could hear air/gurgling in the heater core which I did not notice yesterday. Turned on heat, started to get a little warm and that went cold fast around normal operating temp. Then radiator overflowed. Gave a little gas and it would stop overflowing, then let off gas and overflow again, repeated and was getting hot and shut it off. Then it spit out a bunch of coolant when I turned it off.

Waited, put cap back on and let her idle again...got warm again but not as fast it seemed. I shut it off when it was nearing last white line, got out and went to radiator...could hear gurgling and what sounded like water running back into radiator, then a minute or two later what sounded like air spit into overflow reservoir. The level in reservoir seemed to stay where I filled it to cold mark. Then it struck me the truck is on a decline with rear higher. Never considered that but think could be an issue maybe?

 

Maybe not for the engine, but, will be for the heater core. It's a pain to get all the air out of in any event.

If the truck is still overheating, I would be tempted to pull the thermostat, and drill two 1/8th inch hole in it, so the air can escape. May solve a couple of your problems.

Still, probably going to have to backflush the heater core to get good heat again.

And by the way, Welcome to DF.

 

Thanks. I have graduated from lurker status.
Turned truck around - better. idled up to 200 initially, gave her a little gas and it went down to where it typically operates...like 185/190ish. So fan must be fine. Before gas seemed to raise temp, so you prob were right about the reading being hot air. Idling did eventually creep it back up to around 230-240 where it seemed to hang - a little cooler. And still quite a bit of air in that heater core and no heat at all..so you are probably right about that too. It sat for a month and don't know if that can be causing the thermostat to stick maybe???

We don't go above freezing until Saturday again and just gonna wait. Some coolant misses my catch basin and splashes on ground and cannot wash when freezing; don't want to harm any animals. Will do what you recommended again next time and see what happens and if it is still a problem, just do a thermostat. Oh and I checked oil and it looks like it usually does so not worried about head gaskets. Thanks again!

 

Wrong time of year to be without heat.

Mine was the same way. The heater core would gurgle, but, even when the engine was up to temp, it was barely luke warm. (wonder how luke felt about that....) Backflushed it, and made sure to keep as much liquid in there as possible, and the heater will again cook you right out of the truck.

Heat is a byproduct of driving, its free, therefore, I like to make as much use of it as possible.

 

LOL Yes about the heat...third polar vortex arrives Weds. We been having Mich weather here in SE Pennsylvania but for last weekend and have had a "snow base" over a month.

Good idea to do the flush (have missed that banging heat for years now and be happy to send luke on his way). I saw your thread:

"coolant (heatant?) flows from the hose at the intake manifold, thru the core, and then back into the water pump via the hose to the steel pipe that plugs in to it by the power steering pump. Flush in the REVERSE direction first, and then the other way. Go both directions a couple times, ending in the reverse direction. Then, put the hoses back on, trying to lose as little coolant as possible. Run the engine, burp the system, and see how it feels."

So are you removing hoses where it goes into dash and flushing there each way or at the intake manifold and the hose that connects to the steel pipe on the right of the water pump? Also did you use just water and squirt a hose into it each way of do you have something else up your sleeve or use a flush solution? Saw a few people with some crazy set ups using pumps and compressors I think are a bit much.

 

sounds like you need to burp the coolant system. park your truck up hill. put a long neck funnel in place of the radiator cap. start the engine and put heat on full blast fill the funnel so the water level stays above the radiator and the funnel seals in the leck of the radiator. keep adding water as the level in the funnel decreases. once the truck is at operating temp keep maintaining fluid level in the funnel until no air bubble are coming up through the funnel and that should get most if not all the air out. This is what i did after changing my water pump... took awhile but was very effective. they also make compressed air bleeders that force the coolant into the system pushing out the air but they are a little price to me for something you can do with a funnel. Where abouts in PA are you... i live up in lewisburg. Nice to see another keystone state member on here. Welcome to DF!

 

I pull the hoses off at the steel pipe at the water pump, and at the splice in the middle of the hose that runs along the passenger side. It's right about the middle of the valve cover there. Keep both hoses above the level of the heater core, flush both directions, ending with reverse. Keep as much liquid in there when you hook them back up as is possible, and your heat should once again make you think you are in the desert.

One of these makes doing cooling system a breeze.