Driving without heater core bypass tube connected
#1
11-27-2018, 03:21 PM
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Driving without heater core bypass tube connected
Hey all,
I've been a lurker for quite some time but recently ran into a problem while changing my water pump that I thought you all might be able to help me with.
Me and my girlfriend have been going on a cross county road trip with my ram 2500 and our truck camper when the water pump started to act up. The pulley was wobbling and spraying coolant so I decided to replace it before it failed. Truck wasnt overhearing but I wanted to be safe.
Picked up a new water pump from Napa, rented a fan clutch removal wrench, found a campground and got to work. Didn't have any problem up until I go the old water pump out -- the heater bypass tube was completely corroded and wouldn't come out. I went ahead and put the new water pump in and filled the system up with distilled water to flush it, but unfortunately I could only get the system about half full before it started to pour out of the the inlet hole for the bypass tube.
There was an AutoZone with the part about a mile and a half down the road, and figuring I had enough water in the system to keep it cool for a short drive went ahead and drove over.
Thermostat reach a max of 210 when we got there, and while there was no smoke or other signs of overheating some steam started to come from the engine bay right as we pulled in to the parking lot. It was cold out, prob high 30's, and so far as I could tell some warm water had come out of the heater core tube and was giving off water vapor.
It's been about two weeks and there's no sign of damage, but now that I think about it I realize how stupid it was to do that. I'm worried the pump couldn't prime because it was just sucking air and no coolant was circulating. After all, if it was wouldn't there have been steam the whole drive since the heater core return tube would just be spraying water? (I had the heat cranked on high during the drive trying to keep the engine cool -- also stupid in hindsight since it opened the heater core valve)
Do you guys think I did any damage/potentially overheated my engine?
*Edit*
It's a 2001 ram 2500 with a 5.9 v8
I've been a lurker for quite some time but recently ran into a problem while changing my water pump that I thought you all might be able to help me with.
Me and my girlfriend have been going on a cross county road trip with my ram 2500 and our truck camper when the water pump started to act up. The pulley was wobbling and spraying coolant so I decided to replace it before it failed. Truck wasnt overhearing but I wanted to be safe.
Picked up a new water pump from Napa, rented a fan clutch removal wrench, found a campground and got to work. Didn't have any problem up until I go the old water pump out -- the heater bypass tube was completely corroded and wouldn't come out. I went ahead and put the new water pump in and filled the system up with distilled water to flush it, but unfortunately I could only get the system about half full before it started to pour out of the the inlet hole for the bypass tube.
There was an AutoZone with the part about a mile and a half down the road, and figuring I had enough water in the system to keep it cool for a short drive went ahead and drove over.
Thermostat reach a max of 210 when we got there, and while there was no smoke or other signs of overheating some steam started to come from the engine bay right as we pulled in to the parking lot. It was cold out, prob high 30's, and so far as I could tell some warm water had come out of the heater core tube and was giving off water vapor.
It's been about two weeks and there's no sign of damage, but now that I think about it I realize how stupid it was to do that. I'm worried the pump couldn't prime because it was just sucking air and no coolant was circulating. After all, if it was wouldn't there have been steam the whole drive since the heater core return tube would just be spraying water? (I had the heat cranked on high during the drive trying to keep the engine cool -- also stupid in hindsight since it opened the heater core valve)
Do you guys think I did any damage/potentially overheated my engine?
*Edit*
It's a 2001 ram 2500 with a 5.9 v8
Last edited by Krellen; 11-27-2018 at 04:41 PM.
#4
11-27-2018, 06:43 PM
