Hello,

I have a 1995 Dodge Ram 1500 5.9 L. I replaced both water pump , thermostat and thermostat housing twice, serpentine belt, radiator, radiator cap, both temperature sensors, bypass hose, upper and lower radiator hoses. The temperature gauge goes over 200 and it stays over 200 in the middle before the next high reading. My understanding is that the gauge should drop under 200. I noticed what could be a leak coming from the timing chain cover gasket so I’m not sure if that’s causing the temperature gauge to go over 200. Any advice will be appreciated. Thank you!

 

My 94 has ran at 200 since new. That aside, Fix the leak on the timing chain cover soon. I let mine go awhile"lazy I guess" When I finally got to it, it had caused pitting on the block mating surface. I ended up having to glue two gaskets together and use alot of RTV to get it to hold.

 

The 1995 instrument cluster is analog so it is possible that the gauge itself is off. The gauge can be tested but you have to be a bit of an electronics buff. The FSM shows 362 ohms should move the needle to the low end of the normal range, 77 ohms to the high end. Note these values are different from what the sensor for the PCM should read.

Another idea is to use one of those cheap infrared laser thermometers to check what the actual temperature at the sensor is.

 

What temp stat? Also did you take it out on the highway and drive 50mph+ to see if it still does it? Did you drill a hole in it to let the air bleed out when filling? (post #14)

 

I am not a fan of electrical sensors as the even a change in voltage can throw a reading off, plus the sensors can go bad. It helps to have a mechanical backup to be sure. They can even be tested in a pot of boiling water with a meat thermometer to be sure. Sometimes finding a location large enough for a mechanical gauge sensor can be hard though. Sometimes you have to get creative to do this.

 

I got the infrared laser thermometer and I pointed as close as I could to where the temp sensor is and got a reading of 189F max 195F. I got readings from other areas of the engine including the engine block and the max reading I got was 198F. So I guess it’s not overheating. I will still change the timing cover gasket to avoid any future problems. Where do i drill the hole to bleed the system? And I understand a bit about electrical so I’ll appreciate it if you can elaborate on how to calibrate the temp gauge.

 

On the outer ring of the thermostate. Some come with it already. You can not calibrate the gauge

 

Hello guys,

I removed the timing cover to fix the coolant leak and the timing chain marks moved out of alignment when I removed the harmonic balancer bolt. The harmonic balancer would turn when I would try to loosen the big bolt. I was able to remove the bolt and the balancer but it got the timing marks out of alignment. I put the balancer back and it looks like I can turn the shaft clock wise but I’m not sure if this is the correct way of doing it. Do I have to put the gear set and the chain back together to turn it? Any advice will be appreciated! Thanks

 

You don't want to turn the crank independent of the cam. That will seriously complicate your life.