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2nd Gen Ram Tech1994-2001 Rams: This section is for TECHNICAL discussions only, that involve the 1994 through 2001 Rams. For any non-tech discussions, please direct your attention to the "General discussion/NON-tech" sub sections.
Hi, first time poster here.
background: I have a 2001 RAM 1500 with the 5.9L Magnum. It has about 145k miles on it (I bought it a few years ago at 130k). In that time it has never really given me any trouble until yesterday: as I was driving home from work (10 minutes into a 15 minute drive) the "check gauges" light came on and I was redline hot. I cut off the AC and pulled into a neighborhood to assess the damage. There was a fine mist of steam rising from under the passenger side exhaust manifold (between the manifold and the heat shield) and a trickle of coolant going down. I could hear the steam hissing from the hole, it wasn't just boiling off. I had it towed home, filled the radiator with water and checked for a puddle today.
Troubleshooting so far: No leaks overnight, looks perfect. I started it up and it ran from cold to just above the 1/2 hot mark, and I cut the engine off and heard and saw the same hissing, but no trickle this time. The upper and lower radiator hoses (and the radiator) stayed cold during this, but the heater core hoses got hot. The engine fan stayed running the entire time I had the engine ln. I turned the AC on full hot and got ambient temperature air (I fixed the blend door with a metal replacement piece, so I know this is not the problem there). My current assumptions are that the thermostat has died and is keeping water out of the radiator. Also I probably am in desperate need of a coolant flush as the coolant is murky and looks to have some corrosion in it. Close up photos of the manifold area attached below.
Thoughts/request: I am betting I will be able to drive it around town at least after the thermostat and coolant flush. I don't know where the steam is coming from or what I should do to diagnose that other than possibly pulling the exhaust manifold and looking for a damaged gasket. Any advice?
Front side of manifold and heat shield Read side of manifold and heat shield
When you replacing the bad freeze plug, its best to use deep cup brass freeze plugs, as they don't rust. The size of the plugs in the block should be 1-5/8".
09-14-2021, 10:37 PM
Steam near passengers exhaust manifold
