Hey yall,

I've gotten plenty of help from this forum so far but this is my first actual post. I've got a 2001 Ram 1500 Laramie 5.9L that's sprung a coolant leak. When the engine heats up and gets pressurized it starts steaming out the passenger side of the engine, there is no dripping/pooling when the engine is cold. I'm pretty new to auto repair so I'm having trouble figuring out how to fix it (if it's even something I want to fix myself) or even identifying the names of some components. That being said, I've pinpointed where the leak is and I've highlighted it in the attached picture. Can I get some help understanding what part I'm looking at and how it would need to be patched? Thanks.


Location of the leak, view from underneath the passenger side of the engine.

 

From what I can see, the leak maybe coming from the timing cover. This does happen sometimes. I would recommend a shop to make the repairs if you don't have the tools to make the repairs. These motors would also bad with the freeze plugs on the rear of the engine to leak as well. Those would be in the block, the transmission would need to be removed to replace those.

 

Yep, timing cover gasket. Pretty big job. Have to remove everything in front of it. Might as well do new chain, water pump, hoses, and tstat, etc. while you're in there.

 

I just did this an a '98 5.9

Also looks like timing cover to me. Dodge thought it'd be cute to run two coolant passages through the timing cover.

If you're mechanically inclined and comfortable working on engines it's a surprisingly easy job. You'll need a fan clutch wrench and harmonic balancer puller (IIRC the old style balancer on the '98 I just used a "steering wheel" puller). You should be able to rent all that if you want. IIRC the crank bolt is 1-5/16" so you'll need a socket that big. A torque wrench is advisable but honestly nothing here is THAT critical if you've got a good head on your shoulders-- these engines are crude, old school. A gasket scraper of some kind is also needed.

You'll likely want to also replace the water pump (needs to come off although I proved it can stay on the cover if you want, here):
https://dodgeforum.com/forum/2nd-gen...er-and-wp.html
.....radiator hoses, bypass hose at wp, timing set (really, really easy once the cover is off)....and I personally just replaced the damper/balancer as they're ~$85. Thermostat and possibly t-stat housing are a good idea, too

Fel-pro offers a really nice, comprehensive gasket kit that gets you the timing cover gasket, 2 styles of wp gasket (one will work for you), front crank seal and even the little o-ring for the stupid black metal bypass tube in the wp. You can order it "with sleeve" if you plan to reuse your damper and are concerned about grooving (the seal seals around the damper itself) or without sleeve if installing a new damper (note: I use the terms damper and balancer interchangeably here because I'm lazy & sloppy).

If your radiator is questionable, now's the time. Ours was original from '98 with leaks from the side tank crimps so I replaced.

I'm surely forgetting something but this is a common problem and there's a lot of YT vids, too

Timing cover gasket. See those Mickey Mouse ears at 11 and 1? Those should be full circles

The corresponding coolant passages are visible here at top of photo. New Cloyes double roller timing set installed.

 

Also if you're on a tight budget you can do this for the cost of the gaskets and a few gallons of coolant. I guess if desperate you could even reuse most of the coolant.....(you'll lose some but most can be drained out of radiator cleanly)

If the truck runs fine, you could leave the timing set.

If the water pump isn't leaking, you could just reuse it.

If your rad hoses are not incredibly soft, you can reuse them (I'd do the little bypass hose though - it's $12 to $15 and impossible to see or access once the accessories are back on)

If your damper is working, reuse it. Plus the odds of significant grooving from the seal are minimal.

If your front crank seal wasn't leaking oil, you could even just leave it in the timing cover

If you don't have reason to think your t-stat is stuck open or closed, you can just not even disturb it.

Note I'm not necessarily recommending this course of action, merely saying if $$ is tight there's no shame in just fixing what is broke and reusing that which is working for now. It also depends on how long you plan to keep the truck.

 

Thank yall for your help. I've got a few days off from work coming up that I might try to tackle this myself. Just 2 or 3 months ago I put in a new radiator and thermostat because of those side tanks leaking like you mentioned Keith_L (fun learning experience to have 3 hours away from home on a tight schedule). Time to do some parts research!

Thanks again!

 

This was most of my order for a '98. Some part #'s may vary for '01. I accidentally ordered a separate wp gasket just in case not realizing there was one in the Fel-pro kit. It was all of $1.22 so no big deal. I also replaced the upper rad hose because it was OLD but the lower was not that old so I reused it and it is not reflected here

edit: I also mistakenly ordered the Fel-pro gasket kit "with sleeve" but as I was replacing the damper this was unnecessary. Again, it added a couple bucks over the kit with no sleeve so no big deal

 

Also there's a reasonably decent chance of getting water or dirt in the oil pan so budget for ~5 qts motor oil.

 

If you end up replacing the radiator, you can opt for an all aluminum radiator, so that you won't have to deal with those crimped on plastic tanks on each side that tend to leak after awhile. You can find several options via eBay and other sources.

 

Per post #6 sounds like OP already replaced the rad