how many miles you got on that thing?

 

Thanks for the advice dvaughan ... I will check the coolent level again. the overflow tank is attached to the radiator and the only way to add coolent to the system is through the radiator cap. (at least as far as I can tell). The temp gauge does rise to just below the halfway mark within 5 mins and just sits there forever. It never makes it all the way to the middle though. I am assuming that the middle mark is 195? The gauge does not move when I am sitting versus driving (thats when the heat works/doesn't work) There are no numbers on the gauge (how stupid). So I guess then maybe the thermo is good?

stratusguy - I have 86K miles on her.

link and nickbbb - you will probably have a better response if you post your question in a new thread.

 

By only having a little heat at idle (~600rpm) and then having full heat at ~1500rpm it makes me think the water pump is starting to wear. Maybe it is wearing, or the belt is slipping (noise would be present though). With only 86k, that shouldn't be an issue though. It could still be low on coolant though, may take a while to get the air bubbles out of the system. Is there a way to "burp" the system on these trucks?

 

There is no noise present, so it is def not a belt. I guess maybe the pump could be going. Oh well ... I will check the coolent again today and go from there. So far it hasen't been a big deal so I guess I could just wait until the pump really starts to fail before I replace it.

 

Alrite well I went out there today to check the coolant level again and I was about a half a gallon low. So I filled it up and voilla seems to be working well again. So I just wanted to thank everyone for their help again. Turns out about $16 worth of coolant did the trick

 

You should check really good for leaks. Usually doesnt get that low with it leaking somewhere. [/align]

 

Sounds to me like you may have a leaking in your vacuum line to the heater valve. Opens the valve when you rev it but not enough when idle

 

ya ... I think that you're right. I'm pretty sure there is a smal leak somewhere. Now that the snow has fallen, there is a very small spot of red fluid on the driveway every morning. I wonder if the coolant is red? When I went to look last week I couldn't see because it was so low and the Prestone that I added was green. Hmmmm ... weird.

 

I just went through this (very painfully I might add).
Good heat until about 2 months ago, ended up needing a t-stadt I thought. However, one of the studs snapped off in the intake, and alot of money later to have the stud tapped out, etc on a 360 solved the temp gauge problem but not the heater. Turns out that after 10 years from the prior owners never having flushed the cooling system, my heater core was clogging itself shut with debris and gunk. Revving would provide warm-ish air, but at idle, it would blow cold. Took a few flushes with some chemicals but the heater core blew out a LOT of crud, and I'm back to having heat again. Mechanic who worked on it has been noticing a trend on some V8 Rams doing this recently.
FWIW, 98 Ram 360, the t-stadt is located in an "not easliy accessed" area.

 

WAIT - Why Has No One Said This Yet??????? CPU If You Mix Coolants It Creates A Gel Can/Will Form and Clog Your Passages. If Its A Bright Red, You Need To look For Trans Leaks or Power Steering!

Mixing Coolants Is A No No!