So when I went out today following up on jobs, my radiator decides to blow for the heck of it. It is the third time this has happened to me in the past two or three weeks. I do not drive the truck like a race car. I am normal commuter. My truck is a 2002 Dodge Ram 1500 3.7L V6. There is no oil in the water or vice-versa. No sluggishness or loss of power. No smoke exiting the exhaust. No overheating, but somehow there is a build up of pressure in the cooling system causing the radiator to blow. If there was a leak, there would be signs, I would think. Any ideas? I really would like to know what is wrong with my truck A.S.A.P. Any feedback is much appreciate. Thank you all!

Cheers,

Chris.

 

The radiator itself blew up? I googled it and got these 2 links http://www.justanswer.com/questions/...ged-thermostat and this http://answers.yahoo.com/question/in...2154432AA4cRCd. They mention a cracked block or head or a leaking head gasket letting combustion pressure into the cooling system. Who's been replacing the radiators, you or a mechanic? I'd take it to a qualified mechanic this time and see what they say, so you don't have to go through this again.

 

The reason why I dont think it would be a cracked block or head/leaking head gasket is because there are no symptoms of it. Also, wouldnt there be a decrease in performance?

I have taken my truck to be repair by a mechanic everytime something has been needed fixing/repairing.

Any other ideas besides those?

 

There is a "Hydrocarbon" test that samples the coolant which tells if it is contaminated from a cracked block/head/head gasket. Check the radiator cap to see if it is lifting at the proper pressure point.
Good luck.

 

Usually if your blowing radiators up the radiator cap is the best place to start, if you have a bad head gasket you wont always get coolant in the oil, but youll get a white cloud at start up. If the block is cracked your on your way to a v8 conversian anyhow. Just remember one thing, if a pressure test holds on the coolant side all this could mean is you need to check it from the other side. Have the mechanic physacaly pull your plugs and check compression on all 6 cylandars. Also, this could be a dumb problem too, check to make sure the overflow isnt clogged, this vents the system as well, also make sure theres no cloggs on the heater circuit. its possible you got 2 bogus radiators, but not likely, ask the mechanic to see the new radiator in the box, it could entirely be possible he tried to fix it twice and bang you for new, if this is the case itll look like the fins were peeled back and brushed straight at the leak

 

I have the 4.7 and its doing the same thing(4th rad.). Also my upper and lower hoses have blew up, expansion tank cracked. Everytime i get sealed up something literally pops .

 

The stock radiators are dual core but the fact they are aluminum and plastic usually means you're lucky to get 10 years out of one. Are you guys replacing them with single cores like those $149 "lifetime warranty" Autozone or Advance Auto Parts ones? That could be your problem...

 

+1 on the cap.. are you replacing it each time or using the same one? The cap is often the most overlooked item in the cooling system. It's pretty dang important.

 

My mon had a mini van years ago that ran hot once. It all seemed fine but after changing the rad out. But then it would run hot again so we replaced the water pump 2x and the stat. Eventually it would run hot again. It would take a week or so and the upper rad hose would get very taunt and hard. There was a small bleeder valve by the stat housing and we could crack to release pressure and you could see the rad hose relax. The problem was the head gaskets blown just enough to allow it to build pressure over a week or so to where it could not circulate coolant anymore and then overheat.

You might have the same issue.We never had coolant loss or water in the oil either

 

I did a combustion test on my engine and it did not show that there was combustion gas. Soooo any other ideas guys? Also i have no white smoke on a cold start and none of the typical signs of a blown head gasket