I have a 2003 Dodge Ram 1500 Quad Cab that will over heat when going slow in town OR going up a big long hill, but will drive all day long at 70mph on flat ground, and run perfect temp.

any ideas whats wrong with it? this is the only problem i have with it everything else works perfect...


thanks

 

Moving ya to the 3rd generation Dodge Ram section (2002-2008 Dodge Rams).

 

Classic signs of a bad fan clutch

 

Yep, time for a new fan clutch or an e-fan. If you're handy, you can get an e-fan and controller for only a bit more than the cost of a new clutch.

 

Welcome to the site

 

This is what initially put me over the edge on getting an efan. I had a couple of minor issues while hunting where the temp got up a bit, not major, but somewhat high. Then I got stuck on I95 on a 95* day due to a bad accident. I mean the solid hour of crawling like a snail, stop, crawl, stop, crawl. Never completely stopped long enough to shut the truck off and the thing was getting to the point of concern, so much so, that long after I cut off the A/C and opened all the windows, I had to turn on the heat to lower engine temps.

A clutch fan just doesn't cool efficiently at low RPM operations.

 

something new,, its 60* out this morning and it overheated GOING DOWN the mountain whats up with that? never seen anything over heat going down

thanks for the replies

 

Well, the obvious first thing to look at would be to test your coolant with a simple $5 anti-freeze tester. Second thing I'd look for is an air pocket or two in the system by burping it. Third thing I'd look at is the thermostat. If they all check out, then it's time to check the hoses for a clog and then the radiator itself.

These radiators tend to corrode pretty badly if the coolant gets weak from not being changed on schedule. Anti-freeze over time will get VERY acidic...

 

wow, I would hate to see that thing here in Phoenix. No problems in same situation on a 100+ day with a fan clutch for me. Crap, did I just jinx myself? Ha ha

 

It was never in what I'd consider the "danger" level, but I don't like to see the needle going too much over the half way mark. when it got a bit past, I turned the heat on (fun on an almost 100* day) and that kept it almost dead at 12 o'clock till traffic started moving again. From that point, it had no trouble staying under 200* which wasn't much over the stock t-stat temp of 195* I had at the time.

But since I do a lot of slow crawling in 4WD (often 4-Lo) when I'm going thru the south Ga. low country I've seen it wanting to creep over the 210* mark a few times. I've since gone to 180* t-stat (for other reasons) which let's it start cooling just a bit sooner, and the move to an e-fan was really the ticket, since it moves a constant 3300 cfm regardless of how low my RPMs are.

I have yet to see the needle anywhere even close to 12 o'clock since the e-fan install...