so i have this old beat up 1986 ram van 350. the thing was junk when i first spotted it in the walmart parking lot. i bought it of some drunk for 300$ and it has about 260,000 miles on it. everything was old in it. so after buying it i spent 2 12 hour days working on it swaping everything i could which was:
spark plug wires
distrubuter cap
distrubuter bobin
air filter
oil filter
oil
belts
top and bottom hoses

so,during a 300 mile trip to the mountains for skiing, the van overheats in 15 degree weather and dies on me. after letting it cool and freezing my a$$ off, i get it running (after adjusting the timing alittle bit also) and make it to the lodge. on the way back, 10 minutes into the trip off the mountain, the thing doesnt even over heat, it just blows the upper radiator hose (old one, before replacement) and on the rest of the trip back its a constant stop here and there for more antifreeze and to let it cool from city driving on the way to the highways.

now, i live on base and i cant even get it to go from one side of the base to the other without over heating!!!!! it cant be a crack cuz theres no oil in the coolant. and i changed the belts and hoses and there arent any leaks in the radiator.

right now i have the coolant drained and im about to change out the thermostat. i read on other posts that it might have something to do with the transmission filter????? it sounds right cuz when its just running tin the parking lot, no heating up. the ONE mile drive to my work shop, OVERHEATING!!!

what could it be??? what the most common bust on these old vans? will the thermostat fix it?if it wont, should ii also replace the head gasket while i have everythig taken apart? that overheat in the mountains could have blown that seal, i dont know. it made it back alright i guess

oh, andthis is my first post, yay [sm=icon_cheers.gif][sm=icon_cheers.gif]

 

Welcome to the forum and just so you know the LA mopar engine in that van is capable of a real beating..

You dont mention if you have AC on your 86 or if you have the 318 or 360 engine. Though if you have the distributor on the front of the engine (360) or the rear (318) will show that. In a rare case you could also have the inline 6 but that would have been a special request by the original purchaser.

By overheating do you mean the gague is showing that, or steam is blowing out past the cap?

Check the water pump, the radiartorand tht heater box. you could be loosing coolant though any of those. Also you could have air in the system, there is a recent post (last month or so) on this forum with a couple of ways to get the air burped out.
Edit: https://dodgeforum.com/m_715134/tm.htm

The heater is inline alll the time. The controlls just vary how much outside air bypasses what is essentially a mini radiator in the heater box. When the van is overheating, crank the heat over to full hot and turn the blower on. that will help cool the engine somewhat. then just crack your windows.to adjust cab tempurature.

My primary guess is it is the water pump, and manybe the temp sensor is faulty and not giving a good reading. The water pump is a aprox $40 part though when you do it you should also check the timing chain./gears since you would have to take the water pump back off at a later date to deal with those. If the chain or gears are streached/worn you should replace them as a set. Since you have replaced the top and bottom hoses, there are 3 more you want to check The two hoses going from the engine to the heater box and from the heater box to the water pump should also be checked. Also, there is a short right angled hose that goes from the top of the waterpump to the engine block. That short hose can only be replacesed when you take off the water pump because of clearance.

Driving on the highway will generate more heat than driving slower on city streets if you can avoid stop and go by driving slower and not racing to the red lights. that will also save you on gas too.

If you dont already have a repair manual, the Haynes Manual #30065 is one, Chiltons also has one for the van. if you need yard parts for the van, 85-87 are mostly the same.

Good luck, hope this helps and check back in if you have further questions.

 

Hey Dude, Good luck with your prob. ig failed to mention that you can look problems associated with this is old message logs on this forum. I haven't been here long jut trying to help out.

 

Classic symptoms of a blown head gasket allowing the pumping of compression into the coolant system. Especially blowing the hose when the van wasn't even warmed up yet, as that takes pressure.

 

Is the termostat broken?

 

Checking the thermostat is easy. Let it run for 10 or 15 minites then carefully remove the radiator cap the fluid should be flowing at a decent pace. If not the pull the thermostat and drive without it for a couple of days. If you have no further issues with over heating then replace the thermostat.

 

You didn't metion if your overflow bottle is functioning properly. It's purpose is to burp the air out of the coolant system over a few heat ups and cool down cycles. If it's not working right and the air isn't being removed from the coolant, air and water does not remove heat properly.