1996 dodge ram slt. 79,000 miles. Just started leaking coolant over the weekend, just enough to get the pavement wet. Cooler weather in texas and I just turned on the heater. Coolant is brownish instead of neon green. There is also awater sloshing sound that i sometimes hear coming from under the dash on the passenger side. Is this a heater core issue or thermostat or ??? Thanks I can always count on this forum to answer my questions..

 

I HAVE A 98 SPORT 4X4 WITH A 5.9L V8. I RECENTLY FLUSHED MY COOLANT SYSTEM WITH A THERMOSTAT CHANGE, NEW COOLANT WITH THE ROYAL PURPLE COOLANT ADDITIVE AND NEW UPPER AND LOWER HOSES. MY COOLANT WAS BROWNISH AS WELL AND I HAVE A SMALL LEAK HOWEVER I NARROWED MINE TO AN EXPANSION PLUG ON THE PASS SIDE. IT'S NOT ENOUGH TO WARRANT ME CHANGING IT OUT. I BOUGHT THE TRUCK USED SO I WANTED TO CHANGE ALL FLUIDS AND I TOO LIVE IN TEXAS.....SOUTH TEXAS AT THAT. IF YOU HAVE THE SAME ENGINE DESIGN AS I DO IT'S A YOU-KNOW-WHAT TO CHANGE OUT THE THERMOSTAT. I HAD TO REMOVE THE SERPENTINE BELT, REMOVE THE COMPRESSOR AND SET IT ASIDE ( DO NOT DISCONNECT THE HOSES ON TOP JUST THE ENTIRE UNIT FROM THE BRACKET) AND LOOSEN THE BOTTOM ALTERNATOR BOLT REMOVING THE TOP ONE THIS WAY YOU CAN LEAN IT OVER. THIS WILL GIVE YOU EASIER ACCESS TO THE UPPER RAD HOSE CLAMP AND THE 2 BOLTS HOLD THE NECK TO THE BLOCK. AS FAR AS THE FLUID SOUND SLOSHING AROUND IT COULD BE FLUID BUILD UPFROM USINGTHE A/C DURING THE WARMER DAYS AND THE DRAIN HOLE BEING PLUGGED OR IT COULD BE YOUR HEATER CORE IN WHICH YOU WILL HAVE TO TAKE YOUR DASH LOOSE AND LEAN IT FORWARD....NOT AS BAD AS YOU THINK.
HOPEFULLY THIS HELPS. THERE ARE ALOT OF GUYS/LADIES ON THE SITE THAT ARE MORE KNOWLEDGEABLE THAN I ALSO THIS GUY SENDS ME LINKS TO GENES GARAGE AND IT HAS ALOT OF HELPFUL INFO ON IT. HOPEFULLY THIS HELPS.

 

mcss8541. THANKS!!!!!! It sounds like a big job, but at least i know where to start. I will let you know what i find. Thanks again i really appreciate it..

 

NO PROBLEM SIR GLAD I COULD HELP

 

the sound of sloshing is air trapped in the heater core. its common, but air is coming in whereever the water is going out. it could be anything from water pump, hose, radiator, heater core, freeze plug, or gasket. you'll need to pin down where the leak is coming from. the best way to do that is fill it up with water, run it up to temperature, then shut it off and wait about 10 minutes. the pressure will build up and leak the most at this point. check carefully around water pump pulley shaft. common place.

if your 96 hasn't had everything replaced, its getting about that time...

 

whenever you have a brownish coolant in your radiator it means that you do not have enough anti freeze in your block, you have mostly water and it is rusting the inside of the block which indicates your leak, it has happened to me alot of times.

 

My 01 5.2 Ram is now at the dealership as I write this.
The radiator sprang a hole about two weeks ago that gradually got bigger.
The coolant is red five year stuff, shouldnt this actually last five years? I flushed it about three years ago.
Has any one ever heard of damaging the radiator by leaning on the shroud, pushing it downwards, because I think thats what may have happened.
Radiators can also corrode from the outside in, particularly in state that salt the roads.

 

i would reccomend doing a full coolant flush as well you dont want to have brown coolant in there.... keep her healthy and she'll keep you happy!

 

I hope its really orange, because red is Toyota specific coolant. Orange was originally designed by GM (Dex-Cool) and is phosphate and silicate free, unlike standard green Ethylene-Glycol coolants. It does not break down as fast, and therefor will last longer. It also doesn't break down plastic like the green stuff, which is important when one considers how many plastic parts are in a modern cooling system (heater valves, radiator tanks, thermostat housings, etc.). The down side? It seems to increase electrolytic erosion on aluminum. You'll see what I mean if you've ever had to replace one of the infamous GM 3.1/3.4/4.3/5.7l "low torque" intake manifold gaskets; lots of pitting around the passage ports.

Generally, Dex-cool does last ~ 5yrs/100K, but as with anything else, real-world driving conditions will have an impact.

Edit: Newer Chryslers use GO-5 gold (global coolant). You can use it in your Ram. It has all the benefits of Dex, without the negatives.

Well, I suppose if it were there long enough, the vibration would cause it to rub through the core. I really can't say 100%, as I always make sure they're pulled back up if I lean on them.

 

dodge/chrysler does not use dex-cool, do not put it in your truck.