Heat woes continue...

[Ozymandias]

Last night while i couldn't sleep i thougt about your problem..... How old is your radiator cap? I had once a problem with a cap, when tbe engine warmed up the fluid was pressed to the ex bottle. but then when cooling down instead the water came back from the bottle the radiator cap let air enter the radiator. so i had always a bif airbubble in the system.

check this.
after a cold night without the heater pluged in. open the cap and check if the radiator is full to the top or not. it should be. if not there is a problem with the cap.

 

[MarkEagleUSA]

Last night while i couldn't sleep i thougt about your problem..... How old is your radiator cap? I had once a problem with a cap, when tbe engine warmed up the fluid was pressed to the ex bottle. but then when cooling down instead the water came back from the bottle the radiator cap let air enter the radiator. so i had always a bif airbubble in the system.

check this.
after a cold night without the heater pluged in. open the cap and check if the radiator is full to the top or not. it should be. if not there is a problem with the cap.

I've never had a problem with low coolant level in the radiator. I did however put a new cap on the other day when I did the t-stat because the rubber washer looked pretty worn.

 

[DonFitzwater]

I’ve been thinking about your problem.....then after reviewing an older TDR hard copy I found a picture you sent in about leaks from plugs on your cylinder head. That crap coming out of your cooling system was horrible! Have you bit the bullet and replaced the heater core yet? If it were my truck, I’d be swapping it out.

 

[MarkEagleUSA]

I'm waiting for the warmer weather (no place to work on it in the cold).

Those leaks at the plugs stopped when I tightened them.

 

[mwilson]

Has the heat remained better since the thermostat change?? Or is it dropping off again?? I realize the cold weather relented a bit since then...

 

[MarkEagleUSA]

It keeps washing out. Almost nothing at 15 or lower. I think the core is likely plugged. Flushing it helps but only for a day or 2.

I haven't followed up here because I chose to just not deal with it until spring. On really cold days she stays home.

 

[DonFitzwater]

FYI-I’d recommend running a healthy dose of Mopar cooling system cleaner or the like through your system prior to changing the heater core. That antifreeze in your engine back then looked like chicken noodle soup. There’s probably enough remaining debris to warrant a thorough cleaning.

 

[MarkEagleUSA]

That antifreeze in your engine back then looked like chicken noodle soup.

Are you talking about this?

That coolant ooze seemed "baked" on the surface. Cleaned right off with a rag and a little scraping. The coolant in the radiator and what I've seen when flushing the heater core has not shown any debris. I'm not saying it's not there, just that I haven't seen any.

There’s probably enough remaining debris to warrant a thorough cleaning.

I am planning to flush and refill the entire system when I do the core. It certainly acts like the core gets somewhat plugged after I flush it.

It's not going to be an easy or cheap fix. In addition to a new core, evaporator, and blend/mode doors, I will probably replace the water pump just to be safe.

 

[DonFitzwater]

I feel that the HVAC box in the 3rd gen rams is quite easy to service. I've done a few now and wouldn't hesitate to jump into one on a Saturday. Just make sure you have the HVAC system drawn down first and the rest is pretty much cake. The parts aren't that bad either from what i remembered. We did Heater Treater and Napa for the heater core and evaporator core. I also replace the door servo motors while I'm in there.....we got those from Mopar.

 

[MarkEagleUSA]

I feel that the HVAC box in the 3rd gen rams is quite easy to service.

Doesn't seem too bad once you get the dash out!

I've done a few now and wouldn't hesitate to jump into one on a Saturday.

Besides not having a warm place to work, I can't lay the truck up for long since I use it to plow. Once the snow is done I'll plan a weekend to tackle it.

Just make sure you have the HVAC system drawn down first and the rest is pretty much cake. The parts aren't that bad either from what i remembered. We did Heater Treater and Napa for the heater core and evaporator core. I also replace the door servo motors while I'm in there.....we got those from Mopar.

I'll probably start accumulating parts when Uncle Sam pays me.

 

[MarkEagleUSA]

It certainly acts like the core gets somewhat plugged after I flush it.

I picked up these

and some of these

I'm thinking of putting a set on the inlet hose to see if there's any debris in the system that might be causing the core to clog, my version of a poor man's coolant filter. I'm not intending this to be a long term fix but rather an attempt to pin down the problem. If nothing else, it would give me a way to more easily flush the core until a more permanent fix can be made.

Does this make sense or would it be a complete waste of time?

 

[BILTIT]

I think those would plug off very quickly but you can try. Just be ready to clean them out alot.

 

[seafish]

I agree...a MUCH better and more long term solution is to do this--

https://www.turbodieselregister.com/threads/222238-Coolant-Filter-Install

I did it and have never looked back!!!