Engine Temp Red Line

[DMaddox]

Not sure what's going on with Engine Temp. Following are the symptoms:

1. Normal operating temp is approx. 180.

2. Over the last few days, the temp needle is sporadic. Jumps up to red line then back down to 180 or so.

3. When it begins it's climb to red-line, faint burning smell, not bad.

4. EGT guage stays below 6 unless I get into the throttle.

5. coolant level is low, both at idle temp. and when the motor is cold, it is right at the lower fluid level mark.

6. The heater is terrible (but that's been since day one. ) However, even at normal operating temp, sometimes the heater works, sometimes not.



Last night while driving home, going up a hill, the temp began to spike, before I could get off the throttle, the engine made a couple popping noises. I let off the throttle for a couple seconds and the temp went right back down to approx. 180. Note, the EGT did not go above 6 (as is normal during up hill climbs) during this time.



Any thoughts? Thermostat maybe? If thermostat, is it hard to change?



Thanks for help.

 

[DMaddox]

I'm gonna try adding coolant as first step, get it up to close to max fluid level.

 

[mberry]

Based on what you've described, and my admittedly limited knowledge, it sounds like you have an issue with the water pump. #6 on your list is a telltale sign of a failing water pump and could explain the low coolant level.

I have seen it on my dad's old '69 Ford pickup with the 360CI engine. Coolant would seep out slowly through the weep hole (and in this particular case a corroded expansion plug on the back of the block) and cause the exact symptoms you described.

There are a host of other things it could be, such as a head gasket failure. Have you checked to make sure you have no coolant in the oil, or oil in the coolant? Also, please fill out your signature so we know what you have. Thanks. Hope it helps.

 

[DMaddox]

Thanks MBerry. Wow, seem's like a lot of different possibilities. Looks like I should take it to the dealer, I'm not much of a mechanic



I'm working on the signature thing, I'm trying to find where I can add it now.



Thanks again,

 

[Motorhead]

Thanks MBerry. Wow, seem's like a lot of different possibilities. Looks like I should take it to the dealer, I'm not much of a mechanic

I'm working on the signature thing, I'm trying to find where I can add it now.

Thanks again,

Go into the "User Control Panel" and you can add your signature. Sounds like a thermostat AND you could have air in the cooling system (engine block) and that can prevent circulation. By all means... don't drive it until you fix it. Overheating is not good for diesels.

 

[DMaddox]

Thanks Motorhead. I just added some coolant, brought fluid level near full, will drive home and watch temp closely. If runs well then cool (pun intended. ) If not, I picked up a thermostat and will try replacing that.



Any thoughts from anyone on replacing the thermostat, looks easy to get to and fairly simple. Any tricks I should know about.



Thanks for the input.

 

[McCRam]

Did you ever find a solution to your overheating problem? We are experiencing the same symptoms you had. Would like to hear what the solution was.

 

[MColp]

It could be a head gasket. I had the same problem and symptoms in my Plymouth Acclaim 2. 5 Turbo. The temp gage

would spike into the red almost instantly and then go back down to normal. My coolant level was also down although no evidence

of coolant was present in the oil. The engine would smell hot and I could hear a sizzling noise. This happened twice in 130K miles

and was a common problem with the Mopar 2. 5 turbos.

High boost can be a contributing factor in this kind of head gasket failure.

 

[Wingate]

anything been done to the truck recently?... Coolant flush or change? You may have air trapped in the system under the thermostat or a thermostat that is sticking. How many miles on the truck?

 

[rbattelle]

These symptoms sound to me exactly like an engine block with little or no coolant in it. I know, because I've run an engine with no coolant in it. Water temperature gauges read water temperature very well, and air temperature very poorly. So they'll read "normal" and then all of a sudden SPIKE to maximum when the engine block reaches some critical temperature.

Blocks with no coolant (or almost no coolant) don't flow anything to the heater core, so you don't get heat (or sporadic heat).

Since there's coolant in the overflow tank, that suggests to me there may be an air bubble in the block keeping coolant from entering. If it were me, I'd pull the thermostat and see if there's water in the block. Then I'd add coolant directly to the block through the thermostat housing.

Of course, this thread is old... . maybe DMaddox got it fixed. Or he's on the side of the road somewhere cursing Dodge.

Ryan

 

[JamesStevens]

I agree, sounds like he was low on coolant to me

 

[Wingate]

on some engines, just adding coolant isn't enough, if the coolant had gotten low enough, if you just re-fill it and dont bleed the air out below the thermostat, it will never be right.

 

[McCRam]

I will make sure the dealership has checked that, My uncle told me they replaced the fan. Real great diagnosis on their part. I will probably work on this for him so he does not hurt his motor any further.

 

[VeggieCummins]

Same thing happened to me and truck went into limp mode it skyrocketed so fast. I believe it was an air bubble in the cooling system. The resivoir was full. Ended up filling the radiator while the engine was running first thing in the morning and kept filling it as the bubbles worked out of the system. Never had the problem come back