New t-stat, lame heat...
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From: Ida Grove, IA
these symptoms sound like what mine was doing. came home one day and the temp gauge was one hash mark from the max. so i put a replacement thermostat in from napa. then when i would drive it was weird when the truck initially warmed up it would have heat then all of a sudden the heat would stop and it wouldn't blow warm for the rest of the trip. but the temp gauge now read colder then before. about a week or two later it started bubbling threw the coolant resivour. so i pulled the head, it was the head gasket. i believe it was the #5 cylinder was putting air in the coolant system. it wasn't a total failure of the gasket just enough to allow it to put air in the cooling system. during all this the truck didn't change the way it ran it was just the heat would act up. so i put a new gasket in and everything was well again.
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From: Lyndon KS
Greg, check for a whitish stain around the edges of the head, where it seals.
If its getting pumped out eh exhaust, you'd be able to detect a sweet odor to the exhaust smoke and a white color to it.
If its ebing pushed out thru a pin-hole in teh gasket, it will leave a white stain on teh block where its evaporating agianst the hot metal.
If its getting pumped out eh exhaust, you'd be able to detect a sweet odor to the exhaust smoke and a white color to it.
If its ebing pushed out thru a pin-hole in teh gasket, it will leave a white stain on teh block where its evaporating agianst the hot metal.
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welcome to the club.. My truck has the same problem, heater wont work to save your life... I think I've come to the conclusion that I need a t-stat though cause it's running pretty cool now that it's winter... It could just be a dodge thing though.. Mike
DTR's "Cooler than ice cubes 14 miles North of North Pole" member
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From: 14mi North of North Pole
I've never had a CTD get really warm in the winter unless I load it good and/or drive long distances. 1-1.5 ton in the bed improves the ride and the heat. 
You can always pull the fan off if it is going to stay cold for a good while.
You can always pull the fan off if it is going to stay cold for a good while.
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From: WY
If there is oil in you radiator or over flow bottle, it your oil cooler.
this happened to me after i decide that i was just being paranoid about my temp gauge and let i get to the last mark of the normal range( like the service manual said
)the next day while it was warming up i notist oil dripping underneath the truck............Was driping out of the coolant over flow bottle vent.
that was one heck of mess to get out.
Flash
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From: port crane, NY
If there is oil in you radiator or over flow bottle, it your oil cooler.
this happened to me after i decide that i was just being paranoid about my temp gauge and let i get to the last mark of the normal range( like the service manual said)
the next day while it was warming up i notist oil dripping underneath the truck............Was driping out of the coolant over flow bottle vent.
that was one heck of mess to get out.
Flash
this happened to me after i decide that i was just being paranoid about my temp gauge and let i get to the last mark of the normal range( like the service manual said
)the next day while it was warming up i notist oil dripping underneath the truck............Was driping out of the coolant over flow bottle vent.
that was one heck of mess to get out.
Flash
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From: Lyndon KS
The oil cooler is similar to a small radiator( kinda like a heater core) that sets into the coolant passage, oil on one side, coolant on the other... it could leak and cause cross contamination that has nothing to do with the head gasket.
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From: port crane, NY
Thanks, Chris, that's kinda what I thought. All this started after my t-stat locked closed a week ago today. My temp gauge got up there like Flash's before I could find room to pull over. I then ran w/o a t-stat for a couple days with no perceived ill-effects. Upon replacing the t-stat a couple days ago, I had good heat for a while (20 minutes) then it became lackluster. Burped the system yesterday morning and had missing coolant in the afternoon. I can't see any oil in the radiator, but it appears to be in the overflow bottle. I can probably slam a HG on in 8 hours, but I'd hate to go to the trouble if the cooler is bad too, or if the cooler is the only problem. I'm gonna top up the system this morning and see if any oil floats to the top....
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From: Lyndon KS
Greg, i think I'd run it carefully for a few days and keep an eye on the oil and coolant... it is possible that you simply 'picked up" some oil when refilling it or while you had the system opened. ( unless we are talking about a LOT of oil, which it doesnt sound like)....
If there is a leak in either one, you should be able to tell easily after a few hours running time. I would expect that teh HG would go before the cooler did. Go ahead and inspect it for leaks....
If there is a leak in either one, you should be able to tell easily after a few hours running time. I would expect that teh HG would go before the cooler did. Go ahead and inspect it for leaks....
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From: port crane, NY
The only other 'out of the ordinary' item is that the overflow bottle stays quite full. The level in that hasn't changed since the day I got the truck 3 years ago, now it's full I will top it off this AM and do my tooling around. I'm also going to pull the oil drain plug and see if any water has settled to the bottom.
I will top it off this AM and do my tooling around. I'm also going to pull the oil drain plug and see if any water has settled to the bottom.
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From: port crane, NY
Well, the overflow bottle is definitely stained black I didn't lose any coolant--the rad sucked what it needed back in overnight. I can see an occasional black fleck in the coolant when I pull the rad cap.
I didn't lose any coolant--the rad sucked what it needed back in overnight. I can see an occasional black fleck in the coolant when I pull the rad cap.
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From: WY
Mark your coolant and oil levels and drive it for a day if the coolant gos up and has oil in it ......Its the oil cooler........coolant 14 psi oil pressure 60+ psi.....the coolant won''t get into the oil this way but, the oil will try to fill the over flow bottle with oil.
the top 2/3 of the coolant over flow bottle was oil in mine.
The oil in my coolant never created a heater problem for me..........but then again it was early fall when mine failed.
Flash.
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From: port crane, NY
Thanks for the info, Flash. Would my stuck t-stat cause the cooler to go, or was it just my turn? I didn't get a chance to watch fluids closely today, but will tomorrow and I'll update this thread. Heat is definitely lacking. I'm not sure if the t-stat even opened today