Okay, I'll try to make this short:

My Water Pump went out, well actually self destructed....the shaft bearings went out, threw the belt off and of course the propeller end shredded to pieces.

Dodge wanted $1800 to replace the pump, belt, radiator hoses, and thermostat. I told them to take a hike

I bought all of the parts and coolant for $250 at the parts store. I removed the old pump and all of the pieces I could get out/see. I decided to use a water hose to flush out the system to try to remove any small debris. I reinstalled everything in a little over an hour and had the truck back up and running.

Now the problem....the truck runs great around town, but once I get on the Hwy the temp goes over 200...~205 degrees.

I've decided to drain the coolant and do a radiator flush and replace the coolant again. I checked the T-stat and it was clean.

The manual says the cooling system holds 7 gallons of coolant...what is the best way to refill the system? I put in about 5 gallons after I replaced everything and it never seemed low...maybe it was and that's why it's running hot.

After all of that, what's the procedure to refill the system...

Thanks

 

the system is supposed to be self venting to burp out any air bubbles so just keep checking to make sure its full. i wonder if your fan clutch may be having issues/damaged, could make it run hot if its not locking up. fan speed problems should throw P0483 code

 

It seems strange that it gets hotter at speed. Cars with electric fans usually don't even run at highway speeds unless the a/c is on.

You can get most of the air out when refilling by taking off the thermostat housing and filling the radiator until you see the coolant come up to the top of the block. Then replace the housing and top off. Maybe you need a new thermostat. Might also be prudent to replace the belt tensioner.

 

I replaced my water pump and changed the fluild on mine also. I have the same results. It's running hotter now then before. I'm thinking it might be a differance in the water pump. I got mine from the local parts house. Is Dodge's pump any differant? Mine will get to 205 just driving slow like in a golf course going to the club house. I don't remember it hardly ever moving above 200 unless I was towing. But empty?????

 

Only use a Cummins thermostate. If you bought aftermarket this is more than likely your problem. Change it and you should be good to go.


Oh, If you have air in your cooling system your resevor tank level will rise, not drop like it is supposed to do. That's what mine did when I installed my Opie's bypass. I reblead the system at the bypass valve and corrected the issue.

 

I've ran into the same problem after my rebuild. I've changed themostat countless times with cummins stats and still the same, mine will rise just above 200 then cycle down to just under/at 200 at 70mph, if I reduce speed to 60-65 will go down to 195+/-. Wish I could figure this problem out since I put heavy loads behind her.

 

I think yall may be worried a little bit to much about the temps. Mine ran about 205-210 degrees pulling heavy all the way to Colorado and back to Texas. I think they are designed to run that way. Im still on my original water pump and T-stat at 112K miles for now.

Not towing I will see 195-200 in cooler weather. Lately in the heat (95-100 degrees ambient) usually 200........but a hard run of acceleration will run up to 205 or so for a few minutes. Seems to run fine.

..

 

Okay, the problem is fixed...

IF you guys were like me I just bought Prestone Antifreeze and mixed it 50/50 with water. After doing some more research on here I've found that there are certain types of Antifreeze you must use. I went with Zerex that is designed for the Cummins engine. You can only find it at NAPA. You could also pick up a HOAT coolant at a Cummins or Big Rig dealer.

I drained the coolant and flushed out the system with the water hose and refilled the system with Zerex and my temps are back to normal

Hope this helps