06 3.7 overheating

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rigid

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Tried the search and found a couple things to try ,but still not sure ..

Daughter was coming home from school and had driven 50 miles . The chime went off and the gauge was in red. Pulled over within 2 minutes to off ramp. No steam until she turned it off. Hauled it home and had some antifreeze on the trailer.
raised the hood this morning ..and no blown hoses. dry everywhere except a little of the insulation on firewall. no cracks in reservoir. Heater hoses dry. used a hand pressure pump and finally could hear the 3/8 line from tank to the radiator leak slightly on the seam near tank. Cap also looked a little rough and did not hold pressure on the tester. New cap and new hose. Filled the reservoir . went about 8 miles today on test and it starting heading up to red . stopped before it got there.
Both hoses from the reservoir are hot. both heater hoses are hot. A/c and heat both work. top and bottom radiator hoses are hot. Electric fans working and it under 6 months old. also as the second fan for HD colling package. I did have the reservoir completely unhooked. The one thing I see I did not do is bleed the top hose plug. .
I have a new thermostat ..looks like breaking bolts off could be a problem from what I read. No leaks underneath like an old small block chevy weep hole leak. sorry to be so long . Any ideas on my next step ..?

Thank you
 

rigid

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I have now bled the top hex plug and did not seem to get any air. After looking at the reservoir it is not where I had it but nothing in the oil or exhaust. I am guessing it lost a litttle more when the hose split last night. Sitting at idle with ac on the gauge stays right in the middle . any chance the water pump is not keeping up at highway speed? Kid drives about 150 on trips home and 132,000 miles on it . If I take the pump off tomorrow do I have to replace the fan clutch also ? Do I mess with the thermostat as well ?
Thank you
 

ltd02

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Don't have to replace the HD fan clutch. It can be a ****** to get off but once it's off the wp is an easy change. I'd probably just do the tstat too. Not a tough item to change. Sounds like some sort of flow issue like blockage or air but is the front of the rad clear of debris?

FYI you can leave the HD clutch and fan off after the WP change and while you continue to test this thing. I had mine off my 02 for over a year and never had a problem. Under normal conditions the efan should be just fine unless you have other problems..
 

uss2defiant

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might as well change the WP as PM.

Also the thermostat has a bleeder port. that should be at the 12 oclock position.

hope it's not a blown HG.
 

rigid

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Back together and a little nervous . No obvious problems with either part. Tomorrow will tell. Is it correct that I need to try to fill it through the pipe plug by the top hose ?

No debris in front of radiator . Yesterday I could feel air being pulled through when the fans were running.

could I have a radiator problem ?
 
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uss2defiant

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Back together and a little nervous . No obvious problems with either part. Tomorrow will tell. Is it correct that I need to try to fill it through the pipe plug by the top hose ?

No debris in front of radiator . Yesterday I could feel air being pulled through when the fans were running.

could I have a radiator problem ?

Yes. that's the highest point.
Just be very careful not to strip the threads.

you might as well try to straighten some of the radiator fins and give it a good clean.
 

rigid

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could I have a radiator problem ?

Found my answer ... ticked off I didn't slow down and think through this. After replacing the hose and the test drive for 8 miles and noticing the reservoir was a little lower , which I thought maybe after getting to temp it filled the block , I would have filled it again I may have found the problem.

Just got done filling and noticed about a 1/3 of the way up the fins where wet on the inside... ran my hand across and guess what .. antifreeze . I had the little hand pump pressure tester from auto zone and I pump the piss out of it . did not get any air . lesson learned . slow down and think through . new pump and dodge oem t stat and a new radiator ! she will have a complete new cooing system !

Thank you for your help on this site !!
 

LibertyTC

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Please let us know how it goes..
And PLEASE remember to only USE the proper coolant....
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uss2defiant

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could I have a radiator problem ?

Found my answer ... ticked off I didn't slow down and think through this. After replacing the hose and the test drive for 8 miles and noticing the reservoir was a little lower , which I thought maybe after getting to temp it filled the block , I would have filled it again I may have found the problem.

Just got done filling and noticed about a 1/3 of the way up the fins where wet on the inside... ran my hand across and guess what .. antifreeze . I had the little hand pump pressure tester from auto zone and I pump the piss out of it . did not get any air . lesson learned . slow down and think through . new pump and dodge oem t stat and a new radiator ! she will have a complete new cooing system !

Thank you for your help on this site !!

Great! definitely make sure to pressure test the system again. Just pressure test it for an hour or so. The pressure should hold.
Just be mindful of the autozone loaner tools. I have found that some of them will leak when the hose is bent so you may have to keep it upright.

might also just pressure test the rad cap as well.
 

Myke

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Did you mix in green coolant or did you have the orange hoat coolant on your trailer?

Also be cautious now that it has over heated. These heads like to drop the #2 cyl valve seat after they over heat.
 

rigid

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Update : looks like we are good now . It has been a couple weeks since the new radiator went in . A little over 600 miles and so far no problem.

Thanks for the help
 

nohitter64

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Did you mix in green coolant or did you have the orange hoat coolant on your trailer?

Also be cautious now that it has over heated. These heads like to drop the #2 cyl valve seat after they over heat.
Hey Myke, how can I tell if the #2 valve seat has dropped?

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
 

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