O4 ram hemi overheating

Asked by MoparOrNoCar1604 Aug 09, 2018 at 09:25 PM about the 2004 Dodge RAM 1500 SLT Quad Cab 4WD

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

Ok guys I'm completely stumped! My 04 ram hemi
is heating up between normal and hot and
sometimes closer to hot. I had a coolant leak and
fixed it with k seal and changing the radiator hose.
I figured that would help the overheating with no
coolant leak present. I have people saying it's the
thermostat and others saying water pump. I do not
believe its a blown head gasket. I just need
someone with better knowledge on this than other
I have talked to. Help me if you can please!

2 Answers

7,365

Thermostat and water pump are both good guesses. For what it costs I would replace the thermostat and gasket without hesitation, if its horizontally mounted and has a small jiggly pin make sure the pin is UP as it lets trapped air out. To get a quick idea if the water pump is any good once the truck is up to temperature squeeze the upper rad hose, the pressure should be pretty firm, if not it may be weak. Make sure all air is purged from the cooling system, if you park on a small upwards incline it will speed up the process. Did you remove the radiator fan shroud? It's required to be there for proper cooling. Check the radiator for clogged or bent fins, without enough airflow going through the fins you won't have proper cooling. Check to make sure the lower rad hose hasn't been replaced with the wrong one, it must be smaller in diameter that the upper hose. Other than any of that your radiator may have become internally clogged, A CLR (internal) soak and a back flush can clear out MOST radiators. That's all i got for now

6 people found this helpful.
157,115

Using K-seal was a bad idea.

2 people found this helpful.

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