How bad can it be?

[MuleShack]

Yesterday I noticed two small spots on the concrete maybe 2" in diameter under my 05 Ram diesel. I knew they were new because I just pressure washed the garage floor last Friday.

When I got off work this morning, I noticed a large wet area under the front of the truck, so I pulled a head and checked it and it seemed to be antifreeze. The truck sounded ok, with a slight noise by the fan. By the time I got home (15 minutes) and parked in the garage the antifreeze was literally running out the bottom and I could see a trail up my driveway.

It looks like it is coming from somewhere down low like above the water pump because it is only on the passenger side. It continues to drip even after the truck is shut off for 20 minutes. I checked all the hoses up top and they are all dry, so the leak is coming from the lower extremes of the motor. When looking at it underneath, it is mainly around the water pump.

What is the likely cause of this, the water pump? If so how much is that going to run?

Is the water pump a do it your self job or not? What is involved?

[Scott K]

Well, if it looks like it is coming from the water pump, it very well could be. Waterpumps arent to bad to do on them.

[MuleShack]

Well thats the thing, I wasn't sure where it was located.

I looked for some pictures on line and found that on a gasser it is in the center of the engine. I was looking at the lower left thing with a pulley.

I now have the shroud off and can see where it is coming from...not sure this is the water pump though? Can someone tell me what this is?

The leak is coming from what looks like Inside of that solid pulley and dripping down. The hoses are running into the lower left unit so not sure what this is or if it is related to the water pump or if this is above my head.

How do you get the fan blade off? Do you put a box wrench on the shaft and turn it or what?

[Scott K]

Yes, I do believe thats it.

[311Hemi]

Sounds like the water pump to me and that's what your arrow is pointing at. I had mine replaced a couple years ago. I noticed mine leaking a lot of antifreeze at a gas station while filling up on our way out of town to SW North Dakota on pheasant trip. Luckily Blaine Dodge got me in just before closing and made time to replace it for me and we were on our way in a couple hours...I was very impressed by their service. Dogs and gear were in the back while they did it. I think it ran me around $400 to have them do it.

[MuleShack]

Well I guess it wasn't too bad. Started at 11:30 and finished up by 3:30.

I did it with out taking the fan out, I removed the 6 bolts holding the fan blades to the clutch and was able to tilt it enough to get at everything. The real pain was removing those 6 bolts and then trying to get them back in again. If I knew how to remove the clutch it might have been faster.

I got everthing put back together and filled it up and let it run in the driveway for 1/2 hour to make sure it was workiing and not leaking before I headed out. All seemed fine. I took off for Faribault and 5 miles down the road the darn thing was overheating. I let it cool down a little and then removed the thermostat and then took off again. The temp stayed at 210-215 the whole way down with out a thermo in it. When I got down there I shut it down for about 15 minutes where I stopped and then started it to head back home. Funny on the way home it was only at 180 the whole way. It sat in the driveway for about 45 minutes and then I drove about 20 miles and it didn't get above 150 the whole time. I'm guessing there was some blockage and I will have to have it flushed?

I'm picking up a new thermo tomorrow and hopefully it will be back to normal. I guess I saved about $300 but wasted a day.

[Scott K]

I am thinking you had an air pocket.

[MuleShack]

I am thinking you had an air pocket.

Hope so.

I did have high temp issues when the plow was on this winter, which never was a problem before.

[Valv]

You have an air pocket, Dodge have a particular way to purge air from the system.

Fill radiator and bottle up to the max level, run the truck to temperature (just drive it). When cold check bottle again you'll see it is low or empty, add to the max again DO NOT OPEN RADIATOR CAP. Drive truck again or get it up to temp. Repeat it as necessary (usually 2 or 3 times).

The important thing is not to open the radiator cap to fill, just use the bottle.

[Eric Wettschreck]

Yup, air.

I wouldn't recommend driving too much without a thermostat. I know you said you got one. I'd install before driving this too much. Getting to temp and staying there is more important on these newer motors than it is on, say, a motor from the 70's.

[MuleShack]

Yupper,

I got one and put it in.

The resevoir was empty and the radiator itself was also low, so I added another 2 gallons of mix to top it off. (I did this before reading Valv's post)

The good news is there are no leaks.