'04 Dodge

[TSR]

I recently bought an 04 Dodge dually 168 K auto trans diesel. This truck's temp guage runs about a needle or 1.5 needles past the 200 midrange mark on the temp dial. Is this normal??? One time I was pulling a load of hay (14 rd. rolls) up a steep hill and the guage almost got to the 240 mark but no boilover or anything noticeable.. I might add, at the time, I didn't have the trans in tow mode but it got me wondering--If I had a load of cattle going up and down steep terrain would the engine over heat?? What do yall think??

 

[Isomade]

I had a 96 the same way. As long as it was winter months I was fine, once the temps climbed into the 70s and up I had trouble with overheating.

 

[wbvs58]

I had a similiar problem towing with a diesel Toyota Landcruiser. The problem was the viscous coupling on the fan, the mechanic identified the problem when he was fitting a turbo on it and loaded it up on the Dyno to check it, I had told him the temp guage came up a fair bit on constant hills, he said that was normal, when I came to pick it up he said you know it does heat up a bit. He fixed the problem by putting a bit of silver solder on the coil behind the coupling keeping the fan in the on position but you could still free wheel it by hand. I believe you can get kits to replace the fluid in them which helps, down the track I ended up putting wedges in it to lock it so it was fixed for peace of mind, it did really help with the cooling, only downside was a small loss of fuel economy.
The problem only occurred with the extra load of towing a 2 horse float.
Ken

 

[thommoos]

It having 168k the tstat may have been changed to a higher degree, namely a 210, I would replace with a factory setting first, double check air flow through radiator, and no on the towing button, all that does is change the shifting points, nothing to do with cooling or running.

And when you do go under the hood, check to see if there is resistance, oil around the fan clutch, when it gets hot you should here it kick in should not spin freely, should feel like it is dragging.

 

[saltbranch]

I have an 04' I used in a hotshot business pulling a 40" G/N and have had loads upwards of 20k on it. Running just past 200 degrees is normal, getting upto 240 degrees I would be careful. Try cleaning/blowing out the A/C condensor and radiator, they are famous for getting clogged up, especially if a 2wheel drive since they sit so low.
The only time I have had my truck run hot was with oversize load that 14' wide and 13' tall and completely flat on the front and when the condensor/radiator was clogged up.
Have just over 300k and still running strong.

 

[saltbranch]

The biggest mistake I see by folks pulling heavy loads is keeping thier foot to the floor. You need to find where the truck is comfortable pullinf the load. Gear down on the climbs and hold at a steady throttle vs. putting your fooot in it

 

[TSR]

It having 168k the tstat may have been changed to a higher degree, namely a 210, I would replace with a factory setting first, double check air flow through radiator, and no on the towing button, all that does is change the shifting points, nothing to do with cooling or running.

And when you do go under the hood, check to see if there is resistance, oil around the fan clutch, when it gets hot you should here it kick in should not spin freely, should feel like it is dragging.

You can hear the fan engage but its usually after the temp. needle gets about two widths past 200 degrees.

 

[Angus Cowman]

install a new thermostat and clean the radiator
I would pull the radiator out of mine and spray it down with dawn dish soap and let it soak for an hr then take the pressure washer to it and it made lots of difference
I would do mine every other yr and got along lots better is easy to pull radiator