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Dodge Durango Overheating Problems
I have a 2001 Durango with a problem no one can solve. I can drive for about 60 minutes in the city then the engine begins to heat up then quickly goes to overheat. I have had the engine fan clutch replaced, thermostat replaced, sensor replaced, waterpump replaced, still happening. No coolant leaks can be found, no smell of coolant inside or outside the vehicle. I have over 127,000 miles on it run great for an hour. The air conditioning is not working I put in new coolent it worked for about 2 weeks and now is no longer working. I don't know if the AC has anything to do with overheating or not. I am about ready to drive it off a cliff any ideas PLEASE!
See Also
Engine Overheating Questions (Edmunds Answers)
See Also
Engine Overheating Questions (Edmunds Answers)
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Comments
I changed thermostat.
Driving it over heats, but when stop it cools down.
2 hoses going into firewall are hot
Hose on right with radiator cap is hot,
hose on left of radiator is warm at best.
Could this be bad radiator? or water pump?
Durango is now sitting waiting to get in the shop!!!!
I have a 2001 Dodge Durango SLT Plus and Dakota Quad Cab SLT both with 4.7L and two wheel drive. My Durango has had several overheating problems and my Dakota has always ran in the normal operating range. Since there are no numbers to indicate operating temp on the gauge, normal operating temp on my Dakota is about a 1/3 from the left side. If it is a hot day (100 degrees or so) in slow traffic, it will creep up to the halfway point but not beyond that point. The three biggest differences in these vehicles related to cooling are that the Durango has rear heating and cooling and the Dakota is equipped with the towing package. The Durango has the standard green coolant while the Dakota has red coolant. The towing package comes with a two core radiator and transmission cooler. Without the towing package you get a single core radiator and no transmission cooler.
The first time the Durango overheated, I was going up the grapevine on a warm day (about 85-90 degrees). I had the vehicle for about two years at the time. I was able to get the Durango cool and continue my trip.
The next year I was making the same trip and did not want to encounter the same problem, so I asked Dodge to install the towing package cooling system. After driving the Durango home I could smell coolant. I took it back to Dodge the next day. Immediately, one of the mechanics stated that the auxillary water pump needed to be replaced. I believe 2001 is the first year for rear heating and cooling. The auxillary water pump pumps water to the rear heater core.
About two years later, my wife complained that a strange smell was inside the vehicle. When I smelled inside the car, it smelled like stale air (like when you let out air from a tire). When I tried to find the source of the odor I could not find any problem. A few days later, I noticed a small puddle of coolant at the rear of the vehicle. When I opened the back of of the Durango and looked in the storage compartment, I found it full of coolant and quite a bit of the carpet was damp. Again, I took it into Dodge. They said the rear heater coil had sprung a leak and needed to be replaced. So I had it replaced.
A couple of months later, the Durango started running warm and leaking coolant from the front of the vehicle. I found a small leak in the radiator. I went to the auto part store and bought some sealant for the leak and poured it in. It stopped the leak and the vehicle continued to run great for the next year and a half.
This year in May on a very hot day, my wife had just had the oil changed on the Durango and on her way home the Durango got hot and the "Check Gauges" light came on. I found the coolant low and filled it back up. When I test drove the vehicle I found it reaching the halfway point in about 10-15 minutes. When I was at a stop lights it would start getting warm and when it was moving it would continue to get warm at a slower rate. The only way I could bring the temperature down was to run the heater. Of course, this is not a desirable way to cool your car when its 100 degrees outside. At this point, I figured that the water pump needed to be replaced. I decided this time that I would work on the vehicle instead of Dodge. When I removed the water pump I noticed that the water channel around the water pump looked slightly damaged. I didn't think much of it and continued to remove the thermostat, since I was right there I might as well change it, too. When I removed the thermostat, I noticed some grit in the housing. I stuck my finger in the thermostat housing and found a jagged hole. The hole went to the ports of the rear heater. I realized at this point I would have to change the entire timing chain cover. For those of you who do not know, Dodge runs the water inlet and outlet from the radiator through the timing chain cover, which the water pump is attached. I ordered a new timing chain cover, which comes with a new water pump and thermostat. I installed the new timing chain cover, upper and lower radiator hoses and drive belt. When it was complete, I test drove the vehicle, it took about 45 minutes for the temperature to reach the halfway point. When the vehicle was moving the temperature seems to stablize. While this seemed to be part of the problem, there was still something wrong. I thought that maybe the sensor had been defective and replaced it, but had the same result. Finally, I removed the radiator and had it tested. It was clogged. The radiator shop, infomed me that I needed to flush the system very good before installing the new radiator because he believed something was very wrong with the vehicle to create such a clog. Obviously, something was very wrong if the radiator was clogged in 4 years and had been flushed twice in that time frame. I decided that to completely flush the system, I would use a vacuum pump to pull out as much debris that I could from the system. I happened to have a vacuum pump that would pull about 25 psi. I connected it up to the inlet and the outlet and drained as much as I could. With just having put new coolant in the system, I was expecting to see fairly clean coolant. The coolant that came out of the vehicle was very dark and dirty. I decided to flush the system again with water and then redrain it with the vacuum pump. The process took about 3 hours. I reinstalled the radiator. When I test drove the vehicle it ran cooler than it has in a long while.
I have read several posts of people who have replaced nearly everything that I have and have even some who have had to replace motors. I have read other posts that state you should just flush your radiator every year or two. I have also read posts about installing a bigger better electric fan. At one point, I considered installing a bigger better fan and even possibly installing an oil cooler however, the fact of the matter is that I have two vehicles that are nearly identical and one overheats and the other doesn't. I just couldn't buy into installing something to fix the symptom and not the problem. If you are thinking about installing a bigger electric fan you should know that the fan turns on at the halfway point or when the AC is on, unless you rig it to turn on at a lower temp or have it running constantly. If you live in a very hot climate and find your vehicle getting hot when the AC is running, then installing a bigger fan is probably a good idea, otherwise you are waiting until your car is runni
running warmer than it should to get the benefit of the electric fan. Everytime Dodge has worked on my cooling system they had to flush the system which turns out to be about every couple of years. While I think that regular maintenance is great to keep your vehicle in top running condition, flushing the system every year or two seems a bit excessive. The reason I say this is because Dodge states that red coolant for my Dakota be replaced every 100,000 miles. For the Durango with the green coolant it is 30,000. I don't quite understand why they both have different coolant colors, but because of it they are on different schedules. I guess, if you put a lot of miles on your vehicle than maybe flushing that often falls within the maintenance parameters. I think that the corrosion in the timing chain cover is happening to more people than just me, yet I have yet to read a post about anyone else replacing this item. I think this is the reason that people are having to flush their systems every year or every other year to keep their vehicles running cool. I think the debris from the corrosion on my own vehicle lead to the heater core and radiator leaking and then to clogging up the radiator to the point that it was ineffective.
Also, I noticed above that a user reported one hose was hot and the other was warm. Check your thermostat again, that is most likely the problem.
This is my experience and while I don't know if this a problem with all 4.7s, it might be a place to start or at least have it inspected. However, one thing is for sure, if you are replacing a radiator because it is clogged, installing a new radiator may temporarily relieve your symptoms, but it hasn't solved your problem unless the radiator has itself is disintegrating and causing the clogging. I may still end up with the same problem because I don't know what is caused the timing chain cover to breakdown. It is my guess that there is some kind of PH or chemical reaction that is causing this breakdown resulting in grit or sludge being produced. Since it's been less than a year that I have performed this repair, I'm optimistic that the problem is solved, but I still don't know why this problem started in the first place.
Perhaps, I'm reading too much into the white smoke problem. If your white smoke is coming out from under the hood then you have a completely different problem. There is a good chance that the car getting hot is causing the coolant to boil over. When it gets hot enough it will create some steam. If the coolant comes in contact with the motor then of course it will cause a white smoke especially since you already know its hot.
Here are a couple of things I would look for.
If the car gets hot quickly at about the time you would expect it to reach operating temp, then there is a good chance the thermostat is stuck closed. If you turn on the heater to help cool the engine, then the heater air is likely not warm.
If the car starts creeping up in temperature and then you put the heater on and can slow or stop the overheating then I would guess the problem is a plugged radiator, although a faulty water pump could also cause the problem.
If the car gets hot only when under load or takes a long time to overheat then I would think the problem is a less plugged radiator or a stuck open thermometer.
MD
thanks, Rico...
Rico...
Rico...
About 6 or so months ago I began smelling anitfreeze in my 03 durango something terrible, then i noticed a leak in the back of the car by the exhaust. So I took it to the mechanic and he told me that it was my rear heater core. (Sorry if I get some of my wording wrong, mechanically inclined I am not.) And it would be around 500 bucks to replace it, I could not afford that, so, they charged me 160 to bypass it. Well that worked fine until about 2 weeks ago.I was in New Mexico visiting my husband(he works out of town) and noticed the car sounded like it was ideling high when it came time to change gears, I went from the motel to the gas station, about 2 blocks, and while filling up to go home decided to check my transmission fluid on the suspision it might be low, it was fine so i decided to check my antifreeze since I had been having problems. I felt the cap first and it was not even warm, since I had only gone a few blocks I figured it was fine. Well, when I loosened the cap it blew off throwing antifreeze all over my, luckily it wasnt hot or i'd have been in a world of pain. Maybe I shouldv'e had the car turned off before removing the cap, i dont know. Then I drove the 2 hours home without a problem. The next day Wendell came home on days off and was washing his worktruck and our durango and had it running listening to the stereo so the battery wouldnt run down. Well, when he turned it off, there was a loud pop and antifreeze went everywhere, from the rear. just sizzlein the whole time and smoke going everywhere. I am sure the smoke was from the liquid hitting such a hot dry surface. After it cooled off he checked it out and said the shops bypass job had failed and the hose had busted or something, i dont rightly remember. I dont know what he done, but he said he fixed the hose and reclamped it. He ran the durango for about 30 minutes and it seemed fine. So we went about 30 miles away to an event with our kids. Car was fine. Then last week after doing some running around town I came home and when I turned off the car I heard a sssszzzzzzz noise and opened the hood and anitfreeze was coming out the resivoir tank. I thought it may be the thermostat, the car is getting hot yet it is full of antifreeze, again i really know nothing about cars. I also notice it is worse when running the a.c. So I went and got a new thermostat the premium one at that, and had it changed. But this past Saturday night Wendell was running the car again to listen to the radio. I started complaining because I knew my ride was still acting up, so finally after much ado he turned it off, and again fluid started coming out the reserve tank. Then one of his friends said he thinks its the fan clutch cause it spun to freely when he moved it. Now I have had it sitting in the driveway since sunday morning and took it this morning to the store. Not really far at all. maybe a half mile round trip. When I got to the store I smelled antifreeze, and seen a little was trickling from the reserve, I was at the store maybe 15 minutes, came home and parked it and decided to see if the internet could be of any assistance.
So, with all that being said, I really hope you can be of some assistance to me. I am afraid this is going to be expensive and money is something we dont have a whole lot of. And I dont even know what a fan clutch is, I am assuming it is a.c. related, because the a.c. wont even work if you put it on high now, and when you do run it the air takes longer than normal to get cold. And I thought all the rear heater core done was ran the heater in the backseat, I know once they bypassed it the rear heater doesnt work, yet the rear a.c. does. I thought it was all the same switch, you just adjust the tepmerature control.
I have had my durango sice 06 but it is an 03, with right under 90,000 miles, and until this it has not really given me any trouble at all. About a year ago, my step-dad took out the radiator and done a complete flush on it and changed the thermostat then as well cause it was overheating and giving me some trouble.
All I know Is I have 3 children under the age of ten and cannot be without a vehicle, So I am really hoping to get some insight here as to what is going on.
Okay, now let's get to your overheating problem. One of the problems I think you may be having is with your auxiliary water pump. This water pump is designed to pump water to the rear heater core (it might actually be used to pump water to the front and rear heater core, I'm not really sure). I can't recall if the auxilary water pump uses electric power or not. I would think so, because it doesn't get it from the engine. It is located on the passenger side in the engine compartment on top of the fender well near the firewall. It's easy to identify because it uses heater hose just like the one running to the heater core. I have had this device cause problems before. I think what happens is that the water is unable to be pumped up into the heater core(s) and so that coolant ends up draining back into the rest of the cooling cyle that is working. This causes more fluid in the system than it can hold so some of it goes back into the overflow container, once the overflow container is full it begins to spill out onto the ground. In your case I think that your auxilary water pump may be starting to go and working intermittently. I think this might be why at times you have a puddle and this is what caused the bypass to "pop" off. In addition, when some of the coolant has been drained and the auxiliary pump begins to start working, it is robbing coolant from the main cooling system forcing the system to cool with less coolant. Since there is less coolant available, it begins to get hot. I don't have a real easy way to test the auxilary water pump except to see if it is powered with 12 Volts and listen to see if the motor is running properly. If you can find a way to see if it is pumping or stuttering or barely moving then you might have your answer. As far as I know this auxilary water pump can only be purchased through the dealer.
Unfortunately, I'm not sure that this is your problem or only problem. You stated your Durango is having a problem shifting and that your AC is not working great. Both of those have coolers (they look like smaller radiators). The one for the transmission is called a transmission cooler, the AC one is called a condenser. Both are located in front of the radiator (the transmission cooler is the smaller one, models without the towing package may not have it). All of them require good air flow over them to work correctly. If one of them is really hot, it can impact the effectiveness of the others. The fan clutch is a likely culprit because all three of these rely on it drawing in air over them to work properly. You could test this by running the vehicle and seeing if you hear the noticeable roar and an increase in RPMs between 1/4 and just under 1/2 on the temp gauge. This could be your only problem. The failure of the fan clutch to properly cool the car could have caused a build up in pressure and caused the bypass hose to "pop" off. If your car is getting over 1/2 way on the temp gauge make sure your electric fan is kicking on (located in front of the regular fan, you may need to use a flashlight to see if it is working).
If I was in your situation I would check the fan clutch first and change if it does not kick on.
I would check the coolant level as often as possible to make sure there is no fluctuation. If high or puddling sometimes and low at others with no leaks then I would suspect the auxiliary water pump. If you can bypass the auxilary water pump and still have fluctuating coolant level, change the main water pump.
If fan clutch changed or working, no fluctuation in coolant, then I would suspect the radiator.
It is important that after losing coolant you maintain close to a 50/50 mixture of coolant to water for best cooling results.
When checking the coolant, do not remove the radiator cap if the car was recently running or is still warm to the touch. Check it from the overflow coolant container. If the car needs coolant it will take it from there, if it is dumping coolant it will fill it up. Do not overfill. Only fill to the top of the holes on the dipstick - this allows some room for the coolant when warm, but it should not normally flow out of this container.
I know my durango has a 5.9L engine and it is a 4x4 with the tow package. And I know that I do not have a clue about these different fans you speak of, but tonight my friends husband is supposed to be changing the fan clutch for me, he really seems to think that is the problem. I will have him read this beforehand though and I will let you know the outcome.
However, last night I decided to go outside and check this all out for myself. Before I even started the durango I took off the radiator cap to check the fullness, keep in mind that it had not been driven for about 4 almost 5 hours, and when i release the cap it was like a small pressure was released and a bubble of antifreeze came out. It has done that about the last 5 times I have checked it. I started the car and after about 10 minutes of idling it was already to the half way mark. I felt the line going to the engine from where you put the antifreeze in and it was really super hot, yet the line on the other side of the the engine was real cool to the touch, so I wonder if it is possible the thermostat my husband installed could be faulty? I also bought a gasket and gasket sealer, but he did not use them, so could it maybe not have been sealed properly, he told me he didn't use it cause it didn't need it. Anyway while the car was started I noticed it is making a few new sounds. The most noticeable one is a mouse squeak kinda sound coming from down in the fan rotating area, sorry I dont know what things are to explain it better. But when I had my kid turn it off, I heard a kinda like a suction quitting, like at the car wash when the carpet vac cuts off. I also wonder if I should replace the radiator cap itself, because there has been fluid sitting right under the hose there as if it may be leaking out from the cap. The only time it seems to lose any liquid is the few times it has spewed out the reserve tank hole. I have preston 50/50 stuff that I have been using to refill it. I also noticed that the cap on the reserve was not fitting right. It was not closing down over the bumps around the rim, but I fixed that last night, But I was wondering if that could be why fluid was coming out of it?