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sukey77

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
Hey guys - I wanted someone else’s opinion about this weird thing that is happening with my 2005 Durango 4.7L

I noticed when i start up the truck that i smell some coolant, I'm pretty sure it's NOT coming out of the exhaust it seems like it's coming from the engine bay. I looked around and didn't see any leaks- so wasn't too worried about it. Yesterday i noticed at Idle my heat was rising up a little about 1/4 or less above normal- while driving temp says nice and steady at normal. I shut the car off when i got home and checked the fan clutch and i was able to turn the fan a pretty easy with the engine hot but there was some resistance on the fan, I’m not sure how much there should be. Also I noticed the radiators cap was ice cold even though the upper hose was hot. I carefully opened the cap (with gloves and a couple of rags) and heard a huge rush of air either out or into the radiators and found the fluid was low. I also found some coolant in the engine compartment but couldn't pin-point where it was coming from but the radiator cap is my biggest suspect? Water pump is pretty new (<5K) and oil/coolant looks clean no contamination.

Question is- do you guys thing I’m dealing with a ban fan, bad radiator, or bad cap, or both- and is there anything else I should check? Is there a cheap way for a home mechanic to do a pressure test on a radiator?
 
#2 ·
None of the above -- mine was doing the EXACT same thing. I bet your overflow tank is stayng full too. No vacuum to empty it out ... because of the blown head gasket (or cracked head). If you pressure test the entire system and then peek into your sparkplug holes, I'm guessing you'll find coolant in one or more of them. Just keep slopping more into it (through the hose cap, not the O-flow tank) while you save for a new set heads. But don't drive it too much like that -- once the oil and coolant start to mix, it can grenade your bottom end pretty quick too.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but the overheating condition is a result, not a symptom.
 
Discussion starter · #3 ·
thanks for the response- I'm not completely ready to jump on the head gasket bandwagon yet though, the fact that i can see the coolant leaking in the engine bay lets me know it's not being burnt up out the exhaust? But I guess it's a possibility. I just put in spark plugs too really wish i would have checked compression while i was doing that.
 
Discussion starter · #5 ·
So I filled up the radiator, and drove the car around and let it idle for a while and it didn't overheat at all? But still when I got home the radiator cap was pretty cold and the lower radiator hose was cold, the upper hose was warm and under pressure (which is normal from what i could tell). No signs of any coolant leaks? The radiator felt pretty cool too?

It's been pretty cold out lately, but i still wouldn't expect the lower hose and radiator to bec cool like that after driving, i expect them to be at least warm? But if coolant isn't circulating through the radiator the engine would overheat for sure right? This really has me puzzeled?
 
#6 ·
My guess is that after you've put a few miles on it and burned off some more coolant, it'll start doing the same thing again.

You might get hold of a heat scanner and test all four corners of the rad -- but do the pressure and compression tests too. You should be able to isolate the problem pretty quickly this way.
 
Discussion starter · #7 ·
I was actually following the car yesterday while driving around and the exhaust didn't smoke at all- even on a dry cold day i could barely see the exhaust- I'm really doubting that it's burning up- who knows.
 
Discussion starter · #9 ·
I'm doing my pressure test tomorrow- but i've been keeping a close eye on this and the truck is running great. I once and a while can catch a sent of coolant, but i don't seem to be losing any- oil and coolant look great, heat works good, and its not overheating at all event at idle.

I do still notice that the lower radiator hose is cold on my car even right after a drive? Can anyone else confirm that their durango does the same thing, i'm wondering if this is due to cold tempeatures and the thermostat just doesn't need to open much- or if this is a sign of a problem. If coolant wasn't flowing through i'd be overheating like crazy though right?
 
#11 ·
i have a new pair of head gaskets i have out of a gasket kit i bought and im not using went with cometic gaskets there your cheap if ya want them
 
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Discussion starter · #12 ·
I may want those afterall-

My had my local shop look at the truck because I needed an alignment anyway and they pressure tested the system but couldn't find an external leak, the said they saw some bubbles in the radiator which is a pretty clear sign of exhaust in the coolant. I'm going to do the exhaust gas test myself just to confirm but it's looking like I do have a small leak. He didn't do a compression or leakdown though.

Weird thing is as long as I keep the radiator full of coolant the car runs great, i drove it a little this weekend got like 19mpg which is about the most i ever get, seems like a bad headgasket would cause the truck to run rough or overheat but it doesn't at all- i'm sure it'll get worse eventually. Now to decide if I want to take on this head gasket job myself or pay my local guy 1100$ to do both of them for me. 1100$ I thought was a pretty fair price for both head gaskets.

I have 2 4.0L jeeps one with 140K and one with 210K and both have orginal headgaskets no problems, what's up with this 4.7L headgasket going at 80K? along with the water pump, power steering pump, and a bunch of other crap i'm starting to think I got a bad durango.
 
#13 ·
Well, the 4.7s are either great or they suck. Don't compare them to the all-iron OHV
4.0s which are dead reliable in almost all cases. Yours is doing EXACTLY what mine did, and at the same mileage. My solution was a whole new engine, which in retrospect was probably overkill, but I need something reliable for long trips.

The problem with buying these things used is, you don't know the history. One bad episode of overheating by a P.O. and that's it -- you've got a warped head. And the real pisser is, it'll run like new as long as you keep putting coolant in it. I know this doesn't help now, but in the future (if I buy another one of these) I'm gonna check the compression, pressure-test the cooling system and do a CO2 test before I buy.

In the meantime, you need to pull the heads and check for warpage. If they check out, then RE and RE both head gaskets. Also you might do an oil analysis before you start, to make sure there's no bottom end damage from running around with coolant in your oil. If that's the case, don't spend any money on this engine -- get a new one.
 
Discussion starter · #14 ·
Yeah I've looked at the oil on the dipstick, and when i changed it I looked at it good and couldn't see any sign of contamination- I always assumed a head gasket issue would be more obvious that it's been with this issue (crazy overheating, ton's of coolant in oil, poor gas mileage/performace, etc)

I bought this car from a dealer with 70K on it and was assured they do a full mechanical inspection of all their vehicles. I guess some people's definition of "full inspection" is different than mine! Thanks for all your advice- and will defiantly take your advice if I get another one.
 
#15 · (Edited)
sukey77 said:
Yeah I've looked at the oil on the dipstick, and when i changed it I looked at it good and couldn't see any sign of contamination- I always assumed a head gasket issue would be more obvious that it's been with this issue (crazy overheating, ton's of coolant in oil, poor gas mileage/performace, etc)

I bought this car from a dealer with 70K on it and was assured they do a full mechanical inspection of all their vehicles. I guess some people's definition of "full inspection" is different than mine! Thanks for all your advice- and will defiantly take your advice if I get another one.
Click to expand...
Yeah, mine was fully-inspected/warranted yadda-yadda, but aside from getting one CV and axle re-and re'd, this was pretty much useless. When it came to the overheating issue, they just kept topping up the coolant and shining me on until the warranty expired at which point they were finally able to diagnose the head gasket issue and offer to fix it. At full pop. So I will no longer be relying on dealer "inspection" -- I'll get it done independently!

If your dipstick oil looks okay, you might be all right, but I 'd still do the oil analysis for peace of mind. But maybe that's just me. Best of luck in any case!
 
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