I recently bought a '94 Dodge Ram 2500 4x4 with a utility bed and pipe rack, a combination that I like, as this will be the truck I drive to work. I have the receipts for the remanufactured engine and transmission, and I thought this truck would be less trouble than it has been so far. I noticed that it has a tendency to run a little on the hot side, so I figured eventually I would have to do some work on the cooling system.
As you probably know, it's been stupid hot in So Cal for a couple of weeks now, with the result that I've been driving this truck with the heater on full blast to keep it from overheating. Driving with the heater on in 100+ degree weather can be a little... uncomfortable. Yesterday, after I worked a few hours, the radiator guy said he could fit me in, even though it was 11:00 am, and he closes at 1:00 on Saturdays.
Cut to the chase, this is a small outdoor shop, and I was able to watch the guy do the radiator work. I've never seen anyone do such thorough work on anything. It's a plastic/aluminum radiator, so he took one of the tanks off after flow-testing the radiator, and began rodding it. The guy doing the work, who has been there at least 20 years, brought the radiator over to show me. His English wasn't good, and my Spanish isn't great, but I understood that he was showing me that the core was clogged with silicone, presumably left over from the engine assembly. It was pretty large, hardened bits, i.e., the silicone wasn't introduced into the radiator in an uncured state, but washed into it from the engine. He was able to restore approx. 90% flow, which is plenty to prevent overheating. The boss told me it was about 55% clogged when he started. Even though it was after closing by this time, the technician continued blowing out and flushing the radiator until he was satisfied, dried it with an enormous torch, painted the tank he had removed, then reassembled the radiator, leak tested it, dried it again, and painted the entire assembly. They also cleaned out my recovery tank (looks new), and fixed a leak on the coolant recovery hose.
I've been using this shop for well over 20 years, and I don't know why I'd go anywhere else for cooling system work. Prices aren't cheap, but they are very fair, IMO. The cost for the above, including removal and re-installation in my truck was $255.00. For another $160 he would have re-cored the radiator, but the core and tanks (Modine) looked pretty good to me.
It's going to be nice to be running the AC instead of the heat.
As you probably know, it's been stupid hot in So Cal for a couple of weeks now, with the result that I've been driving this truck with the heater on full blast to keep it from overheating. Driving with the heater on in 100+ degree weather can be a little... uncomfortable. Yesterday, after I worked a few hours, the radiator guy said he could fit me in, even though it was 11:00 am, and he closes at 1:00 on Saturdays.
Cut to the chase, this is a small outdoor shop, and I was able to watch the guy do the radiator work. I've never seen anyone do such thorough work on anything. It's a plastic/aluminum radiator, so he took one of the tanks off after flow-testing the radiator, and began rodding it. The guy doing the work, who has been there at least 20 years, brought the radiator over to show me. His English wasn't good, and my Spanish isn't great, but I understood that he was showing me that the core was clogged with silicone, presumably left over from the engine assembly. It was pretty large, hardened bits, i.e., the silicone wasn't introduced into the radiator in an uncured state, but washed into it from the engine. He was able to restore approx. 90% flow, which is plenty to prevent overheating. The boss told me it was about 55% clogged when he started. Even though it was after closing by this time, the technician continued blowing out and flushing the radiator until he was satisfied, dried it with an enormous torch, painted the tank he had removed, then reassembled the radiator, leak tested it, dried it again, and painted the entire assembly. They also cleaned out my recovery tank (looks new), and fixed a leak on the coolant recovery hose.
I've been using this shop for well over 20 years, and I don't know why I'd go anywhere else for cooling system work. Prices aren't cheap, but they are very fair, IMO. The cost for the above, including removal and re-installation in my truck was $255.00. For another $160 he would have re-cored the radiator, but the core and tanks (Modine) looked pretty good to me.
It's going to be nice to be running the AC instead of the heat.