Wild Temp Gauge

[geombp]

Need some advice. In March '04 I had my thermostat replaced on my '99 Durango because my temp gauge was spiking and I could literally hear the thermostat opening/closing/opening/closing (sound of coolant shooting through hoses under pressure). The mechanic (not the dealer) told me the thermostat was bad, and that there were also signs of coolant leak at two locations, the intake manifold gasket and the water pump. I chose not to deal with those at the time. Now 7 months later, my temp gauge is again fluctuating all over the place, sometimes redlining at 260 degrees, then going back down, then back up a few minutes later. Took the vehicle to the Dodge dealer this time. They want $1,300 to fix two leaking freeze plugs and replace the water pump. Is this typical? They also want $655 to replace a blown intake pan gasket (the blown seal is reportedly causing oil loss, which I have been experiencing, yet there are no stains on my driveway!). I was hoping to sell this vehicle for about $7K but now I'm looking at $2K in repairs. Got any suggestions?

[RoadieDog]

I have the same problem on my 1999 5.9L. Temp gauge shoots to overheat while at idle or during slow driving (check engine light comes on). No hot air comes out of heater during these times. Then, temp gauge reverts back to normal very quickly and heater pumps out hot air. Driving at freeway speed keeps the temp guage at normal. I believe this is a thermostat problem, but have also heard of other issues such as radiator fan motor and blown intake gasket. Now I've noticed white smoke coming from exhaust and I fear the worst. Taking it in to dealership tonight, but would like to be armed with info so I don't get taken to the cleaners.

[DurangoDave]

This behavior is often a sign of a bad thermostat.
Another frequent reason for this is low coolant level.....meaning the real question is 'why did the coolant level get low?' Unfortunately, a bad head gasket will reduce the coolant level, and will also produce white 'smoke', (really water vapor, of course). Blown head gasket is a big $ deal. Leaking water pump and leaking freeze plugs also reduce the coolant level and give the same behavior.

Good luck and give us some feedback on what you find out.
Dave

[geombp]

Originally Posted by DurangoDave

This behavior is often a sign of a bad thermostat.
Another frequent reason for this is low coolant level.....meaning the real question is 'why did the coolant level get low?' Unfortunately, a bad head gasket will reduce the coolant level, and will also produce white 'smoke', (really water vapor, of course). Blown head gasket is a big $ deal. Leaking water pump and leaking freeze plugs also reduce the coolant level and give the same behavior.

Good luck and give us some feedback on what you find out.
Dave

I've discovered exactly what you said...it is a low coolant level. If I keep topping off the coolant, the wild temp gauge fluctuation "problem" goes away...but as you state, the real question is... why am I losing coolant. It is leaking through 2 freeze plugs and around my water pump and the dealer wants $2,700 to fix the leaks!!! That's about 27% of what the vehicle is worth today, so I've had enough. This has been a good vehicle for 5-1/2 years, but that's the problem...Dodge/Chrysler products, as well as most other American made vehicles, just start to have problems like these at this point. I'll just keep topping off the coolant until I can afford to go back to Japanese quality! (Nissan Titan is calling to me)

[DurangoDave]

Well, replacing the water pump yourself is a fairly easy and inexpensive fix, and my opinion is I personally wouldn't complain about a water pump going up after 5 1/2 years, (which mine did).
But I don't know about the freeze plugs. Seems like they should only start to leak due to corrosion, (or freezing of course, but I don't suspect you have much problem with freezing in your part of California!). If the anti-freeze is not at the correct concentration, or allowed to "go bad" by not periodically flushing and changing, that could certainly lead to corrosion and then leakage.
I can't argue with you though...sometimes enough is enough!
LOL....good luck.
Dave