Broke down in Tupelo MS

[garyp4951]

My Good Sam roadside came in handy, and towed the truck and 5er to a campground, and Ram dealer.
The water pump pulley broke, and lost the belt while in heavy one lane construction traffic on hey 45 on our way home from Gulf Shores AL, and I lost steering, and brakes immediately, but was able to get on the gravel shoulder using the trailer brake.
I could have repaired it myself if I was home, but now just sitting in the campground 100 miles from home waiting on word from the dealer.

[Grit_dog]

^Bingo, glad you got er fixed.
It is disconcerting to hear that the water pump that grenaded only had 50k on it. Sounds like maybe an across the board problem as the new ones are having problems too.

At your mileage, even though the engine itself should yield may more miles, the rest of the truck is old and going to require continued repair and upkeep.
Goo news is, if it's in otherwise nice shape, it will sell for more than one would think it's really worth. It's a good time to sell old diesels. Price of admission for new ones means there's some kid or someone with a skinny wallet that wants a diesel, especially a Cummins, on every corner.

[garyp4951]

Harold Fairbanks II wrote:
I was looking up the overheating problem you are having with your Dodge truck and in the Dodge service manual it states to replace the vehicle with either a GM or Ford vehicle of similar type.

Thats a good one, and I've been looking at a 2017 GMC 2500 gas crew cab.

Update, I installed a new fan clutch, and thermostat, and now the fan comes on strong at first start up keeping the condenser cooled, and the ac is cold while idling. I can't believe I fought this fan clutch going out for 2 months after making it back from Yellowstone.
So far there is no coolant leak so hopefully the head gasket is ok. Everything is good now, but still thinking of upgrading before I get to old to have a note.
Thank, Gary

[Harold_Fairbank]

I was looking up the overheating problem you are having with your Dodge truck and in the Dodge service manual it states to replace the vehicle with either a GM or Ford vehicle of similar type.

[mkirsch]

How did they "check" it?

Probably just gave it a visual inspection... Yep, it's a fan. It's good.

[garyp4951]

Thanks Grit, I still think its the fan clutch even though they checked it, and I don't hear the roar like I use to when it comes in.
I'm considering an electric helper fan to run when the ac is on, or the powerstroke fixed fan conversion.

[Grit_dog]

garyp4951 wrote:
After a $900 repair bill for a water pump, crank sensor that the belt broke, and new belt, I made the 2 hour drive home.
As soon as I got of the interstate in slow traffic it started running HOT again, and you might say I'm PO'd. I called the dealer, and he said it might be a head gasket since it got hot when the water pump broke.

I have a diesel shop friend nearby, and will get him to check it out, and hope for the best.
As soon as its fixed I think I'm done with this over heating, and ac ****. The problem is all the newer ones have so much emission junk on them, but at least they would be warranted.

Ouch that stinks.
If it's a head gasket it like has water in the oil or vice versa or will be burning coolant and will be low. Doubt you could drive t 2 hours and then overheat though. Hope it's something simpler. Did the fan kick on?

[otrfun]

garyp4951 wrote:
. . . As soon as I got of the interstate in slow traffic it started running HOT again, and you might say I'm PO'd. I called the dealer, and he said it might be a head gasket since it got hot when the water pump broke.

I have a diesel shop friend nearby, and will get him to check it out, and hope for the best . . .

Really hope you get some good news from the diesel shop. IMO simple overheating from blown hoses, fan belts and water pumps, puts more vehicles in junkyards than anything else. Sometimes you only have seconds to get that engine shutdown in order to prevent serious engine damage. Even though the temperature gauge may read ok (at the sensor) while you're doing everything possible to get off the road, temps can easily climb dangerously high in other parts of the engine without you knowing it. Been there, done that.

[garyp4951]

After a $900 repair bill for a water pump, crank sensor that the belt broke, and new belt, I made the 2 hour drive home.
As soon as I got of the interstate in slow traffic it started running HOT again, and you might say I'm PO'd. I called the dealer, and he said it might be a head gasket since it got hot when the water pump broke.

I have a diesel shop friend nearby, and will get him to check it out, and hope for the best.
As soon as its fixed I think I'm done with this over heating, and ac ****. The problem is all the newer ones have so much emission junk on them, but at least they would be warranted.

[nohurry]

Sorry for your troubles. Hope you're back on the road soon!

[nohurry]

garyp4951 wrote:


BTW the wrecker was a 98 Powerstroke 7.3 that pulled the truck and Rv!

:C

[otrfun]

Is the Cummins water pump covered by the 5yr/100k Ram powertrain warranty?

[garyp4951]

My water pump was bought at Cummins 50k miles ago, and I will be getting a spare one soon.
I've even considered going back to gas, but we'll see. Thanks again for the replies, and suggestions.

I just want a truck that has an AC that works while idling at red lights, and not just while driving. I've heard adding an electric fan helps that.

BTW the wrecker was a 98 Powerstroke 7.3 that pulled the truck and Rv!

[garyp4951]

Hard to beat Tupelo honey on biscuits.
We went to EP's birth home, and museum, and tomorrow we are going to Mississippi Final Stands Civil War Center.
Hopefully my truck will be ready tomorrow, but we are retired so no hurry.

[IdaD]

Grit dog wrote:

IdaD wrote:

garyp4951 wrote:
My Good Sam roadside came in handy, and towed the truck and 5er to a campground, and Ram dealer.
The water pump pulley broke, and lost the belt while in heavy one lane construction traffic on hey 45 on our way home from Gulf Shores AL, and I lost steering, and brakes immediately, but was able to get on the gravel shoulder using the trailer brake.
I could have repaired it myself if I was home, but now just sitting in the campground 100 miles from home waiting on word from the dealer.

Same thing happened to my 2015 a few weeks ago and left us high and dry on a sunny (nearly) 100 degree day. The worst part of it was a weekend in a dinky rural Oregon town so the part wasn't available for a few days. We were three hours from home so we had somebody come pick us up and then went back later in the week to pick up the truck and trailer. That was after a night in a local campground trying to figure things out.

Sucks but life goes on. I am stocking the camper with coolant and distilled water, and the truck now has a spare water pump and serpentine belt under the back seat just in case. The good news is that the fix is relatively easy so some roadside wrenching isn't out of the question if help can't be summoned easily.

I've reached the conclusion that water pumps on Cummins trucks are problematic. Certainly not the worst thing in the world from a repair standpoint but not ideal either. I'll probably swap mine out every 2-3 years going forward.

Reading the interweb drivel on a Cummins forum, the newer 4th gens seem to have an issue with early water pump failure.
Pre 2014 I don't believe it was an issue. Avg lifespan 150kmi plus.

Definitely something to consider in the spare parts bin on the newer trucks. Given the frequency it happens on the web, if I had a new ram I'd think hard about swapping it at about 50kmi.
Seems like a bad batch because I believe it's basically the same pump from back to the 12V and 24V engines.
Replaced mine at 140k last year and it was still good.....preventative maintenance.

That's kind of what the guy who fixed me up said. Basically the same pump so he didn't understand the failures but in farm/ranch country (so lots of diesels) he'd seen it more than once and thought it was a problem. But he also thought the towing dead on the highway rate was the lowest with the Cummins compared to the other two diesels. I admit I shoppped Some duramax trucks the following week but I've decided to stand pat. The guy did tell me that, no matter what, if I traded for a new diesel just don't get a powerstroke. Which was funny cause that's what he towed me with, but he said they had lots of trouble with theirs and were the most frequent tows by far. I still think most are fine with any of them but it's such a crappy feeling to be stuck on the road with your family that you're responsible for it does make a guy rethink some stuff.