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V6 Dakotas
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857pop
Dodge Dakota
JOIN HERE
7/19/2004
23:42:29
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 Subject: New: Water pump,t-stat,radiator(wtf?)
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First:
96 Dakota, 3.9L V-6, 5 speed.
(first time I've done any repairs myself) (ANY!)
Got tired of being litteraly ripped off from dealerships, and various mechanics everywhere.
Ok, Installed a new T-stat, had read about people using 180 t-stat, But I was chicken and went with the Haynes Manual spec of 190(ish?) You know what I mean. It was a major pain the arse, I didn't have the right tools (of course) and had ZERO experience with this, but I got it done. While I was in the area anyway, I disconected the heater core hose right beside where the T-stat goes, and then I disconected the heater core hose going to the water pump. I did this for 2 reasons...
1) I was putting in a new water pump anyway, so the hose had to come off the pump anyway,
2)I may as well take the other one off and do that "reverse flush the heater core" procedure that someone has posted about a million times.
The reverse flush worked well, btw, so thanks for posting a million times.
Ok so the t-stats in, springs on it IN the engine, (I was very careful to put it in the right way) The reverse flush has been done, so now it's on to the water pump.
No biggie there, biggest part was getting that one hose at the 12 o'clock position back on, but I finally did get it on.
Next up, new radiator, easy as cake compared to the other things I had already done. Serpantine belt back on was fun (not) but It's on right, according the sticker diagram inside the hood. I tripple checked it, it's right by the diagram.
Fan shroud back on, fan back on, filled er' up with regular old garden hose water until tomorrow when I can flush it again, and do a 50/50 mix like I'm supposed to do.
So everything is topped off, I get in the truck, cross my fingers and turn on the POWER (NOT THE ENGINE) Radio is up, lights work, so far so good....then I notice the *&$^@# (@#*@#@ @#$%&$ temperature gauge is friggin PEGGED at Hot.
HOT!!!!!! The friggin truck has been parked for 10 hrs, I just put COLD water in the radiator, and the best part, I HAD NOT EVEN STARTED THE ENGINE YET!!!!!!! Yet there it was, pegged at hot. Knowing this simply cannot be right, I start the engine.....runs fine, runs good, Still knowing the engine CANNOT be hot, I take er' for a spin around the block. Temp gauge stays pegged at hot, yet the ride is smooth and uneventful. I get back home, Let it idle, pop the hood, no smoke, no hissing (radiator) no pissing, no leaks, it's running great!. WTF did I do wrong?
This is the ONLY thing I can think of......go back to the t-stat, and where it is. From right to left, you have the upper radiator hose, beside
that is the heater core hose, then beside that is some kind of electrical "plug in" type thing. I don't know what it is, but I'm pretty sure I broke it.
You see, while I was messing with the hoses and what not in this area, I thought' it would be a good Idea to unplug that thing, whatever it is, just to get it out of the way. Later on, I noticed that the "base" (which appears to be attached to some kind of lug nut) had litteraly come off. I re-attached it, but it was covered with this white cakey crap similar to a corroded battery terminal. Silly me, I scraped all the cakey crap off, and finally got it to "stick" back down inside the nut where it had come from. Then I plugged in the top part, it stayed in place, so I thought I was home free. What the heck is that thing? That's the only possible thing I can think off. The engine is obviously not running hot. Not when you just turn the power on.......and besides, even if the gauge was correct, there is no way I would have made it around the block. So the gauge in the cab is dead wrong, but what controls it and why is it pegged at hot?
Thanks, sorry for being long. Just wanted you to know everything.
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857pop
Dodge Dakota
JOIN HERE
7/19/2004
23:52:50
| RE: New: Water pump,t-stat,radiator(wtf?)
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Message:
I think THIS is what I'm talking about, read the problem, then read the second to last post from Lary at J&J's (or something) Sounds exactly like the wire "plug in" thing I'm talking about, and his explanation seems perfect for my situation:
http://www.dodgedakota.net/boards/v6/8865.html
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another mark
Dodge Dakota
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7/20/2004
01:17:37
| RE: New: Water pump,t-stat,radiator(wtf?)
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Message:
I think that is your problem. When I removed my intake to fix the belly pan I got the connector yanked a little loose on my temp sensor and it threw a code on start up that was a temp sensor fault. I fixed the connector myself and the code went away after a reset. You need to fix your connector or replace the sensor possibly depending what you did to it. The white stuff is grease to protect the connectors from water getting in there and corroding the contacts.
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Marks Enemy
Dodge Dakota
JOIN HERE
7/27/2004
22:47:22
| RE: New: Water pump,t-stat,radiator(wtf?)
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Message:
Pretty good but my take about the "cake": POP was referring to the engine side of the sensor. This cake is either or both pipe dope (sealant) or coolant residue (powdery dried up white crust). On the harnesses in general, (excepting some of course like wiperwasher pump harness) the connector is engineered water proof with neoprene gasket or or ring devices. But you are right, there is sometimes dielectric grease in there. And the connector does break easy. Don't get a big head
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