The Dakota has a fill point that's below the highest point in the
coolant system (the upper rad hose). It creates more of a propensity
for air to get trapped in the system. Which is why most modern cars
have the fill point in odd locations so they can be at the highest point
in the coolant system (like the Neon that has it's fill point bolted to
the front of the head).
Regardless, my problem is either a bad clutch fan, a collapsing lower
rad hose under suction, or a bad radiator... and the one in there
doesn't fit right anyway I've noticed. It was replaced at some point
(it's an all metal unit), and the coolant fill neck is so close to the
rad support that I had to bend the metal a bit to be able to get the rad
cap on properly. There's also a chunk of rubber hose shoved between the
upper tank of the radiator, looks like someone used it to push the
radiator back a bit since they had a similar problem when it was replaced.
If I have the money to spend, why not spend it on peace of mind? If it
was just me driving it I'd be fine with risking it as when I'm driving I
regularly scan all the instruments. My wife on the other hand is the
reason Chrysler added alarms to modern Mopars for when the engine
overheats. ;) She has a hard time watching her speedometer much less
anything else. My Minivan would be a seized hunk of steel headed for the
shredder right now if it wasn't for that dinger - and I don't think my
'95 Dakota has one.
MattB
Ray Block wrote:
>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Matt Beazer
>>
>> I'm tempted to spend the $130 bucks for a new radiator "to be safe".
>> I'm sick of spending 20 bucks on new coolant and worrying about air
>> bubbles every time I troubleshoot it,
>>
>
> Why would you worry about air bubbles? That's common any time you open the
> cooling system and a properly functioning radiator cap and coolant recovery
> bottle will purge the air after a couple of warm up/cool down cycles.
>
> Just begin with the coolant recovery bottle about half full and check/refill
> after a couple cycles. That should take care of it. Lot's cheaper than
> a new radiator.
>
> Ray
>
>
>
>
>
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Wed Jul 01 2009 - 14:24:02 EDT