Topic: Any Cummins experts here?
Hey All,
I'm having a strange problem with my Lemons tow vehicle, I've Googled a bit with no luck. Thought I'd reach out to the community here for expertise.
The vehicle is a 2001 Dodge Ram 2500 w/5.9 Cummins 24v td.
Background - A couple of months ago, on a very hot day, the serpentine belt shredded driving up I5 from LA. I caught the red alternator light almost immediately, I was literally just approaching an off ramp, so I drove it off the highway slowly and into a McDonalds parking lot. The temperature got pretty high, but not pegged, and no steam from under the hood.
AAA flat bedded it home, where it sat for a month. I finally got around to installing a new belt a few weeks ago, neglected to check the coolant level.
A couple of weeks ago I took it out for a drive, and noticed it wasn't coming up to temp. Turned on the heat, and wasn't impressed by what came out. Oh oh, low on coolant. I pulled into a Walmart parking lot, and checked coolant levels. Radiator was full, overflow bottle almost empty. I grabbed some 50/50 and topped up the overflow bottle. Drove it home, still not coming up to temp.
Took it out again today, and the temp came up a little bit, but still well below normal.
There is no oil in the coolant, nor coolant in the oil. Truck starts immediately and runs and drives as normal.
I've searched online for bleeding instructions, haven't seen any, even in those instructional videos that describe water pump or thermostat replacement. But it sure feels like the coolant system needs bleeding.
Any hints? The online videos simply show pouring in coolant, no vacuum evacuation.
Any help or tips are greatly appreciated.
bs