2002 Dodge RAM 1500: engine overheating

Filed Mar 24, 2017 · Engine · 180,000 miles · MT

Engine failure while driving on highway. Head or head gasket as it is burning lots of water. Flows out of tailpipes. So many problems with this motor it should be recalled as there is no cheap fix. From sludge to overheating problems that ruin the motor there are few options to replace other than a rebuilt that has been altered to correct all said problems. Fairly high priced I might add. Dodge should claim some responsibility and help out rather than ignoring this issue. This engine has failed too many times the same way to be coincidence.

Filed May 31, 2014 · Engine · 102,000 miles · ID

I have a 2002 with the 4.7l that I am having overheating issues that I have never experienced before. When driving around town or even on the highway under 65 my thermostat never goes above just under halfway. Driving in town I have yet to see it go above that point. However, when driving down the highway if I increase my cruising speed to 70, my thermostat climbs. When going 70-75 it will go up to about the 1 o'clock point before I slow down, so I don't know how far it would go if I continued. I replaced the thermostat, flushed the radiator, replaced the fan clutch . But the problem remains.

Filed May 13, 2011 · Engine · 42,000 miles · NJ

Upper radiator hose blew-out,@42,000 miles , after replacing increase in engine temp. Replaced thermostat and radiator, temp remained elevated. Vehicle never overheated. Engine valves started tapping, antifreeze accumulation on the inside of engine oil cap. Bad headgaskets. Engine oil & filter changed every 2500 miles. Now with the warm weather, only occasional engine tapping and no antifreeze on the inside of engine oil cap. Head gaskets must be leaking or shrinkage of the gaskets with the cold weather. Contacted dodge and they say that they have never heard of this! Checked online and found multiple dodge vehicle owners with the 4.7 litre engine have experienced similar problems. Poor engine design, thin walled engine block, lubrication holes in rocker arms not drilled in correct location= check replacement rocker arms as opposed to original equipment. This is a 2002 dodge ram 1500 pickup 4.7 eng 43,000 miles. Chrysler should have a engine recall and replaced these defective engines as they were only available for a few years and then discontinued, I wonder why!!

Filed Jun 17, 2010 · Engine · 95,000 miles · AR

2002 dodge 4x4 1500 4.7l v8. Tons of owners of this make, model, and engine size have had the exact same problem with the 4.7l v8. An issue that happens all of the sudden and leaves us stranded. Oil sludge, is the cause of overheating, rods and lifters ticking and knocking in the passengers side of the engine. What causes this problem is poor design of the block, and poor cooling for the engine. There are literally tons of complaints on line and in dealerships on this make, model, and engine size. And dodge will not own up to this issue. It is extremely un safe for this engine to be driving around. There are little children and elderly people who could be left on the side of the road if this problem is not addressed.

Filed Oct 24, 2008 · Electrical, Engine · PA

1) interior blower fan: (24,000 miles) fan would shut off at times. First told by dealer the air intake was blocked with leaves and they cleaned it out. Two weeks later, I got the recall that the wiring harness for the blower was overheating. I had the dealer do repair for recall. They clipped the two lighter wires and replaced them with two 10 gauge wires. Fan still shuts off due to tilting steering wheel with heavier wiring not being flexible enough. Wires still get very hot. 2) radiator fan control relay: (90,000 miles) check engine light came on and code was for radiator fan control relay circuit. Relay was replaced. 3) engine: (129,000 miles) oil sludge caused oil not to circulate properly causing oil pressure gauge to drop to zero and back up to normal about 4 times. Engine over heated, warping heads and doing interior damage to rods and bearings. Engine had to be replaced with used engine. 4) passenger window switch: (for the past 20,000 miles) passenger side switch works intermittently. 5) parking lights: (149,000 miles) was informed by another driver that I had no tail lights. Checked fuses and relay and everything was ok. Took truck to garage, they checked and could not find a problem. Garage called dodge dealership, they told them it would probably need the front control module replaced. The garage did not charge me and told me they did not want to just start replacing parts costing over $200 trying to pin point a problem and I needed to take it to the dealership. The dealership checked it and told me I would need to replace the power distribution module and the front control module due to both having an internal short. Why bother having fuses if you can just have circuit boards costing over $200 each blow out? 6) ignition park lock: (149,000 miles) got a recall notice about ignition park lock needing replaced. Dealership repaired. This truck definitely has its share off defects, with the engine and wiring. More should be done as far as recalls.

Filed Oct 22, 2008 · Electrical · 24,000 miles · PA

I turned my fan on to cool the inside of the truck and after a few minutes, it shut off. A while later, I tried it again and it worked, but soon shut off again. I took the truck to the dealership and they told me they cleaned the air intake out and it was full of leaves. They told me that is why it shut off. The problem continued. A few weeks later, I got the recall notice about the wiring being too light and it was over heating. The dealer did the repair. It worked fine for a good while. Eventually it started shutting off again. Sometimes I could tilt the steering wheel to a different location and it would come back on. I flipped the access panel down to find the repair, they clipped the two lighter wires and plugged in to I believe 10 gauge wire in their place. The heavy wires are too stiff to flex and when pushed certain ways the fan shuts off. I also noticed where the wires are plugged in, the wires are so hot you can barely touch them. I don't feel this was a very good fix for the problem, since although the fan does not shut off due to overheating, it still is heating up under the dash and may cause a fire under the dash.

Filed Sep 20, 2007 · Engine, Suspension · 80,000 miles · TX

Front axle, I have replaced the front axles of my 2002 dodge ram 1500 4x4 on both sides at 100,000 miles and the axle on the right side is now gone out again, 1.5 years later. The oil pump has gone out along with all the tensioners, rear axle is going out, truck overheats and no one can find the problem.

Filed Dec 29, 2003 · Transmission · 10,908 miles · FL

Vehicle has had repeated failures of rear axle components. All appear to be related to overstated towing capacity. After purchasing a trailer well within the vehicles tow rating the vehicle on the first trip out with the trailer exhibited a putrid smell that could not be located. This occurred on 07-25-03 at just under 8500 miles. The dealer could not locate the source of the smell, an independent garage found coagulated differential fluid and metal shavings in the rear axle. See your odi number 786051 for a similar case. The rear gears were replaced. On 12-01-03 at 10638 miles I was able to limp the truck with the trailer attached into southside dodge/kia in kissimmee, fl. The entire rear axle was so badly damaged including the antilock brake sensors that the entire unit had to be replaced. On 12-06-03 my wife and I retrieved the trailer. The truck was having trouble maintaining expressway speeds into a headwind on this trip. Upon arrival at our home 265 miles later we again smelled the overheated rear axle fluid. Later inspection at the dealer showed it to be burnt smelling, and discolored. Further repairs are now awaited. I will be forwarding complete documentation today via usps.

Filed Aug 12, 2003 · Brakes, Wheels · 27,709 miles · LA

Wheels on my 2002 dodge ram with 17 inch alloy (grey looking) option wheels has air ventalation openings for the rotors which is too small and doesn't allow enough air to cool off rotors. .this defect in the wheels opening causes rotors to overheat quickly and not be able to cool off. This warps the rotors causing increased stopping distances, and shimmy or shake when brakes applied. Truck vibrates harshly at highway speeds when going to slow down at off ramps. If wheels were designed to allow more air. I have brought to dealer to check brake system and it's found that brakes are fine but rotors are warped. 3000 miles later and rotors are warped again. This will keep happening unless I change rims and my dodge ram . At dodge truck world.com there is a list of owners with same problem . This also could cause fire or inability to stop.