2005 Dodge Ram eating antifreeze but no visible leaks??

[jwinston]

Get it out, drive it for awhile. Get it good and hot. Keep it running and pop the hood. Look at the upper hose. Check the heater core lines all the way to the firewall. Get under it (mind the spinning finger chopper known as the fan) check the lower hose. Use a flashlight and check the bottom of the pump, look around the seams and shaft of the pump. Shut it down and let it sit for about 30 min - hour. Repeat the check process while its cooling down. This way you can check for cool down seepage

 

[insulinboy]

Do you smell a "pancake syrup" like sweet smell in the cab? That would be a good indicator for heater core. Id say that, the transmission, the water pump are the three most likely, but check the resovuars on the sides of the radiator. I had a 2000 ram that had a pinhole in one, only leaked under pressure, I lost about a gallon a month, I finally found the leak because I was under the truck and put my hand up under the grill on the inside to push myself out and it got wet with radiator fluid, it would get in there, run down the frame and off the back of the truck where I wouldnt look for it lol

 

[testdepth]

I had to go make a 500 mile round trip yesterday and took extra coolant just in case. It never overheated and the reservoir never went down. After driving for 245 miles, short stop and back on the road for another 140 miles I popped the hood to look and the reservoir was still full which seemed odd. I felt the upper hose and it was hot as expected. I felt the lower hose and it was cold. That means to me either the thermostat is bad and not opening or the pump is bad and not circulating the water. Weird thing is that the truck never got hot and I was cruising avg of 70mph all the way back. I do not smell coolant in the truck but I can smell it around the front but never find anything dripping.

 

[jwinston]

The pump is pumping water or not as its driven off the belt. Its not locked up as you did complete the trip. I started smelling antifreeze outside of mine before I found it. In my case I had the odor but never did see anything. One day after getting home from work and an hour passed I had to get something from the truck. I could see a half dollar spot under the truck. I got under and thought it was the shaft seal. Turned out to be leaking from the seep hole and where one of the heater core tubes are pressed into the pump. Saw signs of it seeping, looks like it wasn't bad enough to fully drip before it started to go out. If your going to change it, get a new thermostat as well. Its going to come out with the pump anyway. The pump comes with a new gasket, it holds itself in place and is easy to put on the pump. Its not a bad job if you got the tools and a good place to do it. Just know all your bolts are metric. And the fan comes loose from the pump as the shaft is threaded and screwed to the pump. TAKE A PICTURE OF YOUR BELT. Mine didn't have a diagram showing belt route. Take a picture before removing if you don't either. YouTube can be your friend. I found some videos addressing the change for reference. Good advice on getting fan off.

 

[insulinboy]

if the upper hose is hot and the lower hose is cold that means the radiator is doing its job and the thermostat doesn't need to be open all the way. If the thermostat or water pump weren't working the lower hose would be hot and the upper hose would be cold because there wouldn't be any/much coolant in it. Not that one or the other might not be going bad, but they are working

It might just be as simple as a bad radiator cap and when pressure builds it blows some coolant out it. Radiator caps are a cheap peace of mind replacement as well

 

[jwinston]

if the upper hose is hot and the lower hose is cold that means the radiator is doing its job and the thermostat doesn't need to be open all the way. If the thermostat or water pump weren't working the lower hose would be hot and the upper hose would be cold because there wouldn't be any/much coolant in it. Not that one or the other might not be going bad, but they are working

It might just be as simple as a bad radiator cap and when pressure builds it blows some coolant out it. Radiator caps are a cheap peace of mind replacement as well

Good advice here on the cap. Inspect it when cold and then without removing it, check it for leaking when hot.

 

[roundhouse]

If you can smell it
Then it's leaking somewhere

Maybe top of rad and it evaporates on the hot rad fins before it runs all the way down

I've seen some that only leaked when they were cold

I've seen some cars that only leaked when they were hot
And you pulled the heater hose a certain way

Get a bright flashlight
A really bright one and start looking
Pull on the hoses
Push on the rad tank

Running and stopped. Hot and cold

You'll find it

 

[testdepth]

I went up the street and picked up a pressure tester. Crossing fingers its just a cheap cap that needs replaced.

All in all it's a good truck and the first non squirrel induced problem I have had with it.

 

[jwinston]

Good luck, we have the same truck just slight cosmetic changes. Mine is a 08 quad cab hemi 4x4 but clocking in at 159k. If I was close I'd help you out.

 

[insulinboy]

All in all it's a good truck and the first non squirrel induced problem I have had with it.

Well, you don't know that for sure yet.. Little *******s get into everything