2004 doge dakota 3.7 V6 I just replaced the water pump and the thermostat and it is still getting hot. I looked for a bleed valve and can not find one. any ideals

High high does the gauge go up? mid way, 3/4 way? That would be normal. The thermostat opening temperature is about 195-205 degrees. If you are not getting heat from the heater then you may have a plugged heater hose or a plugged heater core. To check the heater system, while the engine is running and warmed up, touch the heater hoses to see if they get hot. If they are hot to the touch then water is flowing through the heater. Also make sure that you bleed the cooling system correctly . There should be 2 air bleed ports in the cooling system. One by the t-stat housing and the other above the water pump area.

I agree with your logic. Attached vid addresses bleeding. Sounds like at low rpms, not enough flow to transfer the heat. So bubble or maybe a partially obstructed core. There are a couple of vids on clearing a core... GOod luck, let us know if you figure it out.

Did you replace the thermostat? Sounds to me like it may be stuck closed.

Have that checked out.

replace thermostat.then bleed coolant system, this is how you do it.fill the cooling coolant system with 50 / 50 dexcool and water to raise boiling point,straight water will evaporate boil away cause engine to overheat catch fire thats why you need 50 / 50 mixture antifreeze and water.to bleed coolant system first fill coolant system until coolant stay at the full cold mark on the the coolant overflow jug,then you start engine allow it to idle,place the heater and ac control in any ac setting except max and the temperature control to the highest setting,run engine until lower hose to water pump is hot. with the engine hot run the engine speed up to 3000 rpm and allow it return to idle, repeat this 5 times. slowly open the bleed valve on the thermostat housing or look for bleed valve at the water pump heater hose.open bleed valve for 15 seconds to expel any trapped air.then top off the coolant as necessary,and when top radiator hose hot thermostat open up.keep adding cooling to overflow until coolant level stop at full cold mark dont over fill coolant.if engine seem like overheating while looking at cooling gauge turn off engine wait a while until cool off add more coolant until coolant level stay stable and dont drop any.when open radiator overflow cap use large rag over the radiator cap to keep from getting scald open radiator cap a little at a time but dont open radiator cap until engine cool down first.replace the radiator overflow cap, thermostat,and engine coolant temperature sensor and check the cooling fans fuses and relays see what happens.

I'd still check the thermostat. Or basically just replace it. Have you ever drained all the antifreeze and flushed the system? Good time to do both. If the hose's get real hot that doesn't really mean the thermostat open. Wouldn't they get hot even if the thermostat didnt open.? If the thermostat was stuck open you'd would have cold air and low temp gauge. Then maybe hit a pump or something and have the thermostat stick closed and have high temp. Maybe water pump. Check it when you have the belt off. Spin, pull & push the water pump pulley around. I'd replaced my water pump at about 110,000 on a '97 dodge Dakota. My 97 never had a very good heater. Always heated up more after driving. Idle never got it warmed up.

#1.airlock in system....undo a heater hose clip to bleed.#2 thermostat jammed..replace.#3..water pump shot..replace.#4..radiator clogged..backward flush the system..

could be the thermostat also could be air locking in the heater hoses as well as the heater controll valve is malfunctioning

radiator goes bad ,also when car over heats,there for change radiator,if still the same then ,you blew the head gaskets to the engine,need to replace also,bleeder valve to be done by a shop

The problem is over tightening.

If you over tighten your fastners you will sqeeze your gaskets too much and they WILL leak.

You can use black silicon sealant LIGHTLY but you don't really need it. If you have the V6...the torque on them nuts are only 80 in lbs each

You have a bad heater valve, operated by vaccuum or cable its on the hot water line on its way to the heater core.