[Thedodgeboy]

So I am going through antifreeze like it's water but there is no puddle underneath my truck, and in my oil fill cap I have condensation so I think I have a head gasket leak? If anyone has any word on this please let me know! Thanks!

 

[GT]

Is your exhaust white? Is water dripping from your tail pipe? Those are sure signs of a blown head gasket. If you are losing coolant that fast it must be going somewhere.

 

[GTyankee]

The cap having condensation is normal, especially if you do a lot of short trip driving

If there is no gunk on your dipstick & when you look down into your fill tube at the rocker arms, you should be good

You might lay some cardboard on the ground under your vehicle when you park it.
We used to do that to find our leaks & the color & texture of the fluid lets you know where it came from. Chances are it is only your lower radiator hose leaking under pressure.
If it was your water pump, you would find the leak at the very bottom of the pumps shaft, there is a weep hole there, but the fan would likely blow fluid all over the front of your engine & on the underside of your hood, if you are losing that much fluid

 

[bigdaddyII]

Is your exhaust white? Is water dripping from your tail pipe? Those are sure signs of a blown head gasket. If you are losing coolant that fast it must be going somewhere.

This is not necessarily true. Plain, clear water dripping from the tail pipe is a normal function of the catalytic converter. When it is the color and smell of coolant is when its time to worry.

 

[Tommycat]

Seen that happen. Yes, water dripping from the tailpipe is normal(unless it's a LOT of water). If you're worried about water in your oil, check your dip stick. If it looks like chocolate milk, that's bad. Watch for white smoke out the tailpipe. Are you missing(engine rough)? Any other symptoms or is it just running through antifreeze. If it's ONLY running through antifreeze, replace your radiator cap. Seen that work once or twice, and it's cheap. When you park check to see if you hear any bubbling.

 

[bigdaddyII]

Seen that happen. Yes, water dripping from the tailpipe is normal(unless it's a LOT of water). If you're worried about water in your oil, check your dip stick. If it looks like chocolate milk, that's bad. Watch for white smoke out the tailpipe. Are you missing(engine rough)? Any other symptoms or is it just running through antifreeze. If it's ONLY running through antifreeze, replace your radiator cap. Seen that work once or twice, and it's cheap. When you park check to see if you hear any bubbling.

Excellent point. If its a lot of coolant running out the exhaust, surely the catalytic converters would have triggered a code and CEL, besides leaking a lot going missing means it should manifest itself very obviously either in the oil, or out of the exhaust.

 

[Tommycat]

Yes if it's only running through water, it's simply a cooling system problem. If there are any other symptoms that generally leads you to the REAL problem. Missing could mean the cyl is not getting enough compression, which can happen if your head gasket is blown. Which would add pressure to your cooling system which would eventually fill up with air. Not so much leaking antifreeze as it getting forced out.

Just losing antifreeze though, check hoses, cap, radiator, water pump, and the painful but relatively inexpensive heater core(if you don't do the work yourself, you're looking at better than $1000 in labor, and if you do the work yourself you understand why it's way more than that). Check everywhere for leaks. If you can't find any and there's no other symptoms, it's probably the heater core.

I'm a cheap kinda guy. I try replacing the cheapest first and working my way to the expensive stuff.

 

[Slipit1]

So I am posting here because I just joined and I think I am unable to post ATM. I just bought a 02 1500 Ram. Was told it needs a head gasket replacement but runs fine otherwise. There are no leaks to be found underneath, huge white smoke that stinks coming out of exhaust, moisture and dark brown murky mud under the cape. Sounds like its missing or running tough.

I changed the oils and added more antifreeze but not driving it. Looking to find out how difficult replacing is? What should i expect for a charge at a shop?

Any feedback would be great.

 

[deanhinsley1963]

Yes you have a head gasket and maybe a head failure. Just had mine fixed. costly but necessary.

 

[Heidi Green]

Dodge trucks suck! My head gasket blew and leaking coolant!

 

[Heidi Green]

I have a 2007 Dodge ram 1500 truck and was good until after 3 years! I wish I knew ahead of time that the head gasket was about to blow.