Losing Coolant /Combustion gasses in coolant

Furnout · #1 09-29-2009, 11:32 AM

Hey fellas,

I noticed a few other posts similar to this one, but not exactly what ive got going on, however if this is redundant then let me know.

Ive got a '95 ram 2500 with the 8L v10 magnum, auto trans.

186,000 miles.

Truck sat for about a year, and i recently started landscaping again, so i need it for work.

Over the course of the past week, i have had to put about 5 gallons of water in it and have only driven the truck about 15 to 20 miles a day.

I noticed a weird smell in the coolant, like combustion gasses.

The radiator will pressurize itself, and when i relieve the pressure, only air (no steam, as it runs rather cool) comes out and the system will be low by a gallon or so.

it runs like a champ, strong, doesn't misfire, not smoking/steam from exhaust.

i notice a very little bit of milk under the oil fill cap,
but the truck IS NOT "making oil" or trans fluid.

I have got no idea where the coolant is going to. the truck runs cool, never overheats,

so heres the questions:

anyone ever had or heard of this problem on a v10?

whats the likelyhood of it being a cracked head or block as opposed to a bad head gasket? (how often do you guys hear about bad heads/blocks on v10's?)

i am figuring a bad head gasket is pressurizing the cooling system and pushing the coolant out to somewhere, just wish i could find where its going.

thanks.

Fur

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Furnout · #2 09-29-2009, 12:16 PM

I changed my mind, maybe there is a little white smoke coming from the exhaust...

Just did a cold start, filled up the radiator again (about another gallon today) and i watched it for a bit, after it ran for about 4 or 5 minutes, i gave it a bit of throttle, and saw a light cloud of white awesomeness come by.

i think i didnt notice the exhaust before because it is so light, and its pretty windy here lately (Norfolk VA)

so we have:

small amount of white smoke,
small amount of milk forming under oil cap.
combustion gasses in radiator.

Im leaning towards head gaskets, anyone else care to comment?

thanks

Fur.

Miami_Son · #3 09-29-2009, 01:37 PM

There is quite a bit about V10 cracked heads on the internet and everything I've read says it was the very early ones that suffered from this. All your symptoms indicate either this or a blown head gasket or something more serious like a cracked block. Try doing a leakdown test and see if you have a cylinder pressure issue on one or more cylinders.

Furnout · #4 10-01-2009, 08:20 PM

Unfortunately a leakdown test is not something i an get done right now as i dont have the tools available,

This morning i opened the hood (cold engine) and pulled the pressure release valve on the radiator cap. it was holding some pressure (not sure where it came from) so i did a pressure test on the cooling system.

the Cooling system does fail a pressure test, it went from 16Psi down to about 2 psi in less than 5 minutes while the engine was cold.

95RAM360 · #5 10-01-2009, 08:50 PM

check your oil, does it look like mud?

Miami_Son · #6 10-01-2009, 10:53 PM

Not good, you defintely have a leak somewhere and if it's not falling on the ground then it muct be going into the crankcase or cylinder head somehow.

Furnout · #7 10-02-2009, 04:21 AM

I am hoping that its a head gasket, i got a price on a set local for $136.00

i got most of the top end apart tonight, ill get the rest in the morning.

if it is not obvious that its got a bad head gasket, then ill have the heads checked, i should be able to replace a head at a halfway decent price. if its the block, then ill be selling off whats left of the truck.

i did notice when i took off the intake that the ports going to cylinders 7 and 8 had some oil in them and were much more dirty than the other ports, what do you make of that?

thanks for the input.

Furn.

Furnout · #8 10-03-2009, 09:45 PM

Got the passengers side head off, no obvious cracks, and the head gasket appeared to be doing its job.

ill get the drivers side off and see what we have got there.

Furn.

p.s. did i mention that cylinder head was a bear to lift?
it nearly pulled me over the fender when i first lifted it off.
thought the truck was trying to swallow me whole.

stroken76 · #9 10-03-2009, 09:54 PM

you can also find the blown area with a plug check,look for a real clean new looking plug that will be the one.The heat and adding water to the combustion chamber will clean a plug real nice.

Furnout · #10 10-07-2009, 08:12 PM

Ok, i finally got the heads off, kinda rough only having about 45 minutes a night to put into it...

looks like cylinder #2 had a leak,

apparently at the front of the block the Coolant hits a dead end as it flows through the head, the channels go through the head, but it is stopped at the block. and has free reign to corrode the head gasket. i guess after 180,000 miles and 14 years the gasket had run its course and finally started allowing combustion gasses to pressurize the cooling system. I'm guessing that when the cooling system built up enough pressure, it was pushing coolant back into the cylinder, and out the exhaust.

So, one more question, when the truck sat (and coolant seeped back into the cylinder), do you think that the coolant could have been seeping past the rings and into the the crankcase?

there is a bit of milk in the oil.

No noticeable cracks in the heads, I figure if they were bad heads it would have cracked way before 180k miles. although we will see how they look after i give them a good cleaning.

thanks fellas,

Fur.