I've got a 93 dakota in my garage right now. It has the 2.5 I4 in it. Truck has about 120k on it. It came to me needing a bypass hose, which, my local dodge dealer is outa stock on right now. I pluged the bypass fittings on the thermostat housing, as well as the intake, and started it up. The darn thing still leaks. I started to do some tracing, and notice the coolent is running off where the head mates to the block. How common is it for the headgasket to externaly leak like that? or do I need to look harder for another source?

 

The 4 bangers are notorious for head gasket problems. I have a 275 horse 2.5 Turbo Intercooled 89 Spirit (see my website for more details). All of the Turbo Dodge guys use the Cometic brand head gasket to keep things sealed - they are even re-useable! You should be able to get one from Chris at www.turbosunleashed.com - 602-76boost is his phone number. The gasket isnt' cheap, but it's better than using a Felpro and replacing it every few months! Also, make sure to have the head surfaced and pressure tested while it's off. Cracking on these is also very common.

 

Yup, its the headgasket...I got in there with a mirror and sure enough....its pouring outa the head gasket...weird, because the plugs all look fine, oil isn't milky....I've had cars with headgasket issues..never like this though, Check out these awful pics.. First 9 are the dodge...

http://photobucket.com/albums/a159/B...Phils%20EJ22T/