I looked under my D this morning as my wife was pulling out of the garage and noticed A LOT of what I think is coolant, and possibly some oil near the coolant. I took it to a local shop to diagnose the problem. My wife thinks it may be the head gasket which she says will probably cost lots of $$$ (she had a Ford LTD in college and the head gasket crapped out, and was told it would be like $800 to fix).

Anyone have any thoughts on this?

 

I've not seen a leaking head gasket drop coolant and oil on a floor. The oil will leak out.


Check your oil, if it's cream-like or sludgy the head gasket has gone. You might just have a slight oil leak and coolant leak in two different spots.


How much is on the floor?


Are you missing much oil?

I would track down the coolant leak first (Hoses, hole in radiator, radiator cap, water pump)

Then find the oil.

 

The latest from Midas is the following:
[/align]O2 sensor faulty[/align]H2O pump/thermostat housing[/align]Tensioner (serpentine belt/drive belt)[/align]Radiator cap not holding pressure[/align]clutch fan weak[/align]cooling hoses[/align]cooling/back flush[/align]Above is $1700 (this does not include testing the head gasket. They say due to the other leaks itwill not hold pressure, so they cannot check till other items are repaired.) [/align][/align]I'm looking into getting a second opinion.[/align]

 

that's a big list. You should be able to address some of those as do it yourselfers. Some on your list should be easily done by you are:

radiator cap
cooling hoses
cooling/back flush

If you are mechanically inclined and have some tools, you can probably replace the rest of the items yourself.

I would guess the fan clutch may be the most expensive part on the list going from $50-$100.

 

If you have the 4.7 you won't need the clutch fan. The electrical ones keep it cool just fine.

 

I'm skeptical of these guys trying to pad the work order.

O2 Sensor faulty? If you don't have a check engine light and the engine is running fine, I wouldn't worry about it. If you have a bad head gasket, the engine should be running rough too. Has the truck been overheating? If not, then I doubt the fan clutch or pump has a problem. There could be a leak at the pump and thermostat housing (if there is a leak at the weep-hole on the front of the pump, it needs to be replaced)-- just look at them carefully with a flashlight to see where the leaks are. The hoses are easy to replace and cost about $50 from the dealer for all of them. The back flush is pretty much BS unless you have a lot of debris in your cooling system-- is your antifreeze brown (from rust)? Again is the truck overheating (indicating a blockage?

One thing that makes me skeptical about these guys is what they told you about the head gasket test. They can do a test before they repair the cooling system. It's called a compression test on the cylinders and is one of the most basic engine tests around.

$1700 for what they are talking about seems extreme. Best to look this over with a flashlight yourself. At a minimum, take it to another (non chain) shop for a look. Don't tell them about Midas' diagnosis, just that you think there may be a coolant leak (unless there are other symptoms, in which case you should describe them too).

BTW-- any symptoms other than the leak? Open the radiator neck when it's cool (don't open when hot) is the coolant low? Check the oil on the dipstick, does it look creamy? Is the engine running rough? Is it over heating?

 

I would just like to add some thoughts about this-- I have a 99 Durango. My clutch fan is still fine, my pump is still fine. I had a small leak at the thermostat housing that I fixed in about 1 hr on a Saturday. My O2 sensors are fine. I just replaced all of my radiator hoses last summer. The old ones were, you guessed it, fine. I'm glad I replaced them b/c 7 years is enough for radiator hoses, but they were not in bad shape.

All this said, you went into the shop with a simple problem-- a coolant leak. I don't know what you said to them, but they've given you a very expensive, and I think overpriced, laundry list. If you were going to spend $1700 on a TV, kitchen appliance or anything else, you'd research it a bit wouldn't you?

Same deal here. I think you should go out and buy a Haynes shop manual for $17 and spend a little time with it. IF everything they say is needed is actually needed, you could do it yourself with the same quality of parts that they'll use for about $250 in parts and supplies. Don't have any tools? Add about$200 for a nice big craftsman mechanic's tool set from Sears, $70 for a torque wrench, $40 for a set of ramps and a drain pan, let's say another $40 for miscelaneous crap. So for $600 you could fix this yourself, buy all the tools you need for this and many other projects (and keep the tools) and still save $1100.

At least buy the Haynes manual though-- you can get it on eBay, at AutoZone or Pep Boys. Even if you end up going to a shop, at least you'll know enough to get a fair deal.