checked my oil today and noticed it was milky looking. My trucks a 1999 5.2 liter with around 80,000 miles. are head gasket troubles common in these trucks? Seems oddwith only 80k on it, the truck has always had regular maintenance. Could it be the Intake gasket? I knowthese engines are notrious for intake problems. any advise or thoughts. Thanks

 

have you over heated your truck at all? but I know some people have problems with either a cracked head or head gasket.

 

my girlfriend over heated my truck to about 220 last week. i was jumping a friend of mine and i told my gfto keep it at 2,500 Rpm and keep an eye on all my gauges. well i had cardboard in my radiator because it was really cold outand i was over trying to start my friends car. and she failed to tell me the temperature was raising. dont think it hurt the truck any but still

 

I once saw an engine with "milky" oil, it could be because it is getting water in it. It will sometimes burn out through driving it, but I would change my oil and see if it changes.

 

head gasket...or cracked head

 

Sorry to jump your thread but I recently bought a 2000 dakota 4.7 with 82000 on it and have had several things fixed on it, I noticed about a month ago it was low on coolant,I brought it to the garage I bought it from and he refilled it and added the stop leak tabs(which I was not thrilled about)and said keep an eye on the level,now less than 200 miles before and 2 weeks after warranty expired I noticed it being low on coolant again,I took itback and he refilled it and added some different stop leak? I have an oil change scheduled for monday,as I was talking to a friend he said check the oil dipstick and filler for milky substance,I found nothing on the dipstick but the filler has some on the cap and in the tube as well as a puddle of water?some on here say there is a tsb on this and some say head gasket or intake gasket problems as I am losing coolant I tend to believe I have the latter part?any way to determine which one?

 

unclepudge you might be having a problem in the future. Your coolant is getting into your engine. You should be able to smell it burn off. This is because of a broken head gasket. You should definitely get your truck looked at. Your engine has obviously been showing signs of a broken head gasket.

 

i warped a head in my '82 Z. had it shaved and decked by a friend. maybe cheaper to get a new block/motor but i wanted the #'s to match.

 

Hey develdog thanks for heads up got back truck tonight he found a leak at thermostat housing,replaced stat flushed and filled said keep an eye on coolant levels,maybe I'll look into pressure test or some other test?just to be safe.