1995 Dodge Ram 1500 318 v8. Found antifreeze in my oil engine has never overheated but as soon as i drain the oil there is antifreeze back in it within 15 mins of running. Wondering if this vould be caused by the intake gasket or not at all. Trying to avoid doing head gaskets, New jersey rusty bolts suck. Well give me a shout thanks guys/gals.
Steve

 

Head gasket time. Sorry!

Glad I dont live in Jersey any more. My insurance dropped 30 percent just by moving out of state.

 

sorry to say, but it's most likely a head crack or head gasket.

The intake manifold does have a water jacket, but it's not the most likely culprit. Good news is that you have to take the intake off to change the head gaskets, so if it is the intake gaskets, you can stop there.

You can check for oil in the coolant, that would most definitely rule out the intake gaskets but not necessarily the head gaskets.

 

Thanks all for your quick responses. Going to get the whole gasket set just incase before i begin the intake tear down. Is it common for the heads to crack on these engines? Hate to be a cheapskate but trying to avoid sending heads to machine shop. Thanks again.
Steve

 

before you tear it down, you might want to run a compression test and/or leak down test. that way you sort of know what cylinders your looking for. the bad news is that head cracks are common.

 

+1

The unfortunate part is that the larger head cracks aren't serviceable and will require new heads. Clearwater Cylinder Heads in Florida is about the cheapest place I've found to get new heads that won't crack. Ask them for the EQ cylinder heads for a Dodge Ram Magnum engine. They sell a bunch on Ebay, but you can call them and get the same price if you ask.

My new upgraded 2.02 heads should be here next Monday. $750 shipped and fully assembled ready to bolt on.

 

Agree with the leak down test. Napa sells a spark plug adapter for conecting a compressor hose to the cylinder. In your case, I would probably check each cylinder at bottom dead center and then check for air bubbles coming from the radiator. Also listen for air escaping from the exhaust pipe, TB, or dipstick tube. Good luck.

 

Are these the heads you got? http://www.cylinder-heads.com/details.cfm?itemid=2275

 

Yeah, it's actually most likely your head gasket as all the other users have said.

I actually have experience with that problem... I brought my old 87 535i BMW in for an oil change and the guy showed me the antifreeze and coolant in there. Basically you should go get a compression check on your cylinders at your local reputable mechanic. I wouldn't recommend driving it till after the check because it can wreck your whole engine in less then 15 minutes, I've seen it happen.

 

Not that one, It's actually their monster magnum heads. They had them on ebay for $350.

Here was the listing, they should have more in stock:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/NEW-E...QQcmdZViewItem