I have a 99 1500 two wheel drive. I am seeing a tiny bit of water in the oil so there is a leak in the heads. I'm not getting hot even though it you can smell it. I'm thinking the heads are leaking. its getting cold here so it would make it hard to just tear it down and replace the gaskets but I dont want to mess the motor up either. I am going to do a oil change to see what the oil looks like. what I see on the dip stick is a very small amount of white. I havent heard any ticking so I am thinking it hasn't done much yet. the motor only has 133,000 miles on it. new radiator, hoses and I was about to put a new thermostat in it. obviously I have to add water about every few day so its going somewhere. I live on a dirt road so I cant check to see if its loosing water. I have also replaced the water pump as well. my temps run below the halfway mark about a 1/8 below. can anyone give me some ideas? I don't know if trying a some sealer in there is going to help or make it worse? Thanks, Steve

 

how often, and how far do you drive your truck? got milkshake in the valve cover under the fill cap?

 

I didn't see any milkshake effect when I went to add oil. what I saw was on the end of the dip stick. I dont drive a lot of miles. I maybe put 10,000 a year if lucky. I just notice that and I am adding water to the reserve a lot for its empty about every couple of days. I figure once I drop the oil and have a good look there. it should hold the key on how much water is in the oil. if its pretty bad, then I have no choice but to save the cash up and tear it down and replace all the gaskets. like I said. it has never went past the half way mark or even gotten to the half way mark. thats what throws me off. I did change the oil pump about a year back but that shouldn't have anything to do with this.. Thanks for responding.

 

Yeah, drop the oil, and see what it looks like. You may just be seeing some condensation collecting there, but, don't bank on that..... Let us know what ya find.

 

With my luck, I wont be lucky if its just condensation. I was surprised at 130,000. most consider that a break in point. crossing finger but will let you know what I find tomorrow. Thanks again for the help.

 

Well this is where I am at on this. changed the oil and didn't see any water in it. when I put new oil in, I still see a tiny amount at the bottom of the stick. its extremely small amount kind thick. I need to take a picture but to be honest. you wont see it I'm sure. Like I said new bottom radiator hose on bottom and maybe a year on the top but they both look good. I just cant explain wheres the water going? If I check the reserve, it usually empty after I fill it to the mark and if I let it cool down and pop the cap. it takes some water but not very much and refill the reserve. I pulled up the mat and dont see or feel water but I cant get below the other liner that I am taking is sound barrier? even though there is very extreme amount of water on stick. I wont be happy till I find out whats all going on here. maybe somebody has dealt with this before? its got me stumped. when I pick my wife up today, I will park it and check for some type of leak and where it may be if thats the case. I mean its not running hot by the gauge but you could smell that radiator smell and its a new radiator as well so I know it could be that.

I really appreciate the help given.

 

I am going to guess then that what you are seeing on the dipstick isn't anything to worry about. If you don't smell burning coolant in the exhaust, and the oil looked ok, it probably IS ok.

That said... I had the mystery coolant leak for a while as well. Mine turned out to be the freeze plug behind the drivers side motor mount. It took about three weeks of losing coolant before it finally leaked bad enough that it actually left some on the ground.

Grab some oven cleaner, and similar product, and clean the underside of the engine. Drive it for a couple days, and look for the new dirty spot.

 

Well I finally seen a drip and located it I believe . it was leaking / dripping from the lower hose where it attaches to the water pump. so I tighten it and will watch the water issue. I am taking since it was squirting it onto the water pump , that was the source of the smell. It seemed like it stopped but I also had the windows up being cooler today. I am going to watch the reserve and see what happens. it hasn't ran hot. my temp runs around 200 degrees maybe but no higher.

As to the tiny amount of water on the dip stick. thats remains a mystery? like I said, it was on the very end of the stick about the size of a small house fly and thick snotty substance. the old oil was nasty but didn't look like had any water effect. crazy but I do feel a lot more at ease.

Thank you so much for your time and help.