I have a 1996 dodge ram 1500 4x4 with 173,000 miles

alright so on my dipstick there is like some milky colored residue, just on the dipstick, the oil isnt really chocolate milky, I thought blown head gasket right away, but im not positive, the top of my oil cap also has a bit of this residue on it, not quite chocolate milk its a bit lighter, and my reservoir goes low every few days.

I took my radiator cap off and idle the truck, no bubbles, no smoke from my exhaust or antifreeze smell, I pressure tested it and it is leakin from 2 freeze plugs.

im just worried about this stuff on my dipstick and when I turn the heater on you can smell antifreeze, other than that it is leaking a bit under the truck, but there is no overheating or smoking going on, truck starts up fine every morning, any ideas?

sorry for makin ya'll read that but thanks hope to get this fixed

 

Cracked head(s), small head gasket leak maybe(milky color not good), and bad heater core( AF smell in cab) . All to common issues. Do a search here on DF and read the FAQ/DIY section. Lots of info to be had.

 

its got the 5.2 forgot to say I think, and thanks for the input is there any tests I could do at home to see if those could be my problems? im hopin its not a cracked head

 

Safe to say, the heads have to come off. It is either heads or gasket. Either way, pull them off. Wter in oil makes it look milky. Plain and simple. Also, check and/or fix plenum while you got it torn down and it is probably in need of timing set as well. And I would never pull a water pump and put it back in - get a new one for that.

Fix those things and replace the heater core as zman pointed out, and you should be good. How long since you changed tranny filter?

 

its a standard so I dont believe there is a tranny filter? I may be wrong but I forgot to state that its a manual as well

and I dont exactly have a lot of money sadly, I do however have tools and a bit of mechanic experience, and of course the internet lol, If I was to tear it down, I would probably replace the intake manifold gasket as well cuz I heard that can leak coolant as well, and a head gasket and if my water pump is leaking id fix it, I dont think I have the skills to do a timing set however as I do not own a timing light

I just wanna catch this before it goes to far and really damages something, but right now its my only way of transportation.

is there a possibility that it could just be condensation? I only drive it 10 miles in the morning and 10 more 8 hours later and than park it, and only let it warm up in the morning for maybe 5 minutes at most

 

No tranny filter there! also, if you go to User CP, you can put truck info in signature so we know aht you have - makes it easier for us to give good info.

Sadly, the money issue is common. I would recommend checking the info posted by zman. Also, unlike zman, he forgot to mention - there is a service manual and parts manual you can download in the FAQ/DIY section. It will help also.

I'd do the freeze plugs pretty quick - otherwise it may leave you on theside of the road (or overheated engine).