2000 ram 5.2 auto 4x4 w/125k mi

I recently changed water pump and thermostat. pump was leaking. Since that time i have had coolant loss. At first i attributed it to air in the system after the recent work. i burped the system and it seemed ok. Checked it the other day and it was down quite a bit. i have no puddling and cant see any obvious leaks.

lately i see alot of vapor from the exhaust. i dont smell any antifreeze at the tail pipe. i am also real cheap and probably never have more than 5 gallons of gas in the tank at any time so i imagine i am getting a good amount of condensation in the fuel tank.

checked the oil one day last week and was positive i saw water on the bottom of dip stick. oil was not milky. 5 days a week the truck is just driven a mile or so to train station so i wouldnt be surprised if that was condensation either. no water on dipstick this morning.

today though i went to check the coolant in the radiator and it sprayed all over when i opened it. cold engine. Oil was still clean. is combustion gasses leaking into cooling system the only way that it will be under pressure?

still runs good, w nice idle and oil pressure. temp has been good.this weekend i will pull the plugs and see if i see something obvious. I had the truck for a year and love it. unfortunately a head gasket wouldnt be worth it on this particular truck.

thanks

 

if its really not worth replacing the gasket try the bars stop leak... the big bottle, for an internal leak like yours that isnt leaking into the oil the stuff works well.... just remember to turn the heat on full blast before pooring it in to prevent it from stopping up your heater core...
blue devel works good too but you need to remove the thermostat first and really you should have new or newer coolant and a recent flush before using either stuff since other crud can mix with it and effect its sealing strength... most ignore that step and say it doesnt work...

 

Take off the cap, and start the engine. (when it is stone cold) If you start blowing out coolant, yep, that's a head gasket.