I need some serious help here. I have a 1998&1/2 , 2500 Dodge. Cummins, 24 valve.156K miles on it. I have what I thought was blown head gasket. Oil in Radiator, the oil dipstick showed way above full and with water bubbles on it. Shop drained about 1/2 gallon of antifreeze out of the oil pan until pure oil was coming up so a cold start could be done and get it in to the shop.

The mechanic is worried that it could be a cracked sleeve as his research has shown these years engine might have had a cylinder sleeves in them and he doesn't want to pull it apart and just replace the head gasket until he knows for sure.

Does anyone know for sure if that year had cylinder sleeves in them?
How to tell if it does have a cracked sleeve if it does have sleeves?
Can new sleeves be replaced with the engine in frame or does it have to be pulled out of the truck to do so?

Any idea what repair bill would be? Replace head gasket vs 6 new sleeves?

Thanks in advance

 

The 6bt, ISB, CR, nor 6.7 ever used sleeves. You either have a cracked head (unlikely) or blown head gasket. What is common is cracked block (53 block number) but then it would leak on the ground. Hard to believe that there's a blown head gasket though on the low powered 24v unless you've souped it up or towed it real hot. How's the radiator? Clogged with oil? The breather system (puke bottle) likes to cake the radiator up. ARP studs are in your future I believe.

 

No leakage the ground.I was pulling a trailer earlier in the day, but not when the "Check Engine Light" came on. At that time, the temp gage indicator normal running temperature.

The radiator did have oil in it. There was quite a bit of sludge around the cap
?