ok.. so iwas driving my 2006 3.7 dakota when i noticed a burning smell, checked the oil, and all gone, thing was practically empty. i knew it burned some oil but this much? thats new. parked it to refill. couldn't get the oil cap off, wouldn't budge, got frustrated and ended up breaking the filler neck..oops. clean break tho so no big, i can fix this. go to take the filler tube off and whoa, sooo much gunked on oil, looks like its been leaking from where the filler tube connects. nothing hits the ground but maybe thats where the oil has been going. cleaned the pcm valve (gross). got the filler tube off. noticed a small amount of milkshaky tan coloured froth. none on the dip stick, never seen it under the cap. fixed the filler tube (why is this part $100? that's ridiculous), got a new gasket. then noticed my coolant is super low, also they put the green stuff in, shouldn't it be orange? anyway, the only alert here was the burning smell, and squeak that i thought was the wheel turning. both only started that trip. doesn't over heat, nothing wrong with the exhaust, nothing leaking onto pavement.. maybe some power loss..
so i think its sludge? im no mechanic, so ive been researching, but there are so many things that could be happening it seems. how can i be systematic about this and is this going to be something ill be able to do myself? if u should just take it to someone who knows what they're doing how can i know at what point its safe to start? im really hoping someone can help me out here as i refuse to ask my man for help, he just takes over while i become the "flashlight holder".. so empowering.. thank you in advance to anyone with some advice

 

On the 4.7, that brown sludge stuff on the cap and inside the filler tube is normal. Maybe the same for the 3.7. Condensation from the crank case causes it. There's a good thread over in the 2nd gen section that explains it pretty good.

https://dodgeforum.com/forum/2nd-gen...fill-tube.html

 

that helps a lot, thank you!
so should i not worry about the coolant being low? it looks like oil has been leaking, a lot..so i was worried about some pressure issue pulling coolant in..

 

Definitely keep an eye on the oil level. If it starts to change, it's coming going somewhere. What's your exhaust color? Change when you put the pedal to the carpet? Where does it look like the oil is leaking from?

Coolant should be the orange stuff, but my understanding is the green stuff works too. My coolant sits a little under the hot level. Any more and it pukes it overboard. I'm not one to question the machine.

 

Definitely keep your coolant topped off.