Hi, have a brother in law with a '02 dodge RAM 1500 and 4.7L engine. The thing is not starting and when he's "trying" to start it under boost from the battery there is white smoke puffing out from the tail pipe.

The oil dip-stick has evidence of water in the oil and the rad fluid does not look to healthy. I figure it's a blown head gasket and needs replacing.

There could be other issues at play but until i see the insides of the engine we will probably never know. (cracked head perhaps?)

QUESTION:

If it's simply the head gasket that is blown, do i need to remove the engine to replace it properly? or can it stay in the truck? I have access to an engine hoist if i need one.

thanks in advance fellas!

-- Rob

 

Good thing you already know what your issue is and if you look around a bit you will see lots of 4.7s with blown head gaskets. Its sad to say it seems to be a common issue.

You do not need to remove the engine from the truck and can break it down in the truck. Just make sure you keep up with that bolts go where. There are more than a few threads in here that you may wannt search and read through as they may help you or give pics if needed.

Sadly enough, we are seeing more and more of these 4.7 and head issues

Also, make sure you have the heads fluxed and pressure checked by a shop. Getting a valve job and the heads/intake shaved wont hurt either.

 

thanks for the tips weedahoe, gonna start this weekend

 

Okay, so i pulled all the plugs out to see what side the gasket might be blown on. On the drivers side, two front cylenders are full of antifreeze.

Looks like i can avoid a head gasket change on the passenger's side... for now!

so.. before i remove the cylinder head, do i need to remove the intake manifold for this job?

 

In order to get to the head itself off you are going to have to pull the intake. If you need directions then PM me as I will get them from AllData for you.

 

you might as well do both at one time, you have to remove the timing chain anyway. Buy Felpro gaskets and copper coat them. Copper coat is a Permetex product available at any auto parts store. If you are realy serious about not doing this again in another 50k miles, use head studs, http://www.airram.com/product.php?ca...productid=1274 they are expensive, but well worth the investment.

 

Welp, here is a shot of the spark plug. The insulator was completely gone and the threads were covered in gunk. It was pretty obvious which head gasket i would be changing at that point.

Also attached is a shot of the head gasket. Never seen a blown head gasket before... i guess a little bit of failure makes a big mess.

Thanks for the top Horseapples. Yes the fella got Felpro gaskets but no copper coat. Unfortunately the head has been torqued back on and the chain re-attached to the cam.

re-assembly continues on Monday (taking sunday off). There is no gasket supplied for the front timing cover, i take it i'm going to need a lot of high temperature silicone sealer?