Hi All,

I have a 2003 Ram 1500 4WD, 4.7L, 5-speed manual transmission, with 186K miles. The truck is used mostly for camping so I put less than 3K of miles per year for the last 4 years. Recently I checked my oil and noticed that the coolant reservoir was empty. I added almost a gallon and thought something is not right. I opened the oil cap and found some orange foam on the bottom of the cap and inside the tube. Nothing in the coolant reservoir only the oil cap. So, it looks like it is time for a head gasket?

My truck did not overheat and I have not noticed any smells or changes in driving. I think that the head gasket is leaking and It would have overheated had I not caught it in time. I have not done anything yet as I am trying to come up with a plan. Not sure if I should only have the heads resurfaced or perhaps replace them with remanufactured heads. I do plan to replace the chains, guides, lifters, rockers, pump and head bolts. Anything else I should do while I have the engine open. I do have a couple questions for those who have had this problem.

Questions:

Can anyone recommend a machine shop near Santa Clara, CA. to have the heads resurfaced and looked at?

Can anyone recommend a vendor to purchase remanufactured heads that they have had good experience?

Is there any special way to flush out the coolant from the oil and the engine?

Can anyone recommend a good gasket and chain kit?

Thanks,

skipper

 

I would drain the engine oil after sitting several days and see if you get any coolant. Oil floats on water, so when you pop the drain plug you would get coolant first, if there is any in the oil. Also just monitor the level on the dipstick if its rising or staying steady, a gallon of coolant in the oil would be very noticeable in level change. Hemi motors are very bad for condensation in the crankcase, and the 4.7 isn't much different.

Bad crankcase ventilation system could be causing the build up.

Leaking hose connections, water pump seeping, heater core leaking are multiple causes of unnoticed coolant loss over time.

I would be more sure of your cause of coolant loss before jumping down the head gasket rabbit hole

 

Those are good points; I am still making the assumption that it is a head gasket leak. The truck did sit for about 6 weeks without driving. I drove it for a week prior to discovering the low coolant level. It has been sitting now for three weeks without doing any other checks. I did fill the coolant reservoir so I can check if it leaked out any. What would be a conclusive head gasket test? I believe there is a test to check for hydrocarbons in the coolant. Would any kind of check engine light be triggered by coolant being combusted, maybe the O2 sensors? After sitting for the 6 weeks, I did have a ABS warning. I fixed it by spraying the ABS connector with electrical cleaner.
How would one check the crank case ventilation system?

 

I would imagine after several miles/gallons of coolant you would start plugging up the converters and affecting cat efficiency and set fault codes.

As I mentioned, coolant in the oil would be a good indicator, to at least start with the head gaskets. There's always the potential of a more serious less likely issue.

 

The sniff test works too. If you are burning coolant, the exhaust will stink, and will be VERY irritating if you inhale it. (so, be careful with this test....)