All,
I just got finished doing a break check on all four corners and had a rude
awakening. No, the breaks are fine, surprise surprise. What I did find
though was that I have a head gasket leaking coolant. The front outside
corner of the passenger side bank has coolant stains coming from right under
the head bolt. I'm due to take the truck on a 3000 mile trip next weekend so
I'm adding this to my list of things to have fixed on tomorrows trip to the
dealer. The other items on my list are, leaking thermostat gasket, leaking
valve cover breather, redo the alignment after replacing the lower ball
joints and tie rod ends (fifth trip in for problems relating to the ball
joints), and the old favorite and third time in, rattling steering column.
Now I can live with a small oil leak on the valve cover grommet as well as
the steering column. The alignment will at worst wear the tires faster. But
the two coolant leaks need to be addressed. The thermostat shouldn't be any
big deal, but I am very concerned about the head gasket. Has anyone heard of
this problem on the 318 V8 with only 23K miles on it?
John
98 Dakota 4X4 CC Sport, 5.2L, Auto, Leach headers, Intense Blue but shines
like Lemon Yellow.
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