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Blown Head Gasket?

7K views 7 replies 5 participants last post by  Bobby D 
#1 ·
Well, it seems like I'm loosing coolant.:eek: There are no puddles on the ground and I haven't seen anything on the motor. Anyone have suggestions on how to better diagnose this problem? Worst case scenario, how hard is it to replace the head gaskets (hours?) and can I tackle this myself? I'm not a mechanic, but I do have a good understanding about engines and I like to work with my hands.

Thanks
 
#2 ·
took me about 12hrs total time, day off , wait 2 days to get the heads back and a day putting them on. you will need a cam tool to do the timing also. do yourself a faver and get a haynes manual. it's a real good book and will walk you through it. The local Dodge dealer loned me the cam tool needed to do the camshaft sprockets and timing belt. it's not hard, just time consuming

97Sport 142,000miles and counting
 
#3 ·
May not be the heads. I was loosing coolant for the last little while on my 94ES 3.5. Just did my timing belt tonight and found the water pump had been leaking from the seal behind the drum,down on to the crank pulley area, not the housing. Car showed no leaks the whole time, just lost coolant and ran fine. Must have been evaporating on the timing belt friction. New water pump, new timing belt, ready to roll again. Food for thought!
 
#5 ·
Well, with all of the work associated with replacing head gaskets I would recommend you do a compression check of all cylinders before you decide the gaskets are bad. If you do find out your gaskets need replacing, do the timing belt, waterpump and tensioner right away too.
 
#7 ·
You should probably replace them since it's possible they could be stretched slightly or a lot, which can affect head gasket sealing.
 
#8 ·
94Intrepid said:
May not be the heads. I was loosing coolant for the last little while on my 94ES 3.5. Just did my timing belt tonight and found the water pump had been leaking from the seal behind the drum,down on to the crank pulley area, not the housing. Car showed no leaks the whole time, just lost coolant and ran fine. Must have been evaporating on the timing belt friction. New water pump, new timing belt, ready to roll again. Food for thought!
Never thought of that, the belt was replaced 2 years ago though!

Thanks
 
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