[jhyoo]

Hi All,

Been a lurker here for quite some time, and always appreciate the wealth of info on here. So thank you!

I have a 2001 D2 with 155K miles on it. Been the proud owner since purchased new. This truck has been great with a few leaks here and there. But the time has come for head gaskets.

It's been leaking oil and a little coolant for a while now. I have just been topping off every 3-4 weeks. But a few weeks ago, I have been loosing about 3/4 of the coolant reservoir daily. Looks like it's leaking from the rear on the passenger side. I got the oil changed yesterday, and saw that the first thing out was water. Also, this past weekend, the truck misfired when first started, then smoothed out after a few minutes. Today, I ran a couple quick errands around town, and every time I start the truck now, it's misfiring and smoothing out after a few minutes.

I know the truck needs head gaskets, but are the misfires related? Have I done permanent damage? I'm a little weary of spending the $1500+ on getting the head gaskets done, only to be back in this situation a few months later. If fixing the head gaskets is all it needs, then I'll just get the work done. The shop I take my truck to says, it's hit or miss if it'll be ok. Don't really like those odds.

Just looking for some guidance.

 

[carmaniac37]

A misfire could be related. Maybe one of your cylinders is filling with water while the engine is off with the coolant system still pressurized. That could be the source of coolant in the oil as well. Do you have a CEL? Have you tried reading any fault codes?

In any case, if there's a problem, you'll see it once the heads are off. Get everything pressure tested while they're off to be sure.

 

[disco biscuit]

Do you have codes? Was there a MAF one in there? Also maybe talk more about why you know the head gasket is the problem...is it leaking water out the back, to the cylinder sounds like just oil

If it is leaking to the cylinder water could be a problem. Steamed cylinder could be a liner....

 

[jhyoo]

So I went got the codes pulled this morning at the auto parts store. The truck started rough again, but once it warmed up, it seemed fine. I got stuck at a light for a couple of minutes, and when I started going, it started missing again. Had to pull over and rev the engine for it to smooth out again.

P1415
P0308
P1319

The reason I'm pretty sure it's the head gaskets it I had 2 different indy shops tell me that. 1 from a year or so ago when I first started leaking coolant. And again the other day when I took my truck in for an oil change at a different indy shop.

The other thing I did not mention is there is white smoke coming out of the exhaust.

 

[carmaniac37]

I'm not sure what the other two are, but the P0308 is cylinder 8 misfire. That's where you said your leak is coming from so there's a bit of confirmation. Time to take those heads off.

Once they're out you'll see the issue, if the engine's able to smooth out with no clanks or knocks then everything else should be okay. I wouldn't want to drive it much more if I were you though, too much risk of overcompressing.

Definitely get the heads pressure tested while they're out to make sure they're not cracked anywhere.