Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) Possible head gasket leak

[BFlower]

Today I just noticed some oil in the antifreeze on my 99 24 valve with 102K miles. There is some at the radiator cap and in the overflow bottle. I had changed the oil when I noticed it and the drain oil looked very clean. Is this a head gasket leak?

 

[rkressg]

Are you loosing antifreeze? When you shut down the engine, how long does the cooling system stay pressurized?

Head gaskets usually do not fail on a stock truck unless it was overheated.

 

[BFlower]

The cooling system stays pressurized for at least a few hours after shut down. The truck has never been overheated. Everything appears to be normal with the exception of the oil. I did flush the system, added new antifreeze and there does still seem to be a small amount of oil. I don't know if it is still appearing but things generally don't fix themselves.

 

[rkressg]

For the amount of work it is to change a head gasket, I would just put in some bars leak and forget about it. Unless you are loosing a major amount of coolant, or the oil pan is full of anti-freeze, I would not worry about it.

 

[Joseph Donnelly]

The leak could be the oil cooler behind the oil filter pad.

 

[BFlower]

Thanks. I will check this. This is a truck I retired from towing after numerous VP 44 and 47RE issues. I replaced it for towing with a 97 12 valve 5-speed, I rebuilt from the frame up last year.