Engine repair question about 2008 Town and Country 3.8L
I have repaired many leaking intake gaskets on these engines. Some will leak to the outside where it will run down the top of the transmission, and others will leak into the intake runners where you won't see anything leaking. They WILL make white "smoke" immediately after starting that can be easily identified by the weird, "burnt plastic" smell. However if you are getting bubbles out of the cooling system immediately after starting, then you probably have a bad head gasket. The easiest way to test for that is to put a rubber surgical/inspection glove over the radiator neck and seal it with a rubber band. Also clamp off the overflow hose temporarily. If you have a bad head gasket the glove will inflate quickly as soon as you start up the cold engine. I have had some luck with the older style fiber or "black pepper and eggwhite" pressure sealer, but it is only temporary. I have also had to throw away many radiators and heater cores that have been ruined by some of the new "fancy" sealers, in particular Blue Devil. That stuff will plug up even radiator hoses with a waxy, white goop that is not soluble with anything I have found. I have had to literally dig out engine block cooling passages with a screwdriver after people have tried these miracle cures. I have found many times that a used 3.3/3.8 engine is actually much cheaper that trying to repair a bad head gasket on one of these engines when you calculate in the cost of a gasket set, the labor to remove the head(s) and the machine shop work needed to get the heads cleaned and resurfaced, not to mention that sometimes you get the head off only to find it has a crack or is warped too badly to reuse anyway. I hope this helps you, and good luck getting it going again!