Engine repair question about 2008 Town and Country 3.8L
- Thread starter 65LoveAffair
- Start date
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I didnt mind the one I had with the 4.0 inline.... easy to get to most anything.
Bryan Lohmiller
Well-Known Member
UTG has some advice on this subject
Dale Davies
Well-Known Member
Do not use those bandaids. They can tend to plug the radiator and heater core tubes, causing bigger troubles. The mileage is about right for head gasket failure. Bite the bullet and replace the head gaskets.
Dale Davies
Well-Known Member
See the caption; 1L temporary repair. Yes it may work for longer, but when the ad admits it is inte.nded as temporary, believe that.
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Dale Davies
Well-Known Member
Al heads?
65LoveAffair
Whovian
Okay, I didn’t make it to the shop. My buddy decided to close for the holidays and “might” open back up next week. Still not blowing white smoke anymore, but I am seeing signs of a leak. Looking at the engine from the front, it looks like coolant is leaking on the right hand side of the engine below the coil pack. I’ve added a couple pics. These are both different angles of the same spot.
Also, not sure if this is related or a separate issue, while the van is running it looks like there is a small curl of smoke coming up from beneath the exhaust crossover on the right hand side, but toward the back. I’m not sure if it’s exhaust or something actually burning, cause it does not smell like antifreeze. But when I shined my light down there I did see some dead leaves, so maybe a dead leaf is sitting on the hot exhaust and is smoldering?
Also, not sure if this is related or a separate issue, while the van is running it looks like there is a small curl of smoke coming up from beneath the exhaust crossover on the right hand side, but toward the back. I’m not sure if it’s exhaust or something actually burning, cause it does not smell like antifreeze. But when I shined my light down there I did see some dead leaves, so maybe a dead leaf is sitting on the hot exhaust and is smoldering?
OK, yeah that is the corner of the intake manifold gasket just barely seeping anti-freeze leak.
Get in there and spray those leak areas with Brake Parts Cleaner and blow it out clean with compressed air a few times to get all the oil off those areas.
Now when those areas are clean and dry, pack in some Copper High Temp Silicon into the mating surface between the 2 parts. Pack it in tight with your thumb.
Now go in and tighten up the exposed intake manifold bolt (bolts) in that area with a wrench, snug them up good as they are probably getting a bit loose.
Now let the silicon sealer setup/dry over night before starting and driving your van.
Now put 4 ounces of Dike stop leak in a plastic jug, and put in another 4 ounces of distilled water with that. Shake it up and pour it into your radiator.
Pull some coolant out of the radiator with a suction if there is not enough room for the added stop leak fix.
The next day start it up and take it for a 20 minute drive.
After you get back let it cool off, top off the radiator with coolant.
All Fixed, continue on living your life stress free.
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Get in there and spray those leak areas with Brake Parts Cleaner and blow it out clean with compressed air a few times to get all the oil off those areas.
Now when those areas are clean and dry, pack in some Copper High Temp Silicon into the mating surface between the 2 parts. Pack it in tight with your thumb.
Now go in and tighten up the exposed intake manifold bolt (bolts) in that area with a wrench, snug them up good as they are probably getting a bit loose.
Now let the silicon sealer setup/dry over night before starting and driving your van.
Now put 4 ounces of Dike stop leak in a plastic jug, and put in another 4 ounces of distilled water with that. Shake it up and pour it into your radiator.
Pull some coolant out of the radiator with a suction if there is not enough room for the added stop leak fix.
The next day start it up and take it for a 20 minute drive.
After you get back let it cool off, top off the radiator with coolant.
All Fixed, continue on living your life stress free.
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Here is where the coolant comes through on the end intake manifold gasket ports.
So you have a look.....
If you can snug down the intake manifold bolts that is going to help.
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So you have a look.....
If you can snug down the intake manifold bolts that is going to help.
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65LoveAffair
Whovian
Okay, update time. I haven’t done anything with the van for awhile. My mother-in-law had surgery so we’ve been helping her, and I’ve been using her car. Today the van went to the shop for a proper diagnosis. Hopefully it’s nothing major. I’ll update here when I know for certain. Thank you again everyone for your suggestions and advice. I appreciate them all!
65LoveAffair
Whovian
Well, I have news and I don’t. This is kind of a long post and a bit of a rant, so I apologize in advance.
The garage I took the van to said they couldn’t figure out what was wrong.
As far as I know they did no compression tests, didn’t pull plugs and check the cylinders, nada. All he said was they added antifreeze and pressure tested it, and could see the leak but they couldn’t tell 100% where it was leaking from.
Additionally, he said I needed $700-$800 worth of brakes on the rear.
I noticed they were spongy on my drive to the shop and mentioned it. He came back later and said I need new pads, rotors, calipers and hoses on each side. Said the caliper on the driver’s side is dragging, and the one on the passenger side isn’t working at all. That cost estimate seems like a major screw-job to me. I’ve done the brakes on this van. Using only a hydraulic jack and jack stands, with no air tools, it took me about 45 minutes to an hour, per wheel, start to finish. And that was in 90°+ heat and little shade. Are brakes really that expensive to have a shop do these days? $700-$800 for just the rear? Last time I paid to have brakes done, it cost me $400 for front disks and rear pads on my ‘92 Ranger. That was in early 2002.
Needless to say, I declined service, and he didn’t charge me anything. I’ll do the brakes myself Tuesday when the rest of the parts get here. Still have to figure out the engine, though. One step forward, two steps back.
The garage I took the van to said they couldn’t figure out what was wrong.
As far as I know they did no compression tests, didn’t pull plugs and check the cylinders, nada. All he said was they added antifreeze and pressure tested it, and could see the leak but they couldn’t tell 100% where it was leaking from.Additionally, he said I needed $700-$800 worth of brakes on the rear.
I noticed they were spongy on my drive to the shop and mentioned it. He came back later and said I need new pads, rotors, calipers and hoses on each side. Said the caliper on the driver’s side is dragging, and the one on the passenger side isn’t working at all. That cost estimate seems like a major screw-job to me. I’ve done the brakes on this van. Using only a hydraulic jack and jack stands, with no air tools, it took me about 45 minutes to an hour, per wheel, start to finish. And that was in 90°+ heat and little shade. Are brakes really that expensive to have a shop do these days? $700-$800 for just the rear? Last time I paid to have brakes done, it cost me $400 for front disks and rear pads on my ‘92 Ranger. That was in early 2002.
Needless to say, I declined service, and he didn’t charge me anything. I’ll do the brakes myself Tuesday when the rest of the parts get here. Still have to figure out the engine, though. One step forward, two steps back.
The saying is: You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make them drink.
All the solutions have been laid out for you.
Time for the "Action" step. Things don't get fixed on their own.
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All the solutions have been laid out for you.
Time for the "Action" step. Things don't get fixed on their own.
☆☆☆☆☆
Yeah. "I didn't make it to the shop" has been said so much, this obviously isn't a priority.
Pretty much why he is in the situation that he is in right now.
Let's let it go, at 200,000 some miles. Yeah that's a good idea.
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Famous line from Sam Elliot in the movie Road House:
That dog won't hunt.....
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That dog won't hunt.....
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65LoveAffair
Whovian
It’s not that I don’t care, or that it isn’t a priority. It’s that I’m unemployed at the moment and can’t afford to throw what little money I do have into what “might” be the issue. I already have most of the parts I need for the brakes. That is a known issue, so I’m taking care of that. As far as the engine goes, I will get it taken care of. I’m sorry if I’m not moving to your timeline. I can only do what I can do. You have all given me good advice here, so don’t think I’m not appreciative. But I have to move at a pace that is financially feasible for me and my family.
65LoveAffair
Whovian
Okay, at the risk of triggering those who think I don’t consider this a priority, I have some progress to report. I did the rubber glove test on the van today. Well, I actually did it three times because I realized I was doing it wrong the first two times. Different wrong each time, but both still wrong.
Test 1: Glove inflated, but overflow hose still attached.
Test 2: Overflow hose disconnected, and glove past the nipple. Glove inflated, coolant in glove.
Test 3: Overflow attached but properly clamped off. Ran the van for the same amount of time as other tests, and there was no indication of inflation at all.
So, if what I have read here is correct, the head gaskets are okay and my issue most likely is the intake manifold gasket. Is this a safe assumption?
Test 1: Glove inflated, but overflow hose still attached.
Test 2: Overflow hose disconnected, and glove past the nipple. Glove inflated, coolant in glove.
Test 3: Overflow attached but properly clamped off. Ran the van for the same amount of time as other tests, and there was no indication of inflation at all.
So, if what I have read here is correct, the head gaskets are okay and my issue most likely is the intake manifold gasket. Is this a safe assumption?
Dale Davies
Well-Known Member
To check.for bad head gaskets, put a paper clip under the radcap vacuum break valve and reinstall the rad cap. Warm the engine until the engine is well warmed up. Then watch for bubbles in the coolant overflow tank. If the head gaskets are leaking compression you will see bubbles.
If no bubbles with this check, good chance the intake is leaking through the coolant exit from the heads to the intake.
Part of tuneup.since the introduction of EFI is to retorque the intake manifold bolts. Rarely gets done in flatrate shops, or any shops for that matter. Try torquing the intake bolts may stop the leak.
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