2003 Dodge Grand Caravan - Blown Head Gasket That's Not Blown...

[birchy]

Just thought I'd throw this out there to get some more opinions..

 

2003 Dodge Grand Caravan - 3.8L V6 with ~101,000km's. For the last while it's been gradually losing coolant.. but no puddles forming underneath and/or in the engine bay. Cold start (especially when it's cold outside) = rough idle, stumbling, and blowing lots of white smoke, with a sweet smell. Blown head gasket right?! One would think so..

 

However..

 

- after it warms up, it runs completely fine. No white smoke.

- I changed the oil recently and it was completely black.. and the level was fine. Not milky looking at all..

- Coolant is green as can be..

- Takes longer than normal to get up to normal operating temperature, but once it does, it stays there. No overheating issues at all.. needle does not move even one notch above where it's always been.

 

Had me pretty confused for quite awhile.. recently, I mentioned this to my mechanic friend who said he's seen this before (albeit with a Ford truck), and this is what he thinks is happening..

 

When I mentioned the "green" coolant.. he said, "are you sure that's the right coolant for your van? I bet you it isn't..." Went on to say that if the wrong coolant is in the van (I've since verified that the used dealership that I bought it from did indeed put the wrong coolant in. It's not the HOAT formula that Dodge requires), it can slowly corrode the intake manifold gaskets and cause symptoms that SEEM like a blown head gasket.. just like what I'm having. He said if the gaskets are getting corroded, the intake will suck some coolant in every time I shut the van off. Then the next time I start it up.. it'll run rough, blow white smoke, etc. until that bit of coolant gets burned off.. then it will run fine again.. until the next time I shut it off and the process repeats. Solution is to replace the intake manifold gaskets.. which is a pretty big job.

 

Any mechanics on here that can comment? This definitely sounds plausible to me.. but I can't call and talk to an actual Dodge mechanic without them wanting me to come in pay to have it looked it. Which I don't want to do.

[ÜberFly]

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