Leaking head gasket

Tiny
RCORKEN
  • MEMBER
  • 1997 DODGE DAKOTA
  • 3.6L
  • V6
  • 2WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 125,000 MILES
Vehicle runs good, no smoke from tail pipe, but on two occasions have found an oily substance that has leaked from tail pipe on my garage floor.
Could this be a leaking head gasket?
Tuesday, June 12th, 2018 AT 7:28 AM

1 Reply

Tiny
JACOBANDNICKOLAS
  • MECHANIC
  • 109,885 POSTS
Hi and thanks for using 2CarPros.com.

To be honest, the exhaust creates condensation inside. Often times, it will leak from the exhaust when first started. The water, from being in the exhaust, often times is black in color and can feel oily. Usually, but not always, when a head gasket is bad, you will see a creamy substance on the oil cap or the dipstick. That indicates there is coolant mixing with the oil. Other times, you will have an excess of pressure in the cooling system or even indications that oil is mixing with the coolant. And then there are leaks which are only a compression leak which exits the side of the cylinder head and creates no visual evidence. However, in that case, there is usually a power loss and the check engine light will come on to indicate a misfire on a specific cylinder. If you see none of the aforementioned issues, chances are the head gasket is fine.

Regardless, if you are concerned that it could be a head gasket, here is a link which will explain how to check. Take a look:

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/head-gasket-blown-test

Let me know what you find or if you have other questions.

Take care,
Joe
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Tuesday, June 12th, 2018 AT 7:41 PM

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