The Under the Hood
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Dear Motor Medics, I have a 2016 Ram 1500 truck with a small coolant leak on the passenger side head. It appears to be leaking right through the head and not from the gasket surface. Have you seen this before?
My local shop tells me that I need to buy a new cylinder head and replace the gasket, which will cost over $3,000 unless they find something else while working on it.
The truck runs perfectly, except for using about a half-gallon of coolant a week.
What do you suggest for saving money. I don’t have more than about $1,000 to spend to fix this truck currently and I need to keep it going.
Thank you, Jeff in Spirit Lake Iowa Dear Jeff, If it is leaking through the side of the head and not a gasket area that means the head is cracked.
Normally the only fix for this is to replace the entire cylinder head. Replacing a head will solve the issue of a crack but for leaks like this where money is an issue, on short notice we have used a product in our own shop many times called K-Seal. You add the product to your engine coolant and drive it until the leak has stopped.
Don’t mix it with other leak stop additives and don’t flush it out. Just add it and leave it.
We have seen some vehicles four years after using it that still don’t leak so it may be your solution.
Take care, The Motor Medics
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