88 dodge pickup,318 with bubbles from radiator

mmidlam · May 16, 2011

it was run low on coolant and got very hot. I think its leaking compression into the cooling system. Is this more likely to be a cracked head or just a bad head gasket.

bobs old iron · May 16, 2011

it's a 50/50 guess, until you tear into it. you could try a can of sealer as a band-aid until you are ready to rebuild, depending how many miles on it.

bobs old iron · May 16, 2011

just occured to me: the 318 is same block as a 340-360, maybe look for low mileage one to swap, zip up the truck

El Toro · May 16, 2011

Probably a cracked head. Hal

ASEguy · May 16, 2011

Those old engines may surprise you. Call a decent local shop and ask if they have the dye kit for the coolant. Basically it's a sqeeze ball test tube with two chambers and a blue fluid. If the dye turns green it's due to combustion gasses if you had a diesel it would turn yellow. It's a cheap test that may save a lot of time and money. Goodson.com has them from their website. Hope this helps. Gerard

Anonymous-0 · May 16, 2011

Either one, pull it down for confirmation.More likely head gasket.[you hope]

504 · May 16, 2011

Not the same block but with the right flex plate and balancer, either would bolt in.

88 dodge pickup,318 with bubbles from radiator

mmidlam

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bobs old iron

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bobs old iron

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El Toro

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ASEguy

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Anonymous-0

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504

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