Very Nervous About My New Truck

[dpeterson283]

I just got a 2003 dodge ram 5.9L with 140,000 miles (first vehicle). The other day my dad seemed concerned that he smelled antifreeze and/ or oil burning. I had my neighbor (who is pretty familiar with cars and trucks and stuff like that) check it out, he smelled the antifreeze too, found no signs of leaks, noticed that the antifreeze was kinda low and the oil was maybe slightly burning due to being too full. He also saw no issue with coloration in the exhaust and I had a mechanic check the whole truck out before buying and he didn't mention any issues with that. Im really concerned that it will result in an expensive repair (head gasket or engine) and don't really know what to do. Its my first vehicle and I don't know a lot about trucks/cars. I already put a sizeable amount of money recently with a new fuel pump, transmission oil, and a couple of other things and really can't afford thousands of dollars for another repair. Maybe it's not a big deal, but I really wanted to get someones opinion on it as I don't want it to turn into a bigger problem. I really wanted it to last about 6 years but if this is really a big issue then I might need to get rid of it. Thanks for reading and/or your opinion and have a nice day.

 

[gofishn]

IF you can smell oil Burning, it s almost always a leak.
No big thing.

antifreeze is easy pressure test it. CHeap tool to buy and you cna do it yourself.

Your mechanic would have caught it if it had bad rings, head gasket, or some other major Issue ... unless his day job is Hairdresser.


Don;t get your self worked about something you are not even sure about.
get it looked at by someone who knows what they are doing.

Pay close attention to fluid levels and enjoy driving yoru new ride.

 

[Jason G Slabaugh]

Anti freeze smell inside the cab or out?

 

[PolarisCobra]

Could be just a loose hose fitting. Get a screwdriver, see if you can tighten the band clamps on the radiator and heater hoses a bit. Crawl under (if you need to raise the truck, get some jack stands under it first) see if you can find signs of a wet area. Liquid can travel in funny ways, not just straight down, so see of you can follow it back.

Note: NEVER get under any car or truck that is sitting on the tire jack, logs, cinder blocks, or anything but a jack stand. Your life can depend on it.

Next is the radiator or heater core. They don't cost too much to buy, I would think the radiator would not be too hard to change, the heater core could be another story, others can chime in on that. It will likely be up under the dash someplace, some are easier to change than others.

 

[Graygoose]

deep clean engine, if dirty, then check for hose leaks, and or water neck/waterpump area.