Chrysler Repair: 2005 caravan coolant leak and sputtering, head gasket leak, coolant leak

Question
Hi, just recently my caravan 2005, 69945 miles started to sputter and alot of smoke out the exhaust and it smelled like antifreeze , so I looked around and see were its got some dried up antifreeze at the end of intake,(back of motor near tranny, left coolant bank. and there didn't seem to be any coolant low, and there was no check engine light on?. So I want to change the intake gaskets but i have no book, So is there anything i should know out of the ordinary compared to the usual gasket change i just never did a caravan before but do have experience if you can give any suggestions thank you.Dave Butler

Answer
Hi David,
The symptom that is troubling to your analysis of an intake leak is that you have " alot of smoke out the exhaust and it smelled like antifreeze". There is no way that I know of for excessive coolant getting into the exhaust system except for a head gasket leak. The only scenario for an external leak getting into the exhaust would be if the exhaust system also had a leak that allowed such entry (but you would hear that loudly). You soon should notice that your coolant overflow bottle is empty and the radiator level will also lower, leading to the risk of engine overheating. You might also find the oil is cloudy or that you hear bubbling coming from the cooling system fairly early after start up, other symptoms of a head gasket leak. That leak also apparently is coming out the crack between the head and the block, which is likely what you are seeing at the rear of the engine. About the only thing you could try, short of removing the head and replacing the gasket, is to loosen the head bolts slightly then retighten them, just on the chance that the leak is not due to a failed gasket but rather to loose head bolts. I have had success on occasion doing that. You didn't tell me which engine you have so I can't tell you exactly how much to loosen the bolts before you tighten them. Of course you would want to follow the tightening pattern (and loosen them in the reverse of that pattern).
You might want to get a Haynes shop manual, which are the best aftermarket books, in case you need to do the head gasket. It will show how to do it, as well as how to do the head bolts.
Roland
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