sgp7679

i was changing the oil on my 2003 dodge ram and under the oil cap had alot of yellow mustardy stuff. im thinking head gasket but have also heard that cold weather and condensation can cause this, sound right? it has 230000 miles (i know its alot)

62Furious

to get the water in the oil to look like that you have to have a lot of humidity or rain seaping in to your engine, sorry to say I thing it may be a head gasket

johnthegoalie

i'd have to see a pic of this, but if it is what i think you're describing it's common - especially on the 4.7's. dodge changed the pcv routing on later rams to remedy this. hows the oil look?

78D200

I have seen this a lot. You can get it with a perfectly sealed motor. Only thing to do is keep on top of changing your oil. There will be some condensation that causes this. I don't think that it has anything to do with your head gaskets.

toad490

Try cleaning your breather, I had that trouble and the breather was really dirty with oil and dust, problem went away.

sgp7679

ok well the oil looked normal, changed the oil and been driving for a few days, havent checked oil cap again but will do, now am having alternator problems (i think)

johnthegoalie

before you think you have alternator problems, have you just had a dead battery? if so, dont buy an alternator just yet...

sgp7679

no the bat. gauge is reading l or discharge and its dying

scotts74birds

Are we talking a 4.7L? BIG problems on the early motors....Google keyword "dodge", "4.7", "problems". a world of info there!

johnthegoalie

luckily an alternator is easy on those.

on the rams, you have to be careful when a battery goes dead. they have tendency to take the computer along with them. the truck will start, run like crap and die every time you come to a stop- very similar to an alternator being out. it is a dealer only fix as the computer needs to be re-flashed.