A blown head gasket is the three words no truck owner wants to hear. It usually means a repair bill north of $3,000 or a complete engine swap. But before you drain your savings account, I discovered an AI-assisted “Hail Mary” fix that actually works—if you do it right.
The Diagnosis: What AI Found That I Missed
My 2015 Ram 1500 (3.6L V6) started acting up. White smoke, coolant loss, but no visible leaks. I plugged the symptoms into an AI tool, and it didn’t just say “head gasket.” It gave me the specific failure points for the Pentastar V6: Cylinders 5 and 6.
Why does this matter? Because knowing exactly where the leak is allowed me to try a chemical fix with a much higher success rate.
The Fix: Blue Devil (Done the Right Way)
AI didn’t just recommend a product; it gave me a protocol that most mechanics won’t tell you. If you just dump sealer in, you ruin your heater core. Here is the AI-generated protocol that saved my engine:
- Remove the Thermostat: Mandatory. Sealer will weld it shut otherwise.
- Bypass the Heater Core: Disconnect the hoses at the firewall and loop them. This saves your heat for winter.
- The “Dead Cylinder” Trick: Unplug the fuel injectors for the leaking cylinders (5 and 6). This stops the explosion from pushing the sealer out, allowing it to cure inside the crack.
This approach turned a $4,000 nightmare into a $60 weekend project. Technology isn’t just for writing emails; it’s for solving real-world, expensive problems.
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