*Well, I looked at the 2000 Dosge Dakota I have at home that was my
brothers. 1st I tried to start it but it had sat so long the battery
was dead. Charged the battery for a minute. Got it to crank a few
times but not start. I went ahead and took the plugs out:

6 = 90psi 3 = 190 psi (120 checked later)
5 = 105 psi 2 = 90 psi
4 = 95 psi 1 = 95 psi

These are the compression readings and the order I checked them. 1
being the drivers side front, 3 the drivers side back, 4 being
passanger side front, 6 being passanger side back. After checking all
compression I re-checked # 3 because of it being so much higher than
the others. It was 120 at this time.

When I pulled out the plugs the best I could tell they were ok. Looked
worn. Except number 3. It looked wet but not drenched. Also, On this
plug, the porcelane on the bottom of the plug around the gap was
broken, also, the grounding part that curves over (The part you adjust
the gap) was brken in half and missing.

Cranking with no spark plugs, light vaporized mist or or something
came from most of the holes but #3 I could tell had more coming out.
It was like water or droplets as I cranked much heavier than the rest.

I took a piece of winshield washer hose and stuck it down a few of the
spark plug holes and sucked with my mouth. (Probably not smart). Never
really got much of anythign out with the exception of #3. There was
some gas in there but also a sweet taste. (Would this be antifreeze?)

Inside of radiator hose had brown granulated crud that I could pull
out with my finger. Almost looked like brown sugar but a more red
color.

If I did not mention, truck has 151,000 on it. Overheated on my
brother. White smoke rolling out when it warmed up. When he had it
towed to my house, I started it right up and drove it about 200 feet
to park it and had no trouble at all and did not notice any sounds or
anything unusual.

Can I assume this is a blown head gasget around # 3? What is the
liklihood this is a cracked head? Should both head gaskets be
replaced? Should I go ahead and have the heads machined or check with
a straightedge and then if ok don’t worry about it?

I want this to run right but money is a factor. My salary has been cut
recently due to the hard economic times. (Still thankful I have a job
though).