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First step would be to determine where the actual leak is. I would p/u a leak detector kit from a good parts store. pour the dye into the radiator run it and ues the uv light to look for the leak. it could be a manifold leak or poss a freeze plug.
Next time I’m at the parts store, I’ll be picking up a leak detector kit. I can drive it, but I’m refilling the expansion tank everyday. 🙁 I’d rather not drive with a leak, just in case it goes completely…
Freeze plugs on these are a PITA to get too…..
Quoted From Petej:
Next time I’m at the parts store, I’ll be picking up a leak detector kit. I can drive it, but I’m refilling the expansion tank everyday. 🙁 I’d rather not drive with a leak, just in case it goes completely…
Freeze plugs on these are a PITA to get too…..
Good. once you find the exact location of the leak then we get to solving it.
I believe you would be able to confirm with a pressure tester but I’m guessing you have an intake gasket problem as it is quite a common failure on that engine. Good luck.
Using a pressure tester as Eric stated is in my opinion the easiest way of finding stubborn leaks. The only time i have ever had to use dye is for A/C leaks 🙂
The intake manifolds as stated are pretty easy to change of these vehicles. Just keep everything organized. It would be a good time to flush the cooling system too.
Theres a few threads in other forums here with free repair manuals online that might help you with the procedure if you don’t have a FSM.
Keep us update!
If you do the intake, I would take a look at the lovely spider injection system the Vortechs used. Look for gas puddling anywhere in the intake, and mebbe check the fuel pressure regulator. My instructor at school spent a full 3 hour class session describing all the common failures of what he called the b@stard injector system.
Thanks guys! As soon as my child custody case is over and the restraining order put into effect tomorrow, I’ll have a look at it. Unfortunately I happened to look in the tool bag I brought with me when I moved….. Not impressed by what i found. Helluva time to be without my rollaway…..(It’s in storage). The good news is, I may be able too use the tools at work. So we shall see….
Quoted From rice400:
^ Your absolutely right, I got mine switched to regular green antifreeze instead of the dex cool which I believe is red. Dex cool turns acidic pretty quickly plus the plastic gaskets= big time sucks.
I got a quick look at it today after my court date was over…
Luckily no Dexcool in this one! Woohoo! The spider will be checked too. I do have a slight miss at idle, but I don’t hear any vacuum leaks…. I’ll dig out the stethoscope and have a listen…..
It is definitely at the back of the engine, Driver side where the leak is. I’ll have another go at it tomorrow after get free for the day. It’s not big, but since it dribbles on the exhaust crossover, it creates a bit of steam….
The thing about the GM coolant is they say its bad for seals, gaskets etc… My 04 Silverado 4.3 hasn’t had a lick of problem with the coolant (with royal purple super coolant in it) and will put it back in if i need to change the coolant for some reason. Its supposed to have some kind of corrosion inhibitor in the coolant and other stuff. But if you’ve used the green stuff and put the red in, thats where the problems start.
Thrasher
My advice if it is indeed the intake gasket, get the new and improved fel-pro gaskets that are metal instead of the crappy stock plastic gasket. If it gets plastic gaskets it will fail again relatively soon. Also, a coolant flush definitely wouldn’t be a bad idea. I have a 99 s10 with the same engine and almost all those GM v6’s eat gaskets like they are going out of style. Just my 2 cents.
Quoted From rice400:
My advice if it is indeed the intake gasket, get the new and improved fel-pro gaskets that are metal instead of the crappy stock plastic gasket. If it gets plastic gaskets it will fail again relatively soon. Also, a coolant flush definitely wouldn’t be a bad idea. I have a 99 s10 with the same engine and almost all those GM v6’s eat gaskets like they are going out of style. Just my 2 cents.
The only thing I might add to this would be to consider changing the coolant to regular green stuff instead of DexCool, I’ve had a lot of GM guys tell me that is a good idea as they don’t seem to think very highly of DexCool.
^ Your absolutely right, I got mine switched to regular green antifreeze instead of the dex cool which I believe is red. Dex cool turns acidic pretty quickly plus the plastic gaskets= big time sucks.
Over time no matter which coolant you use, you can not stop electrolysis from happening.
GM did have an issue with there Dex-cool ‘attacking’ gaskets but after replacing the gaskets with a different material, it was no longer an issue.
Also, there is people who run low on coolant, whether its a leak or so forth. The coolant passages will start to oxidize due to the bear metal being exposed so once the coolant is topped off, that oxidation will then circle throughout the whole cooling system causing more problems.
You also have people who like to use normal tap water instead of distilled water to create there own mix of coolant causing the cooling system to have lime build up.
I could do on forever about this topic but alas its time to go back to work C8-)
Dreamer is right on about the Dex-cool – aka Death Cool. I haven’t had any problems with it. I just think Dex is sensitive to oxygen and doesn’t like being mixed with other coolants or tap water. That’s how people more less ended up with “mud” in their cooling systems.
If I had to tear into the engine causing some major coolant loss I would consider flushing the whole system and putting in the regular green/yellow stuff.
It’s got the green kitten killing fluid in it…. Thankfully. I hate Death-cool. I refill it with distilled water or premix coolant only. I’ve had to flush and repair WAY too many systems that people have screwed up over the years.
I never got a chance to look at it again like I thought. I can use the tools at work, which is good. 🙂 Now, to find the time…
Looks to be easy to do as well. which is great for me!
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