Help You guys are motor heads I always get better info here than the trucks forums Coolant in exhaust Oil clear yes coolant was dropping 'Yes overheated a little- showed 250 on gauge-but since the coolant system peak loss was 1.5 -1.75 gallons the 250 degrees was a bad reading-might have had steam next to coolant temp sensor ran it 10 miles-full radiator-down 1.5 gallons low-temp went up to 250 degrees ANYWAY 1)Will intake gasket failure LEAK INTERNALLY-into manifold OR 2) is this much more likely a HEAD HEAD GASKET failure Currently-after adding BARS ALUMINUM particles stop leak The exhaust cloud is much less -and after 20 miles-no obvious drop in radiator level and engine running fine- below more detail-problem started with leaky uppper radiator hose- bad decision to drive home-might have actually been a problem for 3-4 days(temp gauge going higher than usual-but never in red) Thanks charlie 1998 suburban(best car I every owned $2950 in 2007 with 195,000 miles-now 232,500 miles)I am losing coolant and I have coolant in exhaust "smoke" No water/coolant in oil- It did barely start-stumble- (after repalcing hose refilling-it barely started then it stated and blew out plenty of coolant condensate in exhaust before I added the Bar's leak with aluminum particles to radiator but now the coolant is barely dropping-maybe not at all and very little vapor in exhaust yes it overheated- read between 210 and 260 on gauge-maybe 250-(but it doesn't read right if steam instead of liquid in passage by sensor) and it was down 1.5 -1.75 gallons- not for long-it was full-cool-and I drove 10 miles home-lost 1.5 1.75 gallons in 10 miles there was a hole in upper radiator hose-wasn't showing at idle-but once I got home-it was steaming out like a locomotive(yeah I screwed up but I had to get home-cool day and full radiator,so figured it would work out-it didn't) My question 1)Will the intake manifold gaskets ever leak coolant INTERNALLY -into the manifold them into combustion chambers 2) or is a HEAD GASKET internal leak or head crack MORE likely Motor is running VERY well now-with slight exhaust smoke(not oil no oil smell-coolant smell) and oil is clear-perfect So can intake manifold gasket failure leak internally? Which is more likely HEAD or Head gasket failure? or INTAKE manifold gasket failure(happened 5 years ago-leaked externally) Help-and thanks Charlie ps yes I'm sorta' broke-ish SS but work part time too- but a $2300 delivered curbside NEW Goodwrench engine is within reach-and doing a POINTLESS 10-15 hour intake manifold gasket replacement doesn't appeal to me(65 yo) I LOVE this truck-almost owner proof-and my late wife and I took and our dogs took long road trips in it so sentimental value also 1998 suburban- 1/2 ton 199500 miles River Ridge,LA
My first opinion would be a head gasket with maybe a warped head involved due to over heating. With out seeing the vehicle in the flesh as they say.
Al Thanks for the best guess Unfortunately for me That is also the best guess of a very adept mechanic buddy of mine Obviously I was hoping for intake manifold gasket failure-a $50 -$70 or so gasket set plus new bolts+ $30 DEXCOOL-so $100 plus 10 hours of knuckle scraping back bending work Not HEADS many more hours machine work Hmmm I will probably give the various BAR'S leak stuff a bit of time carefully measure how much coolant I'm losing monitor the OIL for water and loss check MPG to see how much that drops I don't expect the "BAR'S stop head gasket leak stuff "$27.99 walmart TO actually stop a head gasket leak but the ALUMINUM particle Bar's stop coolant leak "stuff" did greatly slow the clouds of condensate and the suburban does start and run better since the BARS stuff So maybe maybe the leak will slow to 1 pint per 20 miles water is cheap and I only drive 2000 miles/yr But I expect things won't go that way most likely the leak will suddenly increase-a lot- and that will be that-hope I'm close to home On the bright side a NEW- not rebuilt-Genuine GOODWRENCH L31 light duty motor is $2400 delivered curbside Yeah hard to beat that-new motor $2400 Heck if I get ambitious I can get a 383E-stroked with full warranty new GM PERFORMANCE 383 DROP in motor(comes with dist installed) the way I drive probably no mpg difference for $4900- forged crank etc- 75 more HP 80 more FT LBS Not that I need a hotrod suburban Thanks Al PS I'm still a pellet rifle in hallway shooter-lotta fun - lock Arty and cats out-(Muffy sometimes SLEEPS on the bed while I shoot down the hall but I double check her position before shooting-) judging from her barely raised head(despite the RWS 460 being noisy) she is unimpressed with my markmanship!
Charley there is always Car-part.com $1,000 seems to about average for a used motor. $2300 for a crate motor would be the way to go.
That was an expensive hose leak! Sorry! Long, long ago, my parents bought a new Buick with no factory air conditioning, then promptly had the Buick dealer install an aftermarket AC system. Then the family went on a trip to the Saint Louis zoo, ~200 miles away. Shortly after leaving the zoo, just before crossing over into East Saint Louis, the car started making strange noises. Curbside investigation revealed the compressor pulley had cut a small hole in the upper radiator hose due to careless rerouting of the hose by the installers. Uh-oh! We coasted into the last service station (Remember those?!) on the Missouri side. The proprietor wrapped the damaged hose thoroughly in duct tape, and refused any payment. The tape held and we made it home with no further drama----very lucky. Next time, try duct tape.
Redy Yeah any add-on even dealer add ons back when had the potential to bite you in some unexpected way. Initially I didn't actually KNOW the hose was the problem- when I arrived in the school parking lot-(sub teach some days) I immediately popped the hood-could smell coolant and the water temp reading was a bit higher than usual Popped hood-could immediately see coolant ALL OVER ENGINE BAY Turned engine back on But couldn't see any leak-spray So came out 1 hour later-added perhaps a quart to radiator-overflow was empty and not easy to refill-top held on by hose clamp- started it up-still no spray I would have had to idle it for 15 minutes to get STAT. to open So I took the chance-drove home with eye on temp gauge it NEVER got to red-260- so 250 or so But this time I could SEE steam coming from under hood-but didn't look at exhaust Yeah had to cross a bridge Well got home popped hood- and literally a steam vent venting from HOSE SPLIT really obvious so next day replace hose add 1.5 gallons to JUST radiator(engine must have been all but empty start it up run it twenty minutes-still haven't looked at exhaust No leak but restart 5 minute later- WON'T! Wait 5 minutes-barely starts-running maybe 250 RPMS(didn't think they could run that long) and HUGE condensate cloud out exhaust shut it down-put in some BAR'S leak aluminum particle stuff i had at hand(in truck-old truck old person) run it-it started after cleaning out(must have had LOTS of coolant puddling in combustion chambers-hence the hard start) well after a few minutes-cloud is LESS starting better But it is still at least 3 qts down-so all total it was maybe 2 gallons low In hindsight 2-3 days earlier I NOTICED that the temp gauge was running a little higher before the STAT opens drop Normally I pop the hood and check the overflow tank-everyday when I arrive at work But it was dark- 635am- when I arrived so the last few days-didn't bother I checked the tank because 15 months ago I had "fixed" a manifold gasket leak to the outside-in front near wastewr pump with BARS leak black pellets stuff-worked great so like most failures it wasn't just one thing Just started it up-38 degrees -bitter cold by our standards after a few minutes LOTS of condensate-LOTS water-nice clear distilled water-coming out exhaust-some actually dripping so leak "not too fixed" in cold-much worse than post leak fix with hot engine and 55-60 degrees On the bright side-oil still clear-just the usual faint gas smell Oh well-another engine is probably in my future-the $2300 new crate engine-not the $4800 genuine GM drop in hot rod motor 383E(but it tempts me) One question-does the no oil leak no coolant in oil-make intake manifold leak more likely than head gasket leak or warp or crack? Perhaps I should get out compression gauge-yeah guess I will-guessing 150 psi is about right Charlie
While it is possible that the intake manifold is bad, it is more likely the head gasket. The powdered aluminum leak seal is the best... I've used it in a few vehicles over the years where there was a mystery leak we could never trace down, and it always works. At this point, I'd just monitor it. Replacing the head gasket on a high mileage motor doesn't make sense... Might as well just replace or rebuild the engine if you want to keep the vehicle, or just look for another $3000 beater truck. Only downside to another vehicle is you don't know what issues you're dealing with. If you repair your current truck, you know what you have, and you know what to expect from it.
08ESCAPE JAY Hey "Great minds" must think alike. Couple of hours ago I came to the same thought 96-99 5.7 Suburbans in the $1900 to $2500 range 150,000 to 240,000 miles All claiming the usual "runs good" and most claiming the AC works Frankly I'm a little surprised-$2000 for a running vehicle-with a functional AC tires that hold air easy and cheap to DIY repair- I expected with the low gas prices that suburban prices would be UP Perhaps that IS the case with 2008 on up but not the case in the ones -the 5.7-that I would look at I have some new 5.7 parts-and I'm somewhat familiar with their shortcomings( brakes aren't great intake manifold gaskets fail) and failing AFTER a clear episode of overheating-maybe an intake manifold gasket would fail from heating BUT heads cracking heads warping head gaskets failing after an episode of overheating-well seems a good bet Initially I used the BARS LEAK with the aluminum suspended in liquid-it seemed to greatly decrease the leak it was still leaking-some condensate in exhaust and the BARS LEAK aluminum stuff had a suggestion to use the BLOCK HEAD GASKET PERMANENT REPAIR if the aluminum stuff-didnt completely do the trick so I put it in the next day-yesterday-seems no better -but much colder today-35 degree low My plan it to run it gently-replace water(forget bothering with actual $14 gallon coolant) and drive it gently until it croaks or until I find water in oil while hunting for a cheap replacement 96-99 suburban there is a 2004 for $5900- 140,000 miles-but not so sure the 5.3 is more reliable mpg is better safety better brakes better-but 96-99 cheaper and easy to work on(heck $2300 for new OEM GMengine says it all) but I only drive it 2500 miles/yr(though I did drive it 1300 miles in the last 3 months-long term sub job 20.6 miles round trip-and over a MISSISSIPPI river bridge(climb maybe 300 feet) Thanks all Charlie PS Very adept mechanic buddy of mine suggests that I only screw the radiator cap on to the first "notch" so the system ISN'T pressurized -now that I figure the repair goo has done its best-I left it on in the hopes it would force more "gunk glue and particles" into the "holes" What do you guys think-loose radiator cap(hope it doesn't rattle off)
I got an old van for nothing one time. It had overheated BAD. I bought a can of this super dooper stuff for 'fixing' head gasket leaks. It was like $20-25 for the quart. Came in a green bottle I think. One of those 'guaranteed to work' things. You have to totally drain the coolant system or something. I ended up scrapping the van and never used it. I think I still have it. Have Friday off, I'll poke around the barn and post a pic if I still have it. If I do still have it, I'd be happy to send it to you if you want to try it. Too lazy , too dark and cold outside to go look right now
I've never used the liquid... I buy the stuff that looks like a test tube full of powdered aluminum. Have fun truck shopping... I love car and truck shopping, if you were closer I'd go truck shopping with you.
The Step Thanks for the offer-funny how you/me/all of us accumulate such things--you had better hang on to it-it might come in handy!! I had some of 08Escape's "aluminum powder"- but suspended in liquid - in the net pouch behind the driver's seat of the suburban(useful little storage place those net pouches) Not so luckily it worked "not bad" but not completely so I tried so "guaranteed" to fix head gasket stuff- the next day-didn't make the exhaust steam any better-but as it warmed up yesterday it seemed to improve 08Escape-yeah I like car shopping too-even under the gun shopping is fun Thanks all-hoping with the slight warm up today the steam will decrease Charlie
If you're extremely lucky, it might continue to improve. For example ... At about 476K miles, my Mazda suddenly started guzzling coolant and blowing it out the tailpipe. The problem was not that the head had warped, or that the head gasket failed, but that coolant passages in the aluminum head had eroded away badly near the head gasket. So much material was missing that the gasket was no longer clamped to the block between that coolant passage and a cylinder, thus the leak. To make a long saga short, I fixed it by replacing the head with a rebuilt one. When I eventually got it back together and started the engine, coolant resumed dripping and fogging out the tailpipe just as before---very discouraging, at first! However, further investigation revealed the level in the radiator hadn't dropped, and the cooling system seemed to hold pressure ok. The dripping was apparently just residual coolant that had been in the muffler, not fresh leakage. Gradually, it stopped. The replacement head went another 130K and 11 years before the same (or similar) problem came back.
Good news-the goo must have "fixed" the leak Yesterday I drove 20.7 miles-10 city 10 hy 55 mph- marked the coolant in the overflow tank-closely marked it Drove it-parked it this am-exactly the same level to within 1 mm- and checked radiator-it is at the usual cold level-couple of inches below top and I have a scan gauge gadget(copied this from a GM truck forum-they aren't as familiar with SG) that reads mpg gph water temp trip mpg and at 55 mph it read 22-24 mpg-(with CC on no P&G)dead on what it read before the problem and the last 16 miles averaged 19.2 mpg horrible for a normal car but about right 1998 suburban driven cautiously- for hy city (10 6) mix Anyway it is running well-no increase in idle RPMS the way it did when the leak was "not too bad" ( it was about 720 instead of 620)) compensating for the coolant induced miss I guess. With any sort of luck it will hold for "a while" and at 2500 miles per year-who knows. It will give me time to hunt up a "different suburban" noticed 2004 2005 for just $5900(asking) they are rated 13/17 14/18 I think vs my 12/17- the 2006 are "a lot" better 14/20 but they have oil consumption problems somehow related to the AFM cylinder shut off- Thanks for the help Charlie ps still whirring-but… one problem at a time
Glad it's fixed for now. At least you have a few weeks to find another vehicle before yours goes tits up as they say.
Al lucked out- hard to believe how effective those "seal leaks" products are even if they don't hold very long-still amazing it was literally "almost water-locked" very low rpms loads of coolant out pipe- obviously not fully locked-rod etc-would be bent broken- but there must have been many mls in some of the combustion chambers now NOTHING I have a good nose and up until 2 days ago-3 days after last sealant added-I could smell and SEE coolant in exhaust I could smell it-and see a faint reddish dexcool color in it Hey has GM ever solved the AFM cylinder shut off-oil consumption problems-2007 on 5.3 have it Well probably would stick with 1996-1999 so cheap and I trust the 5.7 and under the hood-easy to work on I did see a couple of 2004 2005 $5900 150,000 miles- 14/18 vs 12/17 EPA and better brakes the 2007 are much pricier $9000 and up the 96-99 are $2000 maybe $2500-amazed a running "car" is so cheap one easy to DIY with easy to find inexpensive parts one that it practically OWNERPROOF even ME PROOF Thanks again all Charlie PS Too bad you aren't an air rifle nut-Krale a netherlands gun shop-sells fancy German HW97 Weirauch(sic) FOR JUST $360 delivered in just 4.5 days-from across an ocean!!
Right It is miserable looking today- yesterday it was 80 degrees-no kidding 80 degrees-house ac on - today is overcast-maybe 70 degrees now 7:40 am- and it is Christmas but the plugs are 1st order of business actually I have 5-6 new ones I meant to install a year ago when MPG dropped because of a chewed up rotor Thanks again Merry Christmas happy holidays Charlie
