![]() The drain plug can also cause leaking, and if the cap that seals the radiator can no longer contain the pressurized coolant, it will leak or spray out from underneath. ![]() ![]() One common place of a coolant leak is the radiator pan gasket. The same holds true for your radiator’s gaskets and seals. As with the radiator, age is a primary factor in the development of radiator hose and tube leaks. Naturally, if any of these tubes or hoses develop leaks, the coolant will seep or flow out of them. There are a series of tubes and hoses that circulate the coolant through your vehicle’s engine. The leak might start small with pinholes in the bottom of the radiator only to increase as more corrosion eats away at the metal. The radiator is made of metal and corrodes over time. More common in older vehicles, the radiator itself can start to leak if the bottom has rusted out. Engine coolant will also leak outside of the head gasket and flow onto the ground. When this happens, coolant and motor oil can mix and cause catastrophic damage to your engine. Head Gasketĭamage that can cause your engine to overheat or can be caused by an overheating engine is a blown head gasket. Here are common locations from where engine coolant leaks. Don’t cause unnecessary and expensive repairs. ![]() It’s important to do this sooner rather than later because an engine that runs constantly hot gets damaged. Old coolant becomes acidic and its corrosion inhibitors degrade, leading to many problems that are expensive and easily avoidable.It’s obvious that an engine coolant leak will cause your automobile to overheat, but Stringer Auto Repair can find the source of the coolant leak and fix it. On the V-6 engines, it’s recommended that the fastening bolts also be replaced.Ī final thought: Regardless of the coolant type used or brand of vehicle, it’s a good idea to flush and renew engine coolant every three or four years, shortcutting the maintenance schedule. I’d insist on a highly experienced technician who uses the latest gasket design available and uses meticulous, correct practices for cleaning sealing surfaces, cleaning and sealing bolts and threads, and fastener torque/sequence. Renewing the intake gaskets requires removal of the intake manifold, distributor and air conditioning compressor. An external coolant leak might be Band-Aided for a while with use of a leak stop product such as AlumAseal or Bar’s Leaks, but keep a close eye on engine oil in case the leakage migrates. If it’s internal, with milky engine oil, the repair needs to be made immediately. You didn’t mention where the coolant was leaking to. GM released an improved intake manifold gasket design, and aftermarket/OEM gasket manufacturers such as Fel-Pro have improved design gaskets, but repeat problems can still occur. Some theorize controversial orange Dex-Cool coolant is the culprit, as the composition rubber intake gasket deteriorates where it is exposed to the coolant. Your particular engine uses fewer bolts securing the intake-to-head junction than in the past, possibly exacerbating sealing issues. Aluminum intake manifolds bolted to cast-iron cylinder heads have issues as well, as the two metals expand and contract at differing rates. Engines that employ plastic intake manifolds are subject to manifold cracking and gasket sealing problems. There are a variety of causes and theories of failure. Coolant leaking into the crankcase, or the internal engine cavity, is by far the worst of the bunch, as the diluted oil can’t provide proper lubrication to vital engine parts. It could also leak exhaust, externally or elsewhere. This kind of failure also can leak coolant externally - you would notice coolant loss and a sweet odor - or internally, creating milky oil that leads to engine failure. In a V-type engine, coolant, exhaust and incoming air and fuel are individually directed to or between the cylinder heads, and leakage of any of these can occur either internally or externally.Ī failed intake manifold or cylinder head gasket can leak air into the engine, which causes rough running, or crankcase vapors into the intake, which causes excessive oil consumption and fouled spark plugs. Any insight into this issue?Ī: Leaking intake manifold gaskets are a fairly common problem on several GM V-6 and V-8 engines built during the past two decades. I was shocked at the price quoted for the repair and am not sure I understand why there would be coolant in my intake manifold in the first place. Q: I was just informed the coolant leak in my GMC Yukon is from a leaking intake manifold gasket.
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