Chevy & GMC Vans

Well, pulled the doghouse and checked for leaks. Looks like its leaking somewhere on the passenger side behind the alternator and running down the head/valve cover to the back of the block and on down. Also noticed there is BLACK RTV Sealant that I used 5 years ago, might be a problem. I was told to use the gray this time. I also drained the oil and it is MILKY this time as you can see in the picture of the oil drainplug. I guess all this means Intake Gasket time. I put the radiator under pressure and more liquid came out the drain plug while under more pressure. It also came out the outside. I looked at all the heater hose connections and everything looked fine. I could also hear the water bubbling (making noise)while under the dash. Does it sound like I am on the right path? What are the odds that it is a head gasket? Nothing out of the exhaust. Thanks, Matt

It's intake gasket time... WooHoo.

you probably will even without me saying it but while you have the lower intake manifold off clean and inspect it for cracks that was the cause of my leak and it was pure dumb luck that i found the crack while cleaning it

Opened it up today and this is what I see. The cracked gasket is on the drivers side front. I do not want to use those plastic gaskets again if there is another option. Any Input?

i did mine not too long ago the fel pro ones i put on were mainly tin
http://fme-cat.com/PartDetailWindow.asp ... 098002%20T

Is there anything I should do while I am at this tonight. I am changing the thermostat and belt while I am at it. I will also be replacing the cap and rotor since they show alot of wear. Is there anything that I should do with with EGR setup while I have it off the vehicle. Thanks for the input.

Check your idler and tensioner. Other than some cleaning there isn't much to do with the EGR.

Van is all back together with the upgraded gaskets. I took off the valve covers and put on new gaskets. I also cleaned the inside of them since it was all bad oil/water mixture. I put about 20 miles on it and will be doing another radiator pressure test to see if there are any other leaks. I am planning on changing the oil filter at about 50 miles. I dont want to do any engine damage. I will be doing an oil change at about 100 miles. Then spreading the oil changes out. I have run Mobil 10/40 since this engine had 5000 miles on it. Right now I am running cheap 10/40 Proline regular oil with about a half a quart of tranny fluid to do some cleaning out of the gunk. I will switch back to the Mobil 1 after a few changes. It would just be too expensive of an oil change to just clean the engine. Thanks for all the input and I will keep updating as I hopefully have figured it out. Any other Input from anyone about my plan for the oil changes? Anyone use tranny fluid in the oil? Thanks

Nope. But I think your 10-40 oil is too thick. Especially in the winter.

I wouldn't put 10w-40 in a brand new motor, but an eight year old engine with 75k's will be ok.
Myself, I prefer synthetic lubricants. Once things are broken in I use synthetic lube in all my vehicles and heavy equipment.
After 60,000+ hours of seat time in heavy equipment and driving for over 33 years I have never had an oil related failure of any kind, ever.

Peter

The only reason I use 10/40 is because I live in Florida. I will be switching back to synthetic after a few changes.

Florida or Washington, your engine runs at the same temperature.

The EGR has a screen gasket from the help section in your local parts store the keeps carbon from getting in there.Might want to consider changing to that.

I looked at the EGR setup and took it off the manifold and it looked ok. Its already back together and hopefully its done.

Changed the oil filter today after 35 miles and it looked clean as can be, no visible signs of any water or sludge at all. Going to put 100-200 miles on it and change the oil. The oil looked a little red in color due to the tranny fluid being mixed in but really clean. I took the valve covers off when I did the fix and cleaned the inside of them out. The drivers side was much worse than the passenger side. There was just a little bit of the "vasoline" looking oil/water mix on the passenger side. Ill keep updating!