engine coolant is black, dripping from the back of engine

[Ragged97]

truck is a 1997, 4.3l, automatic, 167,xxx miles.
engine coolant is black, looks like oily muddy water.
something is dripping from the the back of the engine.
the radiator is 6 months old. and so was the coolant.

I just noticed it tonight, and it's dark outside, so it's hard to see exactly
where the drip is coming from. looking at the top of the engine I cannot see anything wet, but underneath it's soaked. I checked my oil and it looks ok, no water in it.

could this be a blown head gasket or worse a cracked head.
Ill try and look at it in the morning, but as of now this dosent seem good.

[sam336]

check your intake manifold gaskets. then if you dont get anything, then check the head gaskets.

[91sonomast]

when you replaced the radiator, did you get the oil cooler lines tight? how is your oil level? low? the oil cooler could have cracked inside the radiator side tank or the gasket between the cooler and sidetank could be leaking and is spitting oil into your coolant. Seen that happen before, more common with transmission coolers, but have seen a few oil coolers do it too.

[Ragged97]

Quote: Originally Posted by 91sonomast

when you replaced the radiator, did you get the oil cooler lines tight? how is your oil level? low? the oil cooler could have cracked inside the radiator side tank or the gasket between the cooler and sidetank could be leaking and is spitting oil into your coolant. Seen that happen before, more common with transmission coolers, but have seen a few oil coolers do it too.

* yes, all lines were nice and tight. it has run fine.
*oil level on dipstick was full, and looked clean. didnt see any indication of water in the oil

I got it to a shop today. so far he thinks it's not an engine problem. he's leaning more towards radiator/water pump causing the problem. won't know
until he gets it up in the air tomorrow. I will update when I hear from my mechanic.

[Ragged97]

well, my mechanic pressure tested the truck and found no leaks in the intake gasket or head gasket. turns out the water pump was leaking and it was running down the back. he took off the thermostat and flushed the whole thing till it was nice and clear.

put on a new water pump, a new thermostat o ring, and filled it back up with fresh Dexcool.

the only thing now is that my tempature gauge is showing it running hotter than what it ran before with this new water pump. it was always between the 100, and 210 marks. Now its up at 210, why would that be?

[TommyRocket]

Maybe you have an air bubble in your system.

[Ragged97]

Quote: Originally Posted by TommyRocket

Maybe you have an air bubble in your system.

nope. no air pockets. seems to be running pretty good. just a little warmer
with the new water pump.

[SH-60B]

He put in a new thermostat and neglected to tell you. If I took out a t-stat to flush & fill, I wouldn't put the old one back in.

[elliot98SS]

He put in a hotter t-stat...went from a 170 to a 190.

I wont even start with my opinions on Dexcool.

[CatDaddy52]

Quote: Originally Posted by SH-60B

He put in a new thermostat and neglected to tell you. If I took out a t-stat to flush & fill, I wouldn't put the old one back in.

werd! That temp looks about right....running too cool is not good.

[01cherryreds10]

Quote: Originally Posted by elliot98SS

He put in a hotter t-stat...went from a 170 to a 190.

I wont even start with my opinions on Dexcool.

Dexcool is perfectly fine as long as proper maintenance and repair is performed.

[elliot98SS]

LOL keep thinking that. Don't call me when you need your vehicle towed.

[bubbagt57]

Quote: Originally Posted by elliot98SS

LOL keep thinking that. Don't call me when you need your vehicle towed.

I don't think he would as he resides in Illinois.

[01cherryreds10]

Towed for what? What can a proper cooling system do to make it so that I have to be "towed". I feel that I shouldn't even explain the reasons why Dexcool is not as bad as people think. But mainly it's because they see the 5 year life expectancy and don't do a damn thing after 5 years. The main killer of Dexcool systems is air getting inside and causing things to start to corode.

[Fannatick]

If maintained properly, Dexcool shouldn't cause problems.

[SH-60B]

Quote: Originally Posted by 01cherryreds10

Towed for what? What can a proper cooling system do to make it so that I have to be "towed". I feel that I shouldn't even explain the reasons why Dexcool is not as bad as people think. But mainly it's because they see the 5 year life expectancy and don't do a damn thing after 5 years. The main killer of Dexcool systems is air getting inside and causing things to start to corode.

I leave the regular green stuff in there for 5 damn years and don't do a damn thing for 5 years and I don't have any damn problems, damn it! Seriously, lose the dexsludge before you regret it. I got it out of my '97 before it could do any damage.

[01cherryreds10]

Why would I go through all the trouble of completely flushing the system, when I properly maintain every vehicle's cooling system in the family, and for over 8 different GM vehicles, not one has had a problem (minus an S10 heater core, but what else is new).

[SH-60B]

So you don't have to "properly maintain" everyone elses car for them, all 8 of them and still not have a problem, "not one". You live on a commune?

[01cherryreds10]

You act like every vehicle that has ever used Dexcool has needed a waterpump, a heater core, a radiator, and cylinder heads. Seriously? Sometimes people need to realize that you need to maintain a car so it doesn't turn into a steaming pile of shit. Obviously, GM would stop putting Dexcool in cars if it was a problem in every single vehicle they built

When you maintain a vehicle, chances are less likely to have a problem. It's common sense. Every car in the family minus 2 use Dexcool, and both of those two were built before 95' when it was first introduced. And nope, none have had a problem. So please inform me, what is YOUR problem with Dexcool? You just told me that you don't service your green antifreeze for 5 years, so obviously the problem you had with Dexcool was self inflicted. Any other questions for me?

[SH-60B]

OK,...... so it's not a commune. Under a rock? Must be if you're ignornant of Dex-cool problems . You act like there wasn't a class-action lawsuit involving GM over dexcool. Are you hiding Osama Bin Laden?

[stockchevy1983]

i never had a problem with dexcool, even after i replaced my intake manifold gaskets i still put dexcool in. always maintained my cars and never had an issue.

[01cherryreds10]

So wait, 4 engines that have common Dexcool issues mean it's all complete crap huh? Engines involved, 3.1, 3.4, 3.8, and 4.3. So what about the numerous other engines offered by GM that have also used Dexcool? Did they have a special blend of it? Or oh wait! Pick me! *Raises hand* Maybe it was a poor intake design with the 4 engines? Nahhh. Couldn't be. You should be able to run your car for 80k miles without having it inspected or hell taking a look or smell underneath the hood incase something does happen. People have reported Dexcool being the reason why Northstar engines suck too, but in reality, the engine is too stupid to realize that the engine coolant is too hot, or there is not enough coolant to cool the engine, and it just keeps on chugging. Out of the 8 vehicles in the family, one has a 3.4, two have a 4.3, we used to own a 3.8, and my sister currently does own a 3.8. Since there is a KNOWN BULLETIN on the 3.8, we did the one on my sister's vehicle, at around 40k. After 40k more miles, the upper intake is bone dry and there is no coolant in the oil. Oh yeah, hah, almost forgot. IT HAS DEXCOOL IN THE COOLING SYSTEM. Incase your too oblivious to the fact that GM has addressed this issue with a revised intake gasket and intake manifold for certain years, well, they have. Ask anyone who has ever done an intake on a 3.8 liter and ask them if putting green antifreeze would have made it not leak Oh jeez, forgot to tell you. Today at work, inspecting a coolant leak on a 06' Silverado, RCSB, with a 4.3L V6, the intake was leaking. I'll give you two guesses as to what color the coolant was. *Hint* it's not orange.

[01cherryreds10]

And also, there is another bulletin on Dexcool based systems where the properly maintained cooling systems should be filled to the "HOT" line at cold engine temperatures. As well as having a 50-50 mix with distilled water. Impurities in well water which more than 80% of people use with Dexcool, can cause issues. Air+antifreeze+non-distilled water=corrosion.

[SH-60B]

Quote: Originally Posted by 01cherryreds10

So wait, 4 engines that have common Dexcool issues mean it's all complete crap huh? Engines involved, 3.1, 3.4, 3.8, and 4.3. So what about the numerous other engines offered by GM that have also used Dexcool? Did they have a special blend of it? Or oh wait! Pick me! *Raises hand* Maybe it was a poor intake design with the 4 engines? Nahhh. Couldn't be. You should be able to run your car for 80k miles without having it inspected or hell taking a look or smell underneath the hood incase something does happen. People have reported Dexcool being the reason why Northstar engines suck too, but in reality, the engine is too stupid to realize that the engine coolant is too hot, or there is not enough coolant to cool the engine, and it just keeps on chugging. Out of the 8 vehicles in the family, one has a 3.4, two have a 4.3, we used to own a 3.8, and my sister currently does own a 3.8. Since there is a KNOWN BULLETIN on the 3.8, we did the one on my sister's vehicle, at around 40k. After 40k more miles, the upper intake is bone dry and there is no coolant in the oil. Oh yeah, hah, almost forgot. IT HAS DEXCOOL IN THE COOLING SYSTEM. Incase your too oblivious to the fact that GM has addressed this issue with a revised intake gasket and intake manifold for certain years, well, they have. Ask anyone who has ever done an intake on a 3.8 liter and ask them if putting green antifreeze would have made it not leak Oh jeez, forgot to tell you. Today at work, inspecting a coolant leak on a 06' Silverado, RCSB, with a 4.3L V6, the intake was leaking. I'll give you two guesses as to what color the coolant was. *Hint* it's not orange.

GMs complete v6 lineup for ten model years? = millions of engines, sounds pretty "numerous" to me. I'm not talking about leaks, so don't even try to change the subject, I guess I have to spell it out, I'm talking about S-L-U-D-G-E. If the green coolant was used in the engines that got gunked they wouldn't have gotten gunked, now would they? I've never discovered sludge in a poorly maintained cooling system that had the green coolant in it, but saved my '97 in time before it's arteries got clogged by Dex, detergent in the flush seemed to do the trick. Dexcool is crap. Shitty gaskets didn't sludge those motors, Dexcool did.

[01cherryreds10]

GM even produced a video stating the proper methods of maintaining a Dexcool system. And as I said it earlier in this thread, post 23...

Quote:

And also, there is another bulletin on Dexcool based systems where the properly maintained cooling systems should be filled to the "HOT" line at cold engine temperatures. As well as having a 50-50 mix with distilled water. Impurities in well water which more than 80% of people use with Dexcool, can cause issues. Air+antifreeze+non-distilled water=corrosion.

I've seen cars that have been using Dexcool for 10 years without sludge, and some for 2 years with sludge. Dexcool, yes, has the potential to corrode more/worse than conventional. If you do not follow manufacturer instructions, it will not work correctly. I really don't think you're going to win an arguement over Dexcool considering it is still being used in 2010 GM vehicles...

[SH-60B]

Then why not ditch it and not even have to worry.

[01cherryreds10]

Because there's nothing wrong with the coolant, just dumbasses who don't know or don't understand how to maintain it

[SH-60B]

Quote: Originally Posted by 01cherryreds10

GM even produced a video stating the proper methods of maintaining a Dexcool system. And as I said it earlier in this thread, post 23...



I've seen cars that have been using Dexcool for 10 years without sludge, and some for 2 years with sludge. Dexcool, yes, has the potential to corrode more/worse than conventional. If you do not follow manufacturer instructions, it will not work correctly. I really don't think you're going to win an arguement over Dexcool considering it is still being used in 2010 GM vehicles...

NONE of the 2010 models have the engines you listed, you have no valid point.

[01cherryreds10]

You're arguement is that Dexcool sucks. Mine is that it's the owner that sucks and would rather use Dexcool as a scapegoat instead of taking the blame on themselves. Obviously, GM agrees considering it's in every vehicle from the 2010 line up. So therefore, my point has been made.

We can keep bickering back and forth like 13 year old girls about which Jonas brother is the hottest if that's what you want to do. You're going to need a few more facts about why only those certain engines have failed, even though the same blend has been used for over 14 years, yet gaskets have had updated part numbers....

[lesterl]

Quote: Originally Posted by SH-60B

NONE of the 2010 models have the engines you listed, you have no valid point.

Maybe GM realized the engines you guys are arguing about were junk and ditched them, since they kept the coolant I would have to agree with Cherryred and say that the coolant was NOT the problem, but poor engine design (I have owned Many of the other GM engines with the dexcool, the only one I had issues with was my 96 sierra and it had an intake gasket failure introducing air into the system (and coolant to other areas.))

[01cherryreds10]

Which came equipped with either a 4.3 or 5.7, both of which had plastic upper intakes and were known to leak.

[lesterl]

It had a 350.

[serpentracer]

Quote: Originally Posted by Ragged97

well, my mechanic pressure tested the truck and found no leaks in the intake gasket or head gasket. turns out the water pump was leaking and it was running down the back. he took off the thermostat and flushed the whole thing till it was nice and clear.

put on a new water pump, a new thermostat o ring, and filled it back up with fresh Dexcool.

the only thing now is that my tempature gauge is showing it running hotter than what it ran before with this new water pump. it was always between the 100, and 210 marks. Now its up at 210, why would that be?

where it's at now is where mine has always ran since the day I drove it home.

[serpentracer]

Quote: Originally Posted by 01cherryreds10

GM even produced a video stating the proper methods of maintaining a Dexcool system. And as I said it earlier in this thread, post 23...



I've seen cars that have been using Dexcool for 10 years without sludge, and some for 2 years with sludge. Dexcool, yes, has the potential to corrode more/worse than conventional. If you do not follow manufacturer instructions, it will not work correctly. I really don't think you're going to win an arguement over Dexcool considering it is still being used in 2010 GM vehicles...

gm lost a class action lawsuit. they were ordered to pay for all repairs to cooling systems including intake gaskets.
they're just stubborn.

http://www.dexcoolsettlement.com/

[sexysonomaowner08]

Quote!
the only thing now is that my tempature gauge is showing it running hotter than what it ran before with this new water pump. it was always between the 100, and 210 marks. Now its up at 210, why would that be?



I had that same thing happen to my 93 noma when I changed the water pump, apparently its pretty common and normal, but maybe you should just put in a new thermo that is made to run cooler. Next thing I am going to do is install a new radiator, flush the system, and run electric fans so I can take of that dam clutch fan. Thats the best way to run cooler..haha

[Bill Wheats]

Quote: Originally Posted by 01cherryreds10

Because there's nothing wrong with the coolant, just dumbasses who don't know or don't understand how to maintain it

The true reason that they still sell Dexcool even after the lawsuit was settled is because they know it will make it through the warranty period and they need to sell engine parts. Feel free to use it. Thank you. The economy needs you to replace your vehicle early.