I am frustrated to say the least, the wifes truck is losing maybe 1 quart of coolant every 2 to 3 weeks. I cannot pin point where it is going...I put the black light dye in the radiator and see nothing. I sent in a oil sample to blackstone and they said no coolant in the oil and I get zero smoke out the tail pipe...Where is it going?
2000 Bravada, never had Dexcool in it's life, the original owner switched that crap out as soon as he bought it, we are the second owner.
I took it to the dealer and they pressure checked the system and it held 15psi for over an hour.
It is losing so little that it is impossible to track down where it is going. I suspect headgasket even though there is no coolant in the oil. Water pump went bad a few months ago and the wife ran it up to 3/4 the way on the temp gauge and I am thinking she fried a headgasket?
Oh well if I need to replace headgasket it is time to ad some power with a cam and marine intake! Guess I will deck the heads also just to make sure they are true...I dont think I have a cracked head but I might get them magnafluxed just to be sure before decking them.
Any other suggestions on where the coolant could be going or what to check? Or a way to for sure find the leak?
possibly heater core?
Quote from: 73chevytruck on February 08, 2011, 12:27:55 AM
possibly heater core?
and heater cores are a byTch to do in them bravadas and blazers............. if oyu need any help or information on how to get it out pm me and ask me... ive cone prolly 10 of them... there not fun
Quote from: 73chevytruck on February 08, 2011, 12:27:55 AM
possibly heater core?
Nope that is dry as a bone and I smell absolutely no coolant.
Quote from: Disturban on February 08, 2011, 12:38:03 AM
Quote from: 73chevytruck on February 08, 2011, 12:27:55 AM
possibly heater core?
Nope that is dry as a bone and I smell absolutely no coolant.
Yep I already took it all apart to check it...fun fun job, took me about 6 hours, a lot of cussing and swearing, a lot of bear and a lot of tools thrown across the garage ==roll
I would have thrown a new heater core in it however the heat is fantastic so I know there is no blockage and everything looked like brand new.
Seen zero moisture when I got everything apart!
does it pass through the overflow line to the ground after ya run it a while and shut it off? had a car do that to me before, took weeks to figure it out wouldn't run hot or anythign but everyonce in a while if i ran it for a while and shut it off it would fill hte over flow and then over flow that onto the dirt, just an idea man
check the trans. i had an internal trans cooler on a jimmy that went bad and was loosing coolant. pulled the trans cooler hose off and had collant come out of the hose.
Quote from: doughchvy1 on February 08, 2011, 10:29:19 AM
check the trans. i had an internal trans cooler on a jimmy that went bad and was loosing coolant. pulled the trans cooler hose off and had collant come out of the hose.
Tranns fluid level is right on the full mark, I would imagine if it was leaking inside the radiator into the tranny cooler the fluid level would be past the full mark by now?
I guess that is possible though, I have dye in the coolant so I will pull the dipstick tonight when it gets dark and shine a black light on it, if any coolant is in the tranny fluid it will light up like a Christmas tree.
It is not overflowing the reservoir, brand new radiator cap.
intake gasket ??? see alot of it at work a=f
Have you pulled0all the plugs to see if there are any signs of coolant burning
Quote from: MR NASTY on February 08, 2011, 02:08:24 PM
Have you pulled0all the plugs to see if there are any signs of coolant burning
Have not got that far yet but I see zero smoke coming from tail pipe.
That's seems Like a small amount you probably won't
My truck has the same problem, I found it to be a head gasket. Still haven't fixed it and I have put 5000 miles on it or more still no problems just add coolant every couple weeks
Quote from: MR NASTY on February 08, 2011, 02:08:24 PM
Have you pulled0all the plugs to see if there are any signs of coolant burning
x2 also could the reservoir have a pin hole in it or otherwise be leakin somehow? Are you POSITIVE the RADIATOR coolant level is low, or are you just going by what you can see in the reservoir? Might be good idea to check coolant level in the radiator when its cold. Also maybe a pinhole in a hose spraying onto the ground or exhaust to where you wouldnt readily notice it??
If you pull heads for mill, be best to have them gone all the way through, saves a whole bunch of aggravation n fartin around later which for me has a funny way of endin up bein SOONER, lmao... I never put heads on anything without maggin first. Worked in the machine shops for years and youd be surprised, lots of them were "runnin good" but actually cracked!
Quote from: old school truck dude on February 09, 2011, 02:20:46 AM
Quote from: MR NASTY on February 08, 2011, 02:08:24 PM
Have you pulled0all the plugs to see if there are any signs of coolant burning
x2 also could the reservoir have a pin hole in it or otherwise be leakin somehow? Are you POSITIVE the RADIATOR coolant level is low, or are you just going by what you can see in the reservoir? Might be good idea to check coolant level in the radiator when its cold. Also maybe a pinhole in a hose spraying onto the ground or exhaust to where you wouldnt readily notice it??
If you pull heads for mill, be best to have them gone all the way through, saves a whole bunch of aggravation n fartin around later which for me has a funny way of endin up bein SOONER, lmao... I never put heads on anything without maggin first. Worked in the machine shops for years and youd be surprised, lots of them were "runnin good" but actually cracked!
Yeah I fill reservoir to the full mark as well as top off radiator...2 weeks the reservoir is empty and the radiator is still full. If I go 3 weeks the reservoir is empty and I have to add some to the radiator as well.
I will mag the heads for sure thats a givin just for the fact that my coolant loss could be because of a cracked head...I got some money to play with so I am going to hop it up a bit with better cam, marine intake, 24lb injectors and a tune. Should get me close to the magical 1hp per CID.
With the marine intake it will have real fuel injectors that I can change to 30lb injectors in the future if I can get a deal on a Supercharger. I would love to have a 350-400hp Bravada nobody would ever suspect that p00 at a red light ==roll
Sounds nice. I plan getting around 400hp from my 318 once it hits 150k or so. Only at 88k now though. :P
Quote from: mrcompton on February 10, 2011, 09:17:30 PM
Sounds nice. I plan getting around 400hp from my 318 once it hits 150k or so. Only at 88k now though. :P
This motor has 145k on it right now but has had a steady diet of Mobil 1 for the first 80k changed every 10k and we have used nothing but Amsoil SSO since we bought it changed every 20k. Used oil analysis shows very little wear and it goes through about 1 quart of oil in 20,000 miles so the bottom end is in pretty good shape.
The supercharger I am looking at for it is a wynjammer they only put out 6psi I think this motor would be just fine? With a cam, marine intake, upgrade fuel injectors and a tune and exhaust 250-260 hp is in reason, add 6psi bigger injectors and different tune should put me in the 320-340hp range, I did not just pull these numbers out of my ass I have been doing some serious homework over at S10 forums.
I would love to do a V8 swap and call it a day but the 1998-2001 Bravada's have a much more complex 4x4 system than previous Bravadas and it would be a nightmare to try and program a hybrid computer system to run both a V8 and the Smartrak...there is an option though of a 5.3 in a Chevy truck that has a computer to do this but it's just way to much work.
Found the problem....intake manifold gasket for sure! Just needed to drive around more until it started leaking more, now it is going through a gallon every week and I can see where it is leaking...easy fix, better than a head gasket ;D
Quote from: Disturban on February 14, 2011, 12:44:05 AM
Found the problem....intake manifold gasket for sure! Just needed to drive around more until it started leaking more, now it is going through a gallon every week and I can see where it is leaking...easy fix, better than a head gasket ;D
yup intake gasket is only half the work! glad you found it! Those can be a bear because it pools up and burns off before it gets the chance to hit the ground usually.
Well I guess it is not going to be a real easy fix because if I have to take the intake off I am doing everything right now, Marine intake, re-wire fuel injectors, cam, lifters, roller rockers. I would just be one step away from head gaskets...I might do them anyway and deck the heads a little to bump compression, should keep me busy for a while. Taxes should be here any day then it is time to get parts...I think I will start taking it all apart tomorrow.
Disturban. How much do you know about building motors? I'd like to get around an 85 Chevy 4x4 this summer and would like to get around 400hp out of a SMC 350. Just enough to really spin some 33s or 35s.
Quote from: mrcompton on February 14, 2011, 12:18:45 PM
Disturban. How much do you know about building motors? I'd like to get around an 85 Chevy 4x4 this summer and would like to get around 400hp out of a SMC 350. Just enough to really spin some 33s or 35s.
I know a little something...400hp is not going to have a lot of bottom end torque though and if you plan on doing anything other than 6500rpm's in mud pits you would probably be better off installing a LX series motor, 6 liter LX is a torque monster, the LQ9 motor has 345 hp at 5200 rpm and 380 lb ft of torque at 4000 rpm right from the get go...a few easy mods would get you your 400hp and not sacrifice bottom end performance...for real the LX series is the way to go now days.
You could probably get a complete motor with computer and harness for $1500 at a local junk yard. You just cant beat that...try building a 345hp motor for $1500, they also make all kinds of adapters to bolt them to just about any kind of transmission made, complete kits to drop them in older Chevy's ect. If I had the money, time and know how I would drop an all aluminum 5.3 or a LS1 in the Bravada and call it a day but getting it to work with my AWD system would be a nightmare.
PS...If you decide to build a motor though remember this, Torque wins races, Horse power sells parts!
Disturban, my fathers got a 350 thats running extremely well in his 70s Chevy C1500, he smashed it into a pole and bent the frame so I have a donor motor already. What do you think of using ford 300 as a base motor? Idc whether it's Chevy/Ford/Dodge just looking at whats going to last and get the job done with as little $$$ possible. I know the 300s have really low-end torque and I personally know of a guy that has put 500k on 3 of these motors leading me to believe it's one of the best stock motors ever made, also one of the reasons they don't make inline 6s anymore haha. Idk about getting power out of the 300 though.
300 six will last forever but dont plan on spinning 35's ==roll
If money is tight buy a 88-92 chevy 3/4 ton with a 454tbi, throw a cam in it, computer chip and some headers and good exhaust, put your 35's on it and call it a day. $2000 total out the door, $3000-$4000 with a nice body.
I have learned someone else's loss is your gain...you can usually buy something that is already done much cheaper than you can build it...for example
http://grandrapids.craigslist.org/cto/2203638851.html (http://grandrapids.craigslist.org/cto/2203638851.html)
Quote from: Disturban on February 14, 2011, 04:01:33 PM
I have learned someone else's loss is your gain...you can usually buy something that is already done much cheaper than you can build it...for example
http://grandrapids.craigslist.org/cto/2203638851.html (http://grandrapids.craigslist.org/cto/2203638851.html)
Wow I really need to get some $$$ in the bank. Thats exactly what I want.
Quote from: Disturban on February 14, 2011, 04:01:33 PM
I have learned someone else's loss is your gain...you can usually buy something that is already done much cheaper than you can build it...for example
http://grandrapids.craigslist.org/cto/2203638851.html (http://grandrapids.craigslist.org/cto/2203638851.html)
thats dr. feelgoods truck, listed on here!
Quote from: marshall on February 14, 2011, 04:07:34 PM
Quote from: Disturban on February 14, 2011, 04:01:33 PM
I have learned someone else's loss is your gain...you can usually buy something that is already done much cheaper than you can build it...for example
http://grandrapids.craigslist.org/cto/2203638851.html (http://grandrapids.craigslist.org/cto/2203638851.html)
thats dr. feelgoods truck, listed on here!
Probably get it for $2500?
Not knocking anyones stuff but if you build it yourself of have it built you know everything about that motor and how it was treated. And I have to ask. He stated 400hp will not have a lot of low end torque. Just what are you basing that on.
Quote from: MR NASTY on February 14, 2011, 11:29:04 PM
Not knocking anyones stuff but if you build it yourself of have it built you know everything about that motor and how it was treated. And I have to ask. He stated 400hp will not have a lot of low end torque. Just what are you basing that on.
I am not saying it will be totally lazy on the bottom end but usually to get 400 or more hp out of a 350 SB you are using a pretty aggressive cam that lacks bottom end...compare it to a 400hp LSX series motor. 383 stroker or 400/406 would be a lot easier to get 400hp and still have great bottom end TQ.
My Trans Am 355sbc was dynoed at 425hp but the torque bellow 2000rpm was kinda lazy, actually less that a stock 350, hence why I used a 2500 stall converter.
There are pros and cons to building it yourself, yes you know whats in there but if you buy something that is almost complete and has all the good stuff, dana60 front, 14bolt rear, 205 t-case, ect you can pick it up cheaper than you could building it yourself. Then you could upgrade the motor or other parts from there.