It never ends!! Every problem gets worse ans worse

OK Im at a loss for words. Today I attempted to fix the leak in cooling system. heres what happened. this fitting had a hose attatched, the antifreeze I thought was coming from the fitting. I unscrewed said fitting cleaned it very good cleaned hole from wich it was screwed. Applied thread sealer and teflon tape. Screwed it back on waited a while for sealer to set. Took the Blazer out for a testdrive. Returned home opened hood. Boom it was spitting hot fluid . Poured some dish soap in general area found leak(area were most Bubbles appeared). disassembled shit to get to leak no LEAK???? no hole no crack. BUT!!!!! In between the valve cover and the engine underneathe the fitting seems as tho a gasket maybe deteriorated. But is there any path for water/coolant in that area that might cause this problem?? IM puzzled. any help would be Cool. I have more pics if needed. the red section boxed off is where i think the bad gasket is.
http://img297.imageshack.us/img297/7051/clipboard017bf.jpg

OK Im at a loss for words. Today I attempted to fix the leak in cooling system. heres what happened. this fitting had a hose attatched, the antifreeze I thought was coming from the fitting. I unscrewed said fitting cleaned it very good cleaned hole from wich it was screwed. Applied thread sealer and teflon tape. Screwed it back on waited a while for sealer to set. Took the Blazer out for a testdrive. Returned home opened hood. Boom it was spitting hot fluid . Poured some dish soap in general area found leak(area were most Bubbles appeared). disassembled shit to get to leak no LEAK???? no hole no crack. BUT!!!!! In between the valve cover and the engine underneathe the fitting seems as tho a gasket maybe deteriorated. But is there any path for water/coolant in that area that might cause this problem?? IM puzzled. any help would be Cool. I have more pics if needed. the red section boxed off is where i think the bad gasket is.
http://img297.imageshack.us/img297/7051/clipboard017bf.jpg
A close up
http://img440.imageshack.us/img440/7992/2nd14ci.jpg
Heres the other side. Does it look different??
http://img440.imageshack.us/img440/6615/otherside5ob.jpg

Thats your lower intake gasket. Went through the same thing on my 96. Also mine was leaking in the very same place as yours. You need to get it fixed ASAP because soon after mine started leaking it also blew to the inside of the crankcase causing antifreeze to go into the oil galleys. This is not good at all for bearings and such when this happens.

The parts to fix it are not all that expensive but there is a lot of labor involved. I had mine replaced at a GM dealer for a price tag in the 500.00 range. However that also included towing and flushing the engine, new antifreeze, and an oil change and filter.


*EDIT - Also this is most likely what caused your hard start/no start problem from the water spray getting onto the coil and such.

Thanks for the info dude. Very helpful. I've decided to fix it and sell it. too much god damned trouble 4 me. i used to love this truck n0w i've learned to hate it!! might even just beat the shit out of it and junk it. I am that disappointed with this sittuation. but i'll get over it. tomarrow ill go out and me and her(The Blazer) will kiss and make up. lol

Hang in there GirlBear !

Don't go selling that truck for a intake manifold gasket! You've been reading these forums enough to know that its a very common problem. I just had mine done on my 97.

I've seen you post photos of you workin on the suspension. If you can do that, you can do a intake gasket. Just get a manual, take your time, and don't drop anything in!

Once you fix it, you'll love your ride again!

fix that gasket, flush her good, and change that oil ! You can do it!

kiss and make up with your Blazer!

Thanks for the info dude. Very helpful. I've decided to fix it and sell it. too much god damned trouble 4 me. i used to love this truck n0w i've learned to hate it!! might even just beat the shit out of it and junk it. I am that disappointed with this sittuation. but i'll get over it. tomarrow ill go out and me and her(The Blazer) will kiss and make up. lol

Hang in there GirlBear !

Don't go selling that truck for a intake manifold gasket! You've been reading these forums enough to know that its a very common problem. I just had mine done on my 97.

I've seen you post photos of you workin on the suspension. If you can do that, you can do a intake gasket. Just get a manual, take your time, and don't drop anything in!

Once you fix it, you'll love your ride again!

fix that gasket, flush her good, and change that oil ! You can do it!

kiss and make up with your Blazer!
Yeah , I know. I just won't have the $$$ to fix it until after Christmas. Its just a tiny pin hole too. thinkin' bout patchin the problem til i can afford to have it done.

One way to buy some time may be to tighten up the bolts on the intake. That may stop the leak for awhile. Just be very sure you check the oil for antifreeze and note any excess antifreeze use to make sure its not getting dumped into the oil. The minute that antifreeze gets into that oil it is doing damage to the engine.

There are some products out on the market that claim to fix these sort of leaks. I need to not recommend their use, but in a have to situation they may buy you some time. If you do use these products when you do have the new gasket put on be sure to do a super fulsh to the cooling system. Also might be a good idea to complete block off the heater core when using the leak seal products. That stuff can really help clog up a heater core.

^sorry to tell ya but there is no time buying, if you cant fix it park it or you will buy a crate moter for it... the intake manifold gasket on most (if not all) gm vehicals from 96 till this year were a piece of plastic with a piece of rubber glued on to it, literally, no exaggeration, your plastic gasket has started to crack, and you are lucky beleve it or not, its a 50 50 toss up, half will start to leak out, the person will notice it and get it fixed (this is you, lucky) the other 50% crack towards the inside, mix antifreeze in the oil through the vally, then when intake washes down, one or more cyl. fill up and you will hydrostaticly lock the moter (hydro lock) and most likely have messed the bearings up and be better off with a new crate moter over a "simple" intake, the shop i work at gets about 400 bucks for the job, parts are just under 100 bucks, but there is that much labor involved in the job, so take your time and make sure you know what your doing

Aloha Girlbear, drdd is right . You shouldn't just get rid of your car because of a intake gasket. With all the work you've done. I say fix it don't sell it.

Where did the picture of your smiling face go? And you laying under the front end . I miss that . I had to change my intake manifold a couple of months ago because of a leak in the same place . When I started removing the bolts in that area , they were already loose . I am proud of you . I could not get that heater hose fitting off the intake manifold on mine . If you decide to tackle it , drain the oil afterward since a lot of coolant will spill into it . Rob

Yeah.... I wouldn't throw away a truck over a 10 dollar gasket.... :)

Get her fixed GirlBear, This would also be a great time for you to make a "How To with photos" on this matter and help thousands of blazer owners out. What do ya say GirlBear, you can do this, and you know it.

:sadwavey:

Yes, a photo how to post would be a very good thing on this common problem. It would have come in very handy when my intake gasket went out, but I really didn't have the time to fix it myself anyways. Although it would have saved me around 450.00 if I did.

* Edit - What the heck is that in your avatar and sig photo girlbear?

Well I've decided to do it. My Mom & Dad are gonna lend me the money and their garage. Gonna do it Wednesday. Seems like an awfully big job tho. Kind lookin forward to getting started. Thinkin about tearing it apart tonight and tomarrow night in preperation. Should I take my hood off for easier access? Kind of doin this blind . I mean can anyone lay out a plan of disassembly . or what ever? i'll probably post a bunch o times as i get more anxious. O and I found these pics of engine sans intake maifold.
Pretty sure they are different engines they have different valve covers. heres the 1st one:
http://img36.imageshack.us/img36/6809/001a9us.jpg
Heres #2:
http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/5120/001b4js.jpg
Or is this just a pic of the front and one from back?

GirlBear, The hood should come off. It will make it so easy to work on your intake gasket. I don't have any real set procedure to tell you, except. following your motor manual step by step should take you through this with flying colors. What I've done in the past is as I take apart the engine. I place the parts with the bolts and nuts together and line them up in the order you take them off. Then to reasumble, you just need to go in reverse. Hop that helps.

Don't take the hoodoff... No need to.., just makes more work for yourself.

I agree with Rlith ... no need to remove the hood.

take your time! label all hoses, wires, nuts and bolts. take photos as you go. Use the proper tools so you don't strip something or break something unnecessarily ..

post if you need us!




Well I've decided to do it. My Mom & Dad are gonna lend me the money and their garage. Gonna do it Wednesday. Seems like an awfully big job tho. Kind lookin forward to getting started. Thinkin about tearing it apart tonight and tomarrow night in preperation. Should I take my hood off for easier access? Kind of doin this blind . I mean can anyone lay out a plan of disassembly . or what ever? i'll probably post a bunch o times as i get more anxious. O and I found these pics of engine sans intake maifold.
Pretty sure they are different engines they have different valve covers. heres the 1st one:
http://img36.imageshack.us/img36/6809/001a9us.jpg
Heres #2:
http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/5120/001b4js.jpg
Or is this just a pic of the front and one from back?

I was about 2 go down to my moms to do the pre tear down. Then I realized American Hot Rod, Monster Garage and American Chopper was on tonight. So it'll have 2 wait til tomarrow.

yeah, gotta have your priorities !!! haha!



I was about 2 go down to my moms to do the pre tear down. Then I realized American Hot Rod, Monster Garage and American Chopper was on tonight. So it'll have 2 wait til tomarrow.

Then I realized American Hot Rod, Monster Garage and American Chopper was on tonight.

Hey GirlBear, "Thank God for the Discovery Channel"
Monster Garage being one of my favorite's shows....

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Girbear
I am glad you are fixing that coolant leak that
You metioned it in your last post on hard to start.
I was getting worried about you driving around leaking coolant.
You also metioned a water pump noise. It might be a good idea to take a look at it to. Check for losness on the water pump pulley and/or bearing noise.
On making them easier to work on I always pull the fan shroud and fan blade.
That way you can get in there at the front of the engine and almost stand up and work on it.
It sure gives my old back a rest that way. Leaning over the grill or fenders is a back killer for a old person like me.
It sounds like you have some good help on fixing it from upper post.
Good luck Kid
MT-2500

GirlBear,
I feel the same way you do I'm always having trouble with my truck. It seems like when I fix one thing something else goes bad. I’ll yell some obscenities at the truck and threaten to sell it and it will be on its best behavior until around the holidays when money is tight. I wouldn't feel bad about the intake gasket mine blew on me 2 months after buying the truck and I spent a bundle on repairs. At least your getting to yours before it blows.

Good luck!!

P.S I hate Jesse James :loser: from monster garage he is so damn annoying!!!