Lower intake manifold gasket

My 2002 Blazer has 198,000 miles with unexplained coolant loss, rough idle and lifter noise at start up. Can I assume that I need to do the lower intake manifold gasket or are there other things that I should look at to confirm that this needs to be done?

Thanks,

My 2002 Blazer has 198,000 miles with unexplained coolant loss, rough idle and lifter noise at start up. Can I assume that I need to do the lower intake manifold gasket or are there other things that I should look at to confirm that this needs to be done?

Thanks,

If it is getting coolant in the oil yes.
Is the oil milk or pink colored or overfull.
I always add coolant leak dye to coolant and check oil for dye in it.

If it is getting coolant in the oil yes.
Is the oil milk or pink colored or overfull.
I always add coolant leak dye to coolant and check oil for dye in it.

So that failure only causes internal coolant loss to the crankcase and not coolant loss to the exterior of the engine?

So that failure only causes internal coolant loss to the crankcase and not coolant loss to the exterior of the engine?

Have you got any coolant in engine oil?

The intake gasket can leak internal or out the top and front corners and rear corners of engine.
Pressure test and see if you can see any leakage?

I now definitely have coolant in the oil and normal compression in all cylinders so my conclusion is that the intake manifold gaskets needs to be replaced. I see a few options:

Fel Pro Perma Dry Plus (MS98002T), AC Delco redesign (89017866), Victor Reiz (M1S161668).

Which do you suggest?

I now definitely have coolant in the oil and normal compression in all cylinders so my conclusion is that the intake manifold gaskets needs to be replaced. I see a few options:

Fel Pro Perma Dry Plus (MS98002T), AC Delco redesign (89017866), Victor Reiz (M1S161668).

Which do you suggest?

How much ,how bad?
How many mile since 2013?
Sure did take a long time to show up.

The truck was pretty much retired for a couple of years. I just started looking at it again to see what I need to get back in service. A few years ago I used to smell coolant in the truck and around the engine compartment occasionally. Now I see an increase in oil level from the coolant. Which gasket set will last the longest?

Thanks

The truck was pretty much retired for a couple of years. I just started looking at it again to see what I need to get back in service. A few years ago I used to smell coolant in the truck and around the engine compartment occasionally. Now I see an increase in oil level from the coolant. Which gasket set will last the longest?

Thanks

I would go fel-pro gaskets

If your smelling it inside might check heater core also.

I bypassed the heater core early on but that did not solve the problem. When I am done with the intake manifold gaskets I am going to pressure test the heater core to see if I can put it back online.

Fel Pro it is.

Thanks.

Here is what i have assembled for the job. Am i missing anything?

Fel Pro gasket set
Fuel rail o rings
Permatex ultra black rtv
Inch pound torque wrench
Ft pound torque wrench
Gasket scraper
Acetone
Razor blades
Coolant
Oil

Thanks

It may be worthwhile to locate a local source for metal-bearing epoxy filler. Once the intake is removed, gaskets are scraped away, and the heads' intake flanges are cleaned off there is an even chance that you may find some pitting around the coolant openings at the ends of the heads. If so, aggressive wire brushing, cleaning with lacquer thinner/acetone or other solvent, then mixing and applying epoxy to the pitted areas may be the only way to get a good reliable seal. Of course, the areas filled with epoxy need to be scraped and/or filed flat before assembly, but trusting a sealant like RTV to fill any pitting is a crap-shoot.

If you need epoxy filler once you get into the task, at least you'll know where to get it. If you don't need it, it won't be any great loss to at least be prepared with a source.

Off shooting on Blues post I once was tasked with fixing a leaking water pump on a 78 Dodge Aspen. Once I pulled the pump off I found why it was leaking. There was a casting fault in the block and a large chunk was literally missing behind the pump.

I informed the owner of the situation and told him I could try and epoxy, but not guarantee it would work. Long story short, I worked the epoxy into the hole, let it set, sanded it flat and the water pump sealed and didn't leak any more.

If epoxy can fix that, then it can correct pitting in the LIM.

I have an aluminum metal filler paste/hardener on hand that I used on a Toyota head years ago that worked very well. I'll make sure that its still good.

Thanks.

It sounds as if you are prepared to tackle this. Unless you find a cracked casting you should have it under control

The job is done, thanks to all who helped out. It's a pretty straight forward job and its good advise to have a filler on hand. I found the hardest decision was what if anything to do about the surface corrosion that was not quite bad enough to use a filler. If you are the meticulous type then you better have a plan and time allotted for resurfacing the lower intake manifold gasket surfaces or have a line on a replacement. I cleaned mine up really good and used single sided razor blades to get as flat as possible. Well see what happens. If the vehicle had less than 200K miles on it I would have gotten more serious before buttoning it back up. I used the Felpro gasket set which is a high quality gasket set that has the fuel system o rings.

Picture is of the chocolate ice cream like mix of oil and coolant before the job.

George

I didn't realize how crappy my blazer was idling until this repair. It runs very smooth now and the lifter noise is gone that was no doubt caused by coolant dripping into the oil/lifters. Now I just have to see how many oil changes it will take to get the mess cleaned up. Currently on the second change.

Glad you got it before there was serious damage. Good luck with it.

The repair is doing well. The only thing that I see as a consequence of this is a lower oil pressure at hot idle. New 5W30 Penzoil dino yellow bottle with K&N filter. 40psi hot 2,000 rpm/20psi hot idle.

Whats the theories here on thicker oil, additives, new pump, drop/clean pan and screen, etc - or do nothing and stick with 10 psi/1,000 rpm? Just changed the sending unit cuz the original started leaking oil. Same readings.

Thanks,

George