Coolant leak around T/C Cover

Just got a 97 K1500 4X4 with 5.7 Vortec, 146K miles. I have a coolant leak that is seeping out along the passenger's side edge of the Torque Converter cover. The coolant is dripping down from the bolts (passenger side only) that hold the cover on and it is also coming out of the hole at the bottom of the cover. The coolant does not appear to be coming from the cooler lines themselves. I was going to tear into it this weekend and wondered if anyone might have some advice, suggestions or warnings. What will I see when I drop the cover? Doesn't look like there's a gasket, can't imagine why there would be if it is jst a protective cover.

Freeze plug

Back of the Intake Manifold Gasket

Head Gasket

I am also leaking coolant from the same place and at first I thought
it was from the lines but I traced it all the way up to the front of
the engine passenger side front corner about 2 inches below
the valve cover. I could get a good look at it by looking through
the wheelwell with a flashlight. Is this the head gasket? The day I
could afford this repair is nowhere in sight. Considering this, should
I use some kind of leak additive? I am desperate. The coolant in the
reservior looks brown and oily but I can't tell if it's just the crap I've
been trying to flush out since I bought the truck. There isn't any
visible signs of moisture in the oil. If I use leak stuff, should I do
anything like flush the system and change thermostat.
Any advice or opinions will be greatly appreciated. Thanks alot.

yeah is it coming out of one of the freeze plugs? a few of mine leak so i have to add water every once in a while. as for the head gasket, if theres oil in your water and tons of bubbles or white froth in your oil, its the head gasket leaking. i dunno if a leaky head gasket would leak to the outside tho? i thought it usually broke one of the metal rings that goes around the cylinder

I don't know anything about freeze plugs, but if they're those round
things, flush with the block, then I think I did see one right in that area.
I have to check it out again but I thought I saw the coolant coming from
a seam right in that area. Could be wrong. I can't confirm that there
is oil in my coolant but the oil looks good.
Thanks for the reply.

well is the leak coming from where the head meets the block? thats where the head gasket is. if you look for seams from top to bottom you will have the seam where the valve cover meets the head, and then theres another one where the head meets the block. is it coming out of the second one?

and yes freeze plugs are those little round things in the block. the purpose is so that if the coolant in the block were to freeze and expand, instead of splitting apart the block, the freezing coolant pops the freeze plugs out to take pressure off the block.

Must be head/block - It's about 2-3 inches
down from the bottom of the valve cover,
as I remember.

yeah thats roughly where the head to block one would be. if thats a real messed up head gasket then youre in for a pretty big job if the engine compartment is cluttered with stuff. hopefully, being its a truck, it will be relatively easy to remove the head to replace the head gasket IF thats the problem. i would have a mechanic or a friend who knows cars really well take a look at it before you go tearing off the head.

hopefully its just a freeze plug

I think it is leaking at the rear of the intake manifold and running down the block. I had a 96 sierra but the leak was not that bad so the antifreeze would only leak under pressure when hot thus it was also evaporating off teh hot block.

I'd give her a try and run some Bars leak stop in there if ya want and see if that stops. OR if you can find some JB80, they have some raditor stop leak stuff that was in a four wheel drive magazine I have, not sure what mag but they said they had a water pump seize up on them, and they ran this shit through there and that they were actually able to drive home with that water pump without it overheating, although they replaced the water pump they were absolutely amazed at how the JB80 had worked. I'll try and find it because they have a few different articles on JB's products and how great they are.

I think that acticle is a bit off. If a warer pump were to sieze up, the engine would not turn. Either the timing chain would keep the starter from turning the engine, or the timing belt would break and the engine wouldn't run.

I personally wouldn't add any stop-leak products. I tried some in my truck a while back when the radiator was leaking in several places. It did stop the leaks, but it also restricted the radiator greatly. The stop leak hardens once it hits air, so if the coolant level gets down into the radiator, rather than the reservoir (which is easy to have happen when there's a leak), it starts stopping the coolant flow.

Since summer's coming, I'd say just put water in it until you can fix it right.

wouldnt the belt just slip? and pretty quickly thered be smoke pouring out from the friction burning between the belt and the water pump? also if the water pump was siezed up completely, then the fan woulndt spin either which is a major problem. i think it would start, but it would overheat within a matter of a couple minutes since theres no water going thru the block or a spinning fan... thats for mine tho...

do new models have a timing chain-driven water pump? i have virtually no knowledge about newer trucks whatsoever im just basing this post on my 73 cheyenne

Yeah I know about it seizing up, my dad read it and almost didn't believe it but I'll look hard for the mag tonight and post up the article. I'm almost sure it was a Petersen's mag but I'll have to find it, I went through and found all the off road magazines I have, a frickin' pile of them but I'm gonna go through em all till I find it.

I had an old Iraqi Malibu back in the eighties. The thermostat stuck closed on it once and the car overheated and boiled over in minutes. This with the pump still flowing coolant through the heater core. I can't see driving very far without even a pump.

Check the heater hose on the right front of the intake that fitting corroded through on mine and leaked down the back of the engine

have the truck pressure tested, they hook up a device to the radiator and apply pressure to the cooling system. Most of the time it makes it easy to spot the leaks. Personally I would not add any of that "magic" stop-leak stuff. If your coolant is brown you've got some issues. I worked on a car one time where the people ran pure water in a almost brand new vehicle (who knows why) anyway the freeze plugs rusted and they leaked. Ended up relacing just about every freeze plug on a trans-am V-8 and thats a job. Freeze plugs were paper thin due to rust.

You need to figure out why the coolant looks like crap? is the radiator a mess too? I would drain all that crap out, flush the system, once you find the leak, and then refill with 50/50 coolant / water mix.

It is most likely an intake manifold gasket leak. The coolant may even have oil in it making it look nasty.

My neighbor has a 97 Yukon and he noticed some coolant on the garage floor. I hooked up my pressure tester and coolant was coming out of the intake near the front on the passenger side. Coolant was going down to the block and then dripping down a support bracket which went to the tranny bell housing. At first I thought is was leaking at the rear of the engine but eventually figured out how it was flowing.

A pressure test is a very good idea.

//2000CAYukon

Aluma-Kool (the yellow and red tube of powder) is the best stop-leak I've ever used! When the aluminum radiator in my '64 'Vette started leaking in the '70's and GM no longer stocked them, NOS ones were going for up to $2000 (NOW you can get repros for $500). I put Aluma-Kool in and it worked perfectly for several years.

A few years ago my Suburban sprung a nasty leak way up in a ski resort, almost stranding us. Put Aluma-Kool in and it sealed up beautifully 'til I had the rad repaired several weeks later.

I'd say it's worth a shot for your expensively inaccessible slight leak.