coolant puddling on intake

i just bought a 88 k1500 with 65k miles. it needed some tlc bad and im attempting to go over everything, just i have one mystery. I noticed right after i got it i had coolant puddling up on the intake just to the right(drivers side) side of the tbi riser. i thought maybe the rad hose or thermostat housing gasket were leaking and the coolant was squirting out onto the air intake. I replaced the radiator hose, thermostat and housing gasket. i put rtv on both sides of the gasket. well to my suprise the coolant is still puddling up in the same spot, just in the center gully to the right of the tbi riser. I'm not seeing any coolant lines running over that part of the motor. any help or suggestion woul help greatly, i want this puppy on the road.

I have owned my 90 K1500 since new. When I see puddles in that spot, it is usually time for intake gaskets.

//2000CAYukon

How many sets of intake gaskets did you have to put in your pickup 2000CAYukon?

BTW, I second, sounds like leaky LIM gaskets.

How many sets of intake gaskets did you have to put in your pickup 2000CAYukon?

BTW, I second, sounds like leaky LIM gaskets.

I am on the 3rd set of Intake Gaskets (i.e. I have replaced them twice). I would have to check my records, but I think I have had to replace the gaskets about every 8 years. I have had this truck 20 years and it has 147K Miles. Engine and Tranny are original.

//2000CAYukon

wow, sounds like this one is long overdue then, being im the second owner and the truck is going on 22 years. is there anything major i should use caution with when i wrench off the intake, like maybe marking the distributor or something of that nature?

Are you guys using the Fel-Pro perma dry plus gaskets? They really fail that often? (just curious)

Are you guys using the Fel-Pro perma dry plus gaskets? They really fail that often? (just curious)

They do not make the Perma Dry Plus for the TBI Engine. At least they did not have them when I replaced the gaskets.

//2000CAYukon

i know its not the greatest thing to do but i used some stop-leak pellets to get mine to stop till i can get the time to replace mine. so far so good

i know its not the greatest thing to do but i used some stop-leak pellets to get mine to stop till i can get the time to replace mine. so far so good

bars stop leak works good...the way to avoid problems is to add a 1/4 of the container amount , then see if it stops..adding too much at one time can cause problems..


most gasket problems are due to metal corrosion..once the metal is gone its hard to have this repair last as the metal has been damaged..

most gasket problems are due to metal corrosion..once the metal is gone its hard to have this repair last as the metal has been damaged..

That and the fact that GM gaskets are low quality and bad design. They always seem to fail right where the slits are designed in the ports (for whatever reason the slits are there). Only GM designs these slits in the coolant passages of their gaskets. Which is why I usually will install fel-pro aftermarkets when the GM ones blow. Click on the link to read more.

http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=958284

http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/7085/img1848copy.jpg

I use felpro myself.. fortunately It has been many years since I have needed gaskets..

I have used brush on products to address the metal problems..I forget the exact name..

Yeah, I think I know what you are talking about, that copper spray stuff, but I thought that was only meant for headgaskets. Which I have always installed dry. I have however put a slight layer of silicone around the coolant ports on intake gaskets on a few GM 3100's that I have done in the past just to help seal. So far, no come backs!. And I have done my fair share of 3100sfi moter LIM gaskets.... I have gotten the job time down to just under 4 hours (still higher than flat rate unfortunatly).

the problem with silicone [with corrosion ] is it is a sealer...the adhesion is not great...the other products make a harder surface to properly hold the gaskets and sealants in place..

another problem some fail to due is to properly de grease the surface...the sealants need a clean dry surface with no oils...

also allow the sealants to setup for a period of time this will create a tighter fit..

well, i replaced the gaskets(felpro) and got everything back together. cleaned a shot all the painted parts with fresh paint. the only thing is i got my coat sleeve caught on the egr valve vacuum hose and snapped in in half as i was torquing down a bolt. runs great nothing leaks so far lol. now the next step which i noticed in another thread. when i had the intake off i noticed some pretty decent carbon build up. when i warm up the truck it shoots black soot out the tailpipe but, i don't smell gas. is it running rich??

the only thing i can think of with the GM gasket slits is they they are expansion gaps but the expand the wrong way lol

Sounds good on the truck. Carbon just gets built up over time. You can try running some seafoam through a vacuum hose on the intake. Or if you ware worried about it running rich, you could have a mechanic with an OBD1 capable snanner hook it up and watch the data stream for the O2 sensor. Or maybe just replace the sensor. They get "lazy" over time and dont switch back and forth from rich to lean quick enough.

How were your gaskets when they came out? Did you find the bad spot? Was it like mine with them stupid little slits? What brand did you install? Fel-Pro's?

well i didn't really notice a bad spot per say. the old gaskets seemed like the felty part was saturated with coolant when i took them out, just seemed wet and sloppy lol. three things stuck out in my head whe i took everything apart.1 some of the intake bolts didn't seen torqued down, 2 when i lifted the intake off the gaskets came off with it and seemed there was no , very little or failed atv on the block side of the gaskets and 3 there was carbon deposits around the ports on the block where leaking oil from valve cover gaskets got down in between. I'm thinking that the coolant was pushing out of the intake bolt hole where it seemed not tight and the atv around the hole in the gasket failed. I was eager to fix it i flew down to texas to visit inlaws for holidays( i live PA), i bought the parts down there and flew them back with me. I got the regular fel-pro set.

I found it quite amusing also, i wanted to get a new fan belt in texas but my truck does not have A/C. when i asked for one they would have to order it for me cause they only stock belts for cars with A/C. I guess it gets hot down there lol.

well i didn't really notice a bad spot per say. the old gaskets seemed like the felty part was saturated with coolant when i took them out, just seemed wet and sloppy lol. three things stuck out in my head whe i took everything apart.1 some of the intake bolts didn't seen torqued down, 2 when i lifted the intake off the gaskets came off with it and seemed there was no , very little or failed atv on the block side of the gaskets and 3 there was carbon deposits around the ports on the block where leaking oil from valve cover gaskets got down in between. I'm thinking that the coolant was pushing out of the intake bolt hole where it seemed not tight and the atv around the hole in the gasket failed. I was eager to fix it i flew down to texas to visit inlaws for holidays( i live PA), i bought the parts down there and flew them back with me. I got the regular fel-pro set.

when the metal expands and contracts the gaskets over time especially if you make many short trips will wear out the gasket with the metal movement ..then the torque on the fasteners is less since the gasket is thinner...

the K car head gaskets had these problems.