'96 Coolant in intake????

TCHRISD · #1 03-08-2010, 10:10 AM

Hello, I have a '96 non-supercharged LSS. I was told there is a coolant leak at an "elbow piece" of the engine and that it is leaking coolant into the intake. It is located on the belts side of the engine closer to the top. I have read that the intake plenum leaking coolant is a common problem in these vehicles. Is the piece I am discribing the plenum? Is this an easy fix? Should I bring it to a pro or can a weekend mechanic do it?

maxwedge · #2 03-08-2010, 10:36 AM

Dorman makes an upgraded intake available at any parts store, the how to is at autozone.com, repair guides, or do a site search, plenty of info.

TCHRISD · #3 03-09-2010, 10:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by maxwedge

Dorman makes an upgraded intake available at any parts store, the how to is at autozone.com, repair guides, or do a site search, plenty of info.

What about just changing the elbow tube. Isn't that the intial reason why the intake starts going bad? If I change it in time the intake won't go bad .... right?
BTW... my car only has 75k orig miles.

Mickey#1 · #4 03-09-2010, 10:55 AM

I don't believe the elbows on the belt side of the engine can cause coolant to get into the intake. Coolant in the intake is usually caused by the upper intake to fail around the port where the EGR tube enters. This is on the throttle body side of the intake manifold.

TCHRISD · #5 03-09-2010, 12:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mickey#1

I don't believe the elbows on the belt side of the engine can cause coolant to get into the intake. Coolant in the intake is usually caused by the upper intake to fail around the port where the EGR tube enters. This is on the throttle body side of the intake manifold.

Is there any way to tell if coolant is getting into the intake that involves not taking the intake off?

Mickey#1 · #6 03-09-2010, 01:12 PM

Depending on how much is getting into the cylinders, the engine would run like crap & you'd see steam coming out of the exhaust. You can remove the throttle body & see if coolant is in the intake but it may not always be in there.

TCHRISD · #7 03-11-2010, 09:33 AM

Would the check engine light trip if coolant was getting into the intake? I brought the vehicle yesterday to a shop to change out the leaking elbow tubes just becuz of my young children I don't have time to do it myself. The mechanic said my check engine light light would go off if coolant was entering the intake.

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