Coolant AND Oil Leak

[JRSpann]

My 1998 Silverado Z71 with 5.7L just developed a big problem. Wife drove it back from town, arrived home in a cloud of steam from under the hood. My first thought, due to the location of most of the water spray, was the heater hose fitting on top of the engine near the front on the passenger side. (I replaced that fitting and both heater hoses a few months back). After letting it cool down I pulled out the garden hose and refilled the radiator, then cranked the engine. I soon saw oily water running off the bottom side of the engine. Closer inspection showed it was coming from the base of the casting where that heater hose connection screws in.

With the engine off I got a flashlight and inspected that casting, and it appears there may be a chunk of metal gone from it adjacent to the edge of the rocker arm cover. Can't get a mirror in there to confirm it. I checked the oil, and there doesn't appear to be any water on the dipstick. Looking at the puddle behind the truck, it definitely is engine oil coming out with the water.

Any ideas on a fix, or is it time to throw out the truck and start over?

[j cAT]

post a picture ..

[JRSpann]

Around the base of the casting note there's shiny flat metal (indicating something's gone?).

[j cAT]

looks like you have a lot of oil on that engine. the casting is damaged but not that bad. since the engine has oil over it when the coolant leaked it will pull the oil off esp if the coolant is hot..

find out where the leak is. it is possible that the valve cover need be removed and inspect this for metal damage at the seal. if the metal is damaged at the cover seal you may be able to use metal mender to form a section to repair the broken section then file down so it is conforming ...

[JRSpann]

There's not THAT much oil on the engine. Also I just noticed there's oil bubbling up in the radiator.




There was NO oil on the driveway before this episode.

[j cAT]

could be the over heating with the leak blew the head gasket. or the head cracked and oil is into the coolant..

with the engine running if exhaust gases/bubbles come out the pressure fill cap then the heads will need be removed and checked for damage ..if the heads are not cracked or warped replace the head gaskets and see if your lucky..

drain the oil see if coolant comes out..oil floats !

[JRSpann]

Originally Posted by j cAT

could be the over heating with the leak blew the head gasket. or the head cracked and oil is into the coolant..

with the engine running if exhaust gases/bubbles come out the pressure fill cap then the heads will need be removed and checked for damage ..if the heads are not cracked or warped replace the head gaskets and see if your lucky..

drain the oil see if coolant comes out..oil floats !

Well, that's not what I wanted to hear. Unfortunately it sounds likely. Guess I'll load it onto a friend's trailer and haul it to the shop since I'm not much of a mechanic.

Thanks for the input.

[j cAT]

Originally Posted by JRSpann

Well, that's not what I wanted to hear. Unfortunately it sounds likely. Guess I'll load it onto a friend's trailer and haul it to the shop since I'm not much of a mechanic.

Thanks for the input.

post back what broke !

when the over temp light comes on best shut down the engine fast...good luck..

[JRSpann]

I finally got the truck loaded onto a friend's trailer and delivered to the shop today. Mechanic called back and said it's blown intake manifold gasket and transmission fluid cooler. Not sure just how that combination happened at the same time, but he says the truck will be ready tomorrow with a new radiator and intake manifold gasket.

[j cAT]

Originally Posted by JRSpann

I finally got the truck loaded onto a friend's trailer and delivered to the shop today. Mechanic called back and said it's blown intake manifold gasket and transmission fluid cooler. Not sure just how that combination happened at the same time, but he says the truck will be ready tomorrow with a new radiator and intake manifold gasket.

if the transmission radiator cooler internal was broken then the transmission would need be flushed out because the coolant would get into this. if its an external issue then no problem. the intake manifold could have gotten damaged with the over heating . now on the head gasket hopefully that will hold..

[JRSpann]

Hmmm... he never mentioned draining the transmission, and the oil leak was in the radiator. I'll quiz him about that.

I'll also quiz him about the power steering pump I told him to replace while he had everything torn down. I finally got around to looking at it yesterday, and it does NOT look new/rebuilt to me. The cap/dipstick for sure is not new, and the dirt pattern on the rest of it looks like it's been there for a long time. However, there's a stamp on the back side of it that says "REMFG MH L 12". I never saw a remanufactured item that didn't have a fresh coat of paint on it.





Am I wrong about this unit looking like an old one?

[rkvons]

The rebuilt ones usually look perfectly clean with a fresh coat of paint. That does not look like one.

[JRSpann]

I suspect he went out back and pulled the pump out of a junker, then charged me the price of a new one. Not my idea of good business practice.

[Philip Rosen]

the Coolant leaked out because of a broken gasket or pipe or a leak in the radiator or a blown hose pipe. Which inturn caused your Pump to fail, leading to a broken O'ring or Oil seal there, which inturn caused the Coolant you poured in again, to leak into the oil chamber or the oil to leak into the pump casing causing overheated oil to leak out and mix with the already leaking coolant.