Coolant leak and suspension question????

[10drum]

Just purchased a 97 tahoe 2wd, and there is a small coolant leak when engine is cold(I do mean small). There is some moisture around the head/block facing(front passenger side) and a small drop on cross member, when vehicle sits for a couple of days. Any suggestions?

Also, has anyone ever lowered(maybe 2") one of these Tahoes? How difficult is it?

[maintainin76]

I have a 99 and am assuming the 97 is the same way. First place I would look is at the fitting the heater hose plugs into. It's on the front of the intake manifold on the passenger side right behind the alternator. I had a leak coming from this a while back. Fairly cheap part, only cost like $13 bucks but Ive heard the threads break off on the fitting pretty easily causing you to have to use an easy out to get the broken part out. I went ahead and got mine done at the dealer. Cost like $80. If that looks good, might want to start looking for the dreaded, notorious intake manifold gasket leak.

[CrashH60]

The water pump has a weep hole that will leak once the shaft seal starts to leak. It's a built in fail safe to alert you before the seal leaks coolant into the engine block. The fitting mentioned in the previous post is also a comon problem. I've had to deal with both of these. I wound up replacing the fitting (it did break off in the intake) and I had to replace the water pump. Good luck with it.

Al

[42Tahoe]

Originally Posted by CrashH60

The water pump has a weep hole that will leak once the shaft seal starts to leak. It's a built in fail safe to alert you before the seal leaks coolant into the engine block. The fitting mentioned in the previous post is also a comon problem. I've had to deal with both of these. I wound up replacing the fitting (it did break off in the intake) and I had to replace the water pump. Good luck with it.

Al

The heater hose fitting on my 97 Tahoe also broke when I tried to remove it. I read that an easy out tool would do the trick, but since the fitting is made of aluminum or some soft alloy, using the tool fused it more to the intake manifold. How did you get the broken piece out? My water pump started leaking too so I thought I'd go ahead and replace it along with the radiator hoses and heater hoses, but this darn thing is holding up progress.

thanks in advance.

[SpitAndDirt]

Remove the intake manifold and have fun manually removing the pieces. You need to go back to the dealer to get the steel version of that coolant nipple. The steel was offered on GM cars of the same year. The truck nipple is soft and brittle pot metal. It ain't worth nothing. You should have soaked the thing in PBLaster and then tried to remove it. And as for the above comment about the weep hole being used as a fail safe to alert you that coolant is leaking into the block is incorrect. The weep hole alerts you to the fact that the seal which prevents coolant from escaping out of the water pump and into the water pump BEARINGS has failed. The longer you drive with the weeping pump, the more likely the water pump may seize up because all the lubrication for its bearings is being washed away. Sorry about your nipple breaking off, sometimes it's just the luck of the draw. -Chris

[Thunderbolt]

Originally Posted by 10drum

Just purchased a 97 tahoe 2wd, and there is a small coolant leak when engine is cold(I do mean small). There is some moisture around the head/block facing(front passenger side) and a small drop on cross member, when vehicle sits for a couple of days. Any suggestions?

Also, has anyone ever lowered(maybe 2") one of these Tahoes? How difficult is it?

If it is not coming from the fitting that the others are talking about it is most likely the intake gasket leaking. This is happening to just about all that generation vortecs. If you are mechanically inclined you can do it yourself, But you have to be very careful to mark the exact position of the distributor. The housing to block position and the rotor to housing position and don't turn the motor over until the distributor is back in. The reason I stress marking it is there is no way to reset the timing without a scanner so you must get it back exactly where it was. It will take anywhere from 5-10 hours to do depending on your skill level. If you pay to have it done the prices range from around $400.00-700.00 so it is much cheaper to do yourself. I just did my cousins and it was $130.00 for all the parts and that included a new water pump.

[42Tahoe]

Originally Posted by SpitAndDirt

Remove the intake manifold and have fun manually removing the pieces. You need to go back to the dealer to get the steel version of that coolant nipple. The steel was offered on GM cars of the same year. The truck nipple is soft and brittle pot metal. It ain't worth nothing. You should have soaked the thing in PBLaster and then tried to remove it. And as for the above comment about the weep hole being used as a fail safe to alert you that coolant is leaking into the block is incorrect. The weep hole alerts you to the fact that the seal which prevents coolant from escaping out of the water pump and into the water pump BEARINGS has failed. The longer you drive with the weeping pump, the more likely the water pump may seize up because all the lubrication for its bearings is being washed away. Sorry about your nipple breaking off, sometimes it's just the luck of the draw. -Chris

Thanks for the tip, the PBlaster certainly helped lift the sucker out. I saturated the almost welded broken piece (amazing stuff) and 2 hours later, tried tapping it with a punch and voila it started peeling like a banana. Of course, after using 2 types of easy out bits with no success and almost filing it down to about an 8th of an inch, I couldn't believe how it was coming out. I was almost sure that I will have to drill and mess up the threading, but I was really surprised. Thanks also for the "steel" version tip, called up the dealer I got it from and was told they don't make it- then called another dealer and got the part number, turns out the dealer I got it from have never heard of it but had the part.... what a scam.

[SpitAndDirt]

Glad to know my info was helpful. Great stuff, that PBlaster. Can't live without a can of that. Actually, not to fend for the stealership, that steel nipple is a trick that is known by GM techs. I know about it because my brother is a GM Master tech and let me know about it beforehand. Unfortunately, not all dealerships are created equal. But I'm glad you got the right part. You may try posting that Steel Nipple part number for everyone else for reference. -Chris

[maintainin76]

Originally Posted by 42Tahoe

Thanks for the tip, the PBlaster certainly helped lift the sucker out. I saturated the almost welded broken piece (amazing stuff) and 2 hours later, tried tapping it with a punch and voila it started peeling like a banana. Of course, after using 2 types of easy out bits with no success and almost filing it down to about an 8th of an inch, I couldn't believe how it was coming out. I was almost sure that I will have to drill and mess up the threading, but I was really surprised. Thanks also for the "steel" version tip, called up the dealer I got it from and was told they don't make it- then called another dealer and got the part number, turns out the dealer I got it from have never heard of it but had the part.... what a scam.

Wish I wouldve known this when I got mine replaced a while back. Depending on how long I keep the truck, this might have to be fixed again down the road.

[42Tahoe]

The part number for the steel version is #24503681 and it cost $10.55 at the dealer where I got it from. Replacing this is really easy providing that part doesn't break, but if you do, make sure you spray it with that PBlaster first. You might also want to drain the coolant down a little bit before removing the nipple.

[10drum]

Thanks to all who replied. The leak was the dreaded intake. Dealership replaced it for around $350. The gasket looked like it had deteriated.

[glenncof]

I have another leak I'm working on and saw the posts on the heater hose coupler leak (re: P/N 24503681).

I went to dealer and inspected both the original (pot metal) and steel (24503681).

Pot metal looks like it is cast, with dull finish.
Steel looks shiny silver.

Parts guy said often the hose into the coupler must be replaced (seating problem?).

My 1997 Tahoe has the shiny one already. I got it at 36K mi. so I'm guessing it came from factory.