dexcool??????????

Anonymous-0 · Nov 27, 2009

Can anyone tell me if the gm dexcool gives the "sweet"" smell when it gets into the exhaust of an engine. We have coolant disappearing in a 2000 suburban. no leak that we are noticing yet. Is eating a half gallon+ every two weeks. Thanks

Bob · Nov 27, 2009

What engine?

Anonymous-0 · Nov 27, 2009

It is the newer 5.3. We have three with this motor , all run differently????????

Bob · Nov 27, 2009

Weird, slow coolant leaks on the 5.3's CAN be caused by the waterpump-block gaskets.

They are aluminum with a silicone "O" ring molded inside. When the silicone tears loose and fails, water seeps out and drizzles down the front of the block, under the water pump where it's almost impossible to see, often just evaporating with no noticeable drips on the ground.

Take a look in that area with a light and mirror or remove the "skid plate" under the front of the vehicle and look up from the bottom for evidence of coolant streaks or stains under the waterpump-block joint area.

cd1 · Nov 27, 2009

the guy that does my radiator work calls it death cool, since it eats gaskets until the engine is dead. green is pretty much the way to go

IndianaRed · Nov 27, 2009

It's the intake manifold gaskets. Very common to GM vehicles.

New gasket set it $70. I put in a 6 pack of those brown tabs for sealing cooling system, no leaks since. But I've heard they don't work forever.

All the repair places I talked to wanted over $500 to do it, so I'll do it myself in the spring.

IndianaRed · Nov 27, 2009

Mine is the 5.3 too. Started around 200k miles and got progressively worse. Never affected engine performance, but will probabaly ruin the convertors if left unrepaired, probably has to wear the rings after a while too I would think. Never had any coolant in oil either, all goes out the exhaust. I did notice I always had the biggest steam cloud around my car at stops.

Buy a Chilton's or a Hain's Manual, it doesn't look to be a difficult fix, just moving a lot of stuff out of the way. The newer gaskets have fixed the problem, but many advise changing coolants away from Dex. I have.

Michael Soldan · Nov 27, 2009

Bob thats exactly what my truck was doing..we put in a new water pump,thermostat and coolant while we were at it. Basically new seals would have fixed it

Bob · Nov 27, 2009

Indiana,

Sorry to rain on your parade, but the 5.3 is a "dry intake" in that it DOES NOT have coolant flowing through is like the conventional small block Chevies did. NO coolant = NO gaskets to leak coolant.

They ARE pretty good, though, at having intake port gasket leaks.

Mashbox · Nov 27, 2009

Another possibility, bad head. Happened on my '04 Silverado w/ 5.3 engine. Casting defect with one manufacturer of heads. Check your oil and see what it looks like. Mine looked like transmission fluid 3 days after changing. Pulled the valve covers and did a pressure check, and found the leak exactly where described on the service bulletin i found online. Had to replace both heads.

hay · Nov 27, 2009

Most possibly an Intake Manifold leak at the back of the engine near the distributor area. Anyway that's where mine has been leaking. I had the gasket replace to no avail, so i just watch the coolant level and fill it up when low. Cost too much to replace the gasket again.

Spook · Nov 27, 2009

That's probably it. To replace the intake gaskets, the brackets on the front of the motor, the intake, all have to come off. That's where the labor comes in. When I had it done @170K, I also had a new pump, new hoses and belt put on, new fluid. I figured it would be good preventitive maintenance. I think the whole bill was like $850, but I ran it without any problems for several years, and another 100K miles, before I sold it. Last I heard, it is approaching 400K, engine is still not using oil, and running strong.

Bob · Nov 27, 2009

You had a 5.3 with the intake gasket leaking near the distributor?

VERRRRYYY interesting!

Tim[GA] · Nov 27, 2009

The intake gaskets have been a problem. Dexcool leaking into the engine oil will NOT turn the oil a milky color. The color will be a brown color, which makes it hard to detect. A simple test is to take a piece of paper towel and allow the oil on the dipstick to drop onto the paper. Watch the wetnees ring around the drop of oil. A fast growing ring indicates coolant in the oil. If this is found you need to change the intake gasket.

IndianaRed · Nov 27, 2009

You can't tell me there's a better product coming out of Japan. Just heard yesterday they're having to recall 4 million Toyotas for rust.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

IndianaRed · Nov 27, 2009

Well, I've got the 4.8, which is the same motor less some stroke, and it's a wet intake, you sire about the 5.3?

IndianaRed · Nov 27, 2009

It doesn't leak into the engine oil, it leaks into intake and get combusted and blown out. IMHO

37 chief · Nov 27, 2009

I read somewhere the stuff eats gaskets. May be something to it. I had to have the intake gasket replaced on my 99 GMC sufari van. One of the few times I ever had someone else work on anything mechanical of mine. It was something I didn't want to tackle due to the location of the manifold. I was also loosing coolant. Then one big leak. I had to have it towed in. The dealer had the best repair price. Mine started by noticing a coolant spot under the van. Keep a watch for leaks. Stan

Brian Jasper co. Ia · Nov 27, 2009

The 5.3 has a dry intake. It does have a heated throttle body, but chances of it leaking coolant are slim. I have seen many 5.3 water pumps leak from the gaskets between the pump and block. They don't leak all the time. Look the water pump weep hole and where it attaches to the block over closely.

RayP(MI) · Nov 27, 2009

Permanent antifreeze uses ethylene glicol. That chemical is related to sugars, thus the sweet smell when heated, evaporated.

RusselAZ · Nov 27, 2009

It is a dry intake but a wet(heated) throttle body.

Beings you can't find an external leak, take the intake air tube off the throttle body, hold the throttle plate wide open and look down the intake. If the throttle body gasket is leaking you will see what looks like used motor oil inside. It isn't. It is the remains of coolant after the water is gone.

dexcool??????????

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