Once the leak is fixed, it takes a few oil changes to get all of the coolant out of the oiling system. During an oil change not all of the oil drains out. Oil remians in the lifters, push rods, oil pump, inside the camshaft and crankshaft, some of the oil passages, and in the oil cooler lines. Until all of the coolant is gone, you can expect a lifter to make noise every now and then. If a lifter continues to make noise, it may need to be replaced.

 

Thanks so much for the info...I'm having it looked at tomorrow. I'll post what they find!

 

Well...they found nothing wrong, because my overflow tank has been full ever since my last post! The antifreeze has STOPPED disappearing! Can anyone explain THAT? LOL!!

 

Maybe it's one of those cars that fixes itself. If not, my guess would be the radiator cap is not allowing the system to build sufficient pressure....no leak. Have them pressure test the cooling system to 16-18psi. I bet it leaks

 

You sure know a lot, Capt Hook. Can I ask you something unrelated? For the past month, here and there, my ABS light will come on if I go over a bump hard, or if I take a hard turn. Sometimes I'll hear and feel the *vrrr* of the ABS system a second before the light comes on, but the other day, I seemed to have prevented the light from coming on by pumping the breaks when it started the *vrrr* (or was it a coincidence?) Either way, it doesn't affect my breaking or driving in any way, and if I stop the truck and shut it off, when I turn it back on, the light is off. I had the break pads changed last month...could they have screwed something up when they did them, or is the ABS separate from that job?

 

Replacing brake pads should have no affect on the ABS light.

There is a wheel speed sensor in each front wheel hub. There is a vehicle speed sensor at the rear output shaft of the transfer case. During an ABS assisted stop, the front wheels are controlled independent of each other by the ABS unit. The rears are also controlled by the ABS but they are controlled simutaneously with each other, and independent of the front wheels. The ABS unit performs a self test each time the ignition is turned on. The amber ABS light should come on, and go off if there are no problems detected. When the vehicle reaches ~4MPH, the ABS unit checks all 3 speed sensors. If they pass, the light stays off. If they fail, the light comes on and stays on until the ignition is turned off. This GM TSB, (Technical Service Bulletin) may, (or may not) help with what you're experiencing:
http://ww2.justanswer.com/uploads/PE...2442_tahoe.pdf

Don't be concerned that it doesn't specifically mention your vehicle, the diagnosis & repair procedure is the same.

If it doesn't take care of the problem, you'll need to have the ABS scanned with a capable scan tool.

 

Well, that does it. Yesterday I went to a store, felt like I should look in the overflow, and found it nearly empty, with antifreeze dripping on the ground! Brought it right back to the mechanic and he said exactly what we thought, it's the lower intake gasket! Gonna be fixed on Wednesday and will cost us $480! OUCH!

Hey, how do I make an avatar? I wanna put a pic of my Blazer.

 

Finally got my truck back yesterday, and so far, so good, lol! The mechanic gave me the old gasket...said it was the factory one and had never been changed. It was all broken and nasty. This is a used engine that a different mechanic put into my Blazer in October...wasn't he supposed to change the gaskets when he did that? He put in a new spider assembly, (so he said) and I know that he would've had to remove the intakes when he did that. Could he have really been that irresponsible, to leave in the disintegrating gasket, which ended up costing me $480 bucks? When I called to tell him about this last Monday, and asked him what he'll do about it, (it's supposed to be warrantied by him) he told me 'go f yourself'. Should I sue?

 

With a used engine, you get what you pay for and gaskets are not replaced when installing a used engine, unless requested or required. It's not required to replace lower intake gaskets on an engine swap. Who knows if he replaced the spider assy. The lower intake is not removed to replace the spider assy. Only way to tell is remove the plenum and look. Save your time and money on a law suit, you won't get anywhere with it, except costing you more money.

 

Ohhh, okay. Yeah, I don't know if he even changed the spider...I suspect that he didn't. He probably just changed whatever injectors were bad. Oh well, at least I don't have to worry about the intake anymore.

Another question, Capt Hook...can this engine run cooler than my blown one did? My blown one always ran at 190-195, but this one only gets up to 180 at the most...I find that very strange.