As the title says my intake was leaking 2 weeks ago. I noticed the odd drop of coolant on the garage floor and the oil pan was covered in coolant when I had it up on the hoist while doing the rear brakes. Upon further inspection I noticed it was the intake leaking from the front drivers side of the engine.

2 weeks later it is back on the hoist to replace a rear caliper (Found the brake issue:-) and everything is dry as a bone and the coolant level hasn't changed. Hope I didn't accelerate the gasket failure when I switched to the green coolant after a thermostat change a few months ago.

I have been around vehicles all my life and know things like this don't fix themselves so it will probably be just a matter of time before it starts again. I guess I can focus my attention towards the front and rear pinions seals leaking and wait until the gasket becomes an issues again. If it ain't broke then I ain't fixing it. :-)

 

Better change that gasket asap, you don't want to let coolant get into the oil, and ruin the engine. Its really not a bad job. also You can return to using dexcool There is nothing wrong with it. it was a gasket problem not a coolant problem with these intake failures.

 

You are going to want to get that LIM gasket replaced ASAP. I have seen them intermittently leak, but sooner or later it will gush.

The next thing you want to do is keep a VERY CLOSE eye on your engine oil. Coolant in the oil is a BAD thing.

 

Thanks guys, I will make plans on replacing it sooner then later. I have access to a heated shop and my father and brother have offered to help so we should be able to knock it off fairly quickly with a few Tim Horton coffees. :-) I just thought it was kind of strange that it stopped leaking.

What is the recommended replacement gasket to use? I am guessing Feltpro?

 

Felpro has an updated gasket with a metal frame. Get these! I think they are FelPro MS98002T.

If you haven't seen it already, this is a pretty good how-to:
GM 4.3L Intake Manifold Gasket Replacement - DTips.com

 

Thanks Kyle, I will order the parts on Monday.

Now off to search the Forum for the pinion seals. My truck has the Autotrak 4x4 with the front diff leaking fluid quite badly and the rear leaking also.

 

thing that happens alot is after you drive , the intake leaks in the back, runs down the bell housing and drips on the crossover pipe , well if you have come back from a long drive, the coolant eveporates and doesn't drip to the ground. That may be why your seems why its leaking sometimes and sometimes not. Don't trust it at all.