If you've got chocolate milk shake on the underside of the oil fill cap, chances are real good the lower intake gasket is leaking internally. If you smell it burning while the engine is at idle, it's probably running down onto either the exhaust manifold or crossover pipe and burning off. Felpro MS98002T lower intake manifold gasket set is the only way to go. If it's installed correctly, ie: threads in the heads are chased, intake bolt threads are chased, sealer is used on the LIM bolts, correct torque and proper tightening sequence is followed, along with a good clean up/prep, this gasket set will not leak.

 

Yea there is and its not to hard. Kits not expensive, there's a tube that catches gas off the top of the radiator and bubbles up in some liquid if it turns purple, I think, you have hydrocarbons in your coolent. Did it once about a hundred years ago with my brother. The specifics elude me. Just google head gasket test kit. Very good chance it's not unless you had that thing glowing at some point. Good luck!

 

Haha, Eric, my 1998 Blazer is doing the exact same thing. I just had a used engine (with 75k on it, supposedly) put into it 2 months ago, and since then, I found the overflow tank bone dry twice. (Today was the 2nd time.) I smell antifreeze sometimes when I get out of it after driving. It never overheats, and there is no leak. Did you ever figure out exactly what the problem was?

 

If the reservoir has been dry twice, there's a leak. If you smell coolant after driving, there's a leak. Most likely the lower intake manifold gaskets are leaking.

 

Well, by 'no leak', I mean that there's never a puddle in my driveway. I assume that mine is leaking internally and burning off...

 

That's how they start out Coolant could be leaking internally and contaminating the oil. The first sign of that is noisy lifters on a cold start up. If the problem is not taken care of in a timely fashion, it will destroy engine bearings and eventually the engine will seize up. If you smell it burning under the hood, it's leaking onto the exhaust manifold and burning off, that's why there are no puddles.

 

What do 'noisy lifters' sound like? If the antifreeze is contaminating the oil, would I see it on the oil dipstick? How can I tell?

 

Lifter noise is usually described as a ticking sound up high in the engine, relative to engine speed, (rather than a knocking sound lower in the engine). Depending on how much coolant is in the oil, the ticking could last anywhere from a few seconds, to continuously ticking even after the engine warms up. Usually can't tell much looking at the dipstick. Looking at the inside of the oil fill cap, it could appear as a "chocolate milkshake" substance, both in color and texture. Another thing to try is after the engine has set for 10 to 12 hours, before starting the engine, very slowly loosen the oil drain plug and watch for coolant. Coolant is heavier and thinner than oil and will separate from the oil after setting. The trick is to open the drain plug very slowly and watch carefully.

 

Ive replaced my lower intake manifold gaskets on my 2003 chevy blazer 4.3L bout 2 months ago the best 180 bucks ive spent and now that you mention noisy lifters,mine was doing that before i replaced the lower intake gaskets.Ya know Capt i forgot to check and see if its still ticking..The lifters only ticked when it been setting for long time or overnight but stoped ticking 5-10 min later after its been running..now ya got me wondering if it is still ticking..lol..Now im dreading putting spark plugs in this thing since its a pain in da a** to do..

 

Seriously, Capt? I always hear ticking when I start it up...it goes away when I give it some gas. Oy...I always wondered what makes it do that...