2000 Blazer 4.3 Vortex with 200K engine check engine light came on engine overheating. stopped and let it cool down then tried filling radiator but it wouldn't fill up it kept going down. I saw no water leakage on ground and engine would still run. Steam coming from air cleaner up thru throttle body. Took of air cleaner and saw water on throttle butterfly about one quarter inch. Pulled dipstick and oil level was halfway up stick and milky. Can anyone give advice? Is it more likely a head gasket or a lower intake manifold gasket leak? I drained all oil and water/antifreeze out, 3 gallons, and pulled out waterlogged filter. What are your suggestions on how best to flush out most of the gunk that surely must remain in my poor engine?

 

Engines normally don't last after being driven with that crap in them, start saving your pennies.

 

Most likely an intake manifold leak. They can blow right at the spot where your coolant leaks into the engine valley then into your oil pan. Small leaks can drip for months and the coolant evaporates immediately when it hits the hot block until one day it blows out completely. It's rare for the head gaskets on these motors to blow out but it's not unheard of especially if you overheat the motor. Cleaning up the mess will be the least of your problems but it will be easier once the manifold is pulled....just hope the water hasn't damaged your crank bearings.

 

Well, in the past I just made the repair and followed it with new oil/filter, run it for 5-10 minutes to pick up any water, then change oil and filter again. Follow that with a long hot drive to get out anything that is stuck and would have to evaporate out. I wouldn't let it sit around with that water in it for very long though. The sooner it gets repaired and the remaining water out of it, the better it's going to turn out... IMO.

 

I agree with TZFBird. Anti-freeze is no good for the bearings. It would probably be a good idea to change the oil and filter a few times, one you figure out the cause. I had to replace my engine because of anti-freeze. It tore the bearings to shreads. Luckily I had a warranty. I had to sue them to get the money, but ended up with a brand new crate engine at no cost to me in the end.

 

i bought a bravada one time that blew the intake so bad it filled the cylinders full of milkshake and the oil was way over filled, i just pulled the plugs, cranked the motor and blew out all that crap. and changed the oil 6 times. truck ran good as new. kinda wonder how bad the cat was clogged up though.

heres what my engine looked like with the intake off

 

that looks bad...that is the color of my oil....We are tearing the intake off today...hope that is our problem.

 

When my intake leaked, I opened it up and washed down with WD40. Then fresh oil and filter. Let run for about an hour or so then another oil change, oil looks great. Ran standard oil for the final rinse, then back to the 100% synthetic.

 

Got it almost back to normal looking oil now. Got most of engine parts reinstalled. I was wondering what all the o rings that are included in the MS 98002 set for. We figured for the fuel inlets and distributor but what else?