i have a 01 blazer and i noticed that my coolant resivware neees a refill about once a month I refill with about a quarter of a gallon. My radiator fluid is always good. I cant see no leaks comin from the coolant resivware or radiator. I do notice a little leak from under the car but cant determine where it is comin from. can my intake manifold gasket be bad?? what do u guys think??

 

The first thing I would do is replace the radiator cap to make sure that it is working properly.

Your leak could be a manifold gasket leak. You could drop a few tabs of fluorescent dye into the radiator and run it for a few days, then use a black light and the CSI glasses to see where the leak is. They make kits for this and most autoparts stores sell them.

 

the cap is new since i had already replaced my radiator along with the cap about 3 months ago. The leak was there before i changed the radiator and its still there with the new cap and radiator. Im going to have to try that trick.

 

Pull out the spark plugs one at a time. If they are white, then that cylinder is burning coolant slowly. Also have a peek down behind the intake cause they like to leak at the backside. Take note of where the coolant on the ground is in relation to where you are parked to give you an idea of where its dripping from.

With your engine warm, try grabbing a spray bottle with water and some dish soap in it, spray it around the intake seams, if there is a pressure leak, it will bubble a little.

 

Also, check your oil filler cap frequently for coffee & cream colored foam.
-You could also pressure test your cooling system to make the leak happen faster on a cold engine, might be a little easier than working on a searing hot engine.

Hope this helps!

Regards,

Thomas

 

explain the coffee creamer on the oil cap please. ive seen this on my truck (89/93 ranger 4x4 hybrid) but. my oil is fine. no creamer on the dipstick or in the pan at oil changes. i use royal purple 5w30 and since the oil is purple. coffee creamer color isn't good

 

Check the attachment, this is a super extreme case by what I have seen in the past, but you get the idea. (I'm rehosting this. The original URL is: http://media.photobucket.com/image/c...m/DSC01208.jpg )

Your cap will get a little bit of a tinge around it. I'm talking a substantial amount of foam. This means that there are tiny little capsules of water whipped up in the oil from the moving parts. The problem is that water doesn't compress or lubricate, so this will wipe any metal on metal surface in your engine. Your PCV is supposed to prevent water build up in the engine, but if you have a major coolant leak, that is going to contaminate your oil much faster than your PCV can suck it out.
If it is serious, you'll see it when you drain your oil. It'll be rather apparent as you'll see a big streak of it in the pan (it's good to invest in an open oil pan if you think this is happening.)
Swartlkk will probably have a better idea of how long an engine can tolerate this than me, but I have been told time and time again: The essential part is if you have this, you absolutely must stop running the engine until the problem is fixed. If you have let this go for very long at all, you'll need a new cam and all bearings. Coffee & cream foam = death.

Regards,

Thomas