The coolant in my Blazer is disappearing. I noticed there is alot of moisture seepingwhere the lower intake meets the block on the driverside front, that is really the only place you can inspect easily. I'm not seeing it in the oil, but after driveing I can smell a fain't trace of antifreeze. What are the normal symptoms of a failing intake gasket ?

 

That is one of them for sure. If the front of the block is wet, the intake gasket is at fault.

 

get or borrow a pressure tester-put it on the rad ad pump it up to 7-10 lbs and watch that(and other spots). If it shows where you say and intake gasket job is in your future. Depending on the scope of the leak, I'd do it sooner that later(ie becomes worse, looses more, overheats, etc.) JP

 

most of the time it leaks on the front left side of the intake under the a/c compressor

 

Is this something I should fix like right now or stop driving, or can I wait till I go on vacation in about 2 weeks ?Should I worry about contaminated oil ? Also Swartlkk, could you check out the " faint grinding noise" thread ? I had a question about an A/C compressor pulley clutch.

 

aame problem here
chances are its leaking into your crank case and youll have to replace the gaskets on the intake manifold check your oil and see if it looks cloudy or like a "milk shake" (thats the only way to tell) as a temporary fix until it gets a little warmer i put radiotorsealent in with my coolant (prestone)--(just follow the directions on the bottle) THIS IS JUST TEMPORARY.. eventually youll have to replace the gasket ($34.28)..ive had 2 blazers same problem with both of them hopefully i caught this one in time..the other one is somewhere in el salvador with an engine that is ready to go!
good luck any questions pm me

https://blazerforum.com/m_129930/tm.htm

 

dist6blazer, the preferred method is to keep things of this nature in the forum, not in PMs. The reason is two fold; #1 - More people can lend their insight & #2 - It helps others that may have the same problem.

Now, about it getting into your oil. Well, that is quite likely. Simple thing to check for though. If your oil looks, well, like oil, you aren't getting coolant into your oil, yet.

My Bravada had a leak at the front driver's corner of the manifold that I noticed right at the beginning of winter (a year ago). I kept a close eye on the coolant level and the oil condition and it held together until it was warmer outside. 5 months later and I completed the repair without complication. Not the best way of dealing with it, but I also have confidence in my abilities to rebuild the motor if things had of gotten worse. Not having a heated garage to work in and not having another 4wd vehicle to get around in dictated when I was able to do the repairs.

Now is that typical, no. You should get it repaired as soon as possible. The longer there is a leak, the more likely that it will get to the crankcase. Also, prolonged leakage could cause the sealing surfaces to pit quite badly.

The quick fix stop leak stuff should be used ONLY as a last resort. Often it can cause more problems than good by leaving remnants of itself throughout the cooling system to clog things up later in life.

If you are careful, you should be able to make it to your vacation, but make it a daily routine to check your oil condition and coolant level.

Check out these select topics:
intake manifold gasket replacement on 4.3L
4.3L Intake Manifold Gasket How-To - D-Tips.com
How to replace intake manifold gaskets on 4.3 V6

They should answer any questions you may have.

 

sorry about that mate

 

No worries!

 

Thanks for the advice.