Well... i guess its one more 2 part question...





Not the greatest picture i know... but im wondering what this line is for... it's right behind the ac unit on the IM... 7/8" the other end goes to the exhaust manifold and is *leaking coolant! Anybody know what this line is and/or why it would be leaking coolant??

 

The only way for coolant to get here is a cracked and or pitted intake or a bad lower intake gasket.

 

That's your EGR tube. It supplies exhaust gases to the EGR valve to be mixed into the intake. It helps keep combustion temperatures from getting too crazy. If there's coolant coming out of that spot then you definitely have leaking manifold gaskets and you need to replace them immediately before the coolant eats up the bottom end of your engine.

 

Oh wow ok. Thank you very much... ill get on it today. I replaced the intake manifold gaskets in my 2nd gen dakota and that wasn't too much of a chore... the setup of the vortec seems to be pretty similar to the magnum. Im actually kind of excited to do this. 8-)

Should i replace the egr tube as well or will this one be fine once it dries out?

Thanks for the advice gentlemen!

 

The EGR tube should be just fine once it dries out. Since you're going to pull the top off the manifold I would suggest checking the underside of the radiator hose where it goes over the EGR tube for signs of rubbing through. The radiator hose on my wife's '00 Blazer had that problem and I didn't find it until she was driving around and steam started coming out from under the hood.

Doing the manifold gaskets isn't too difficult on the 4.3 Vortec. There are many good pictorial write-ups on the Internet if you're looking for a good template to follow. Pay attention to details, line the distributor rotor up with the #6 spark plug, and be careful.

 

You mean like this? Haha good call sir!




Ok looking around on this, the radiator hose is the obvious source of the coolant all over the egr tube... so im wondering if i still need to do the LIM gasket.

I took the egr valve off and there is a little glob of water in there... could have been on the valve when i took it of and fell in then but im not sure.

 

Bingo! We all speak from experience here on the Blazer Forum. Perhaps you've heard about only installing AC Delco fuel pumps?

If you've found the source of the leak then it's likely that the manifold gaskets are OK. Check the oil for signs of coolant. If there's no coolant in the oil then you're probably good to go.

I'm just glad my various adventures with Blazers has helped someone.

 

Well if you're keeping score you officially saved me $25 as well as 1 day of work then a second to fix what i screwed up on the first haha.

Thank you very much! I wont have time to put it all back together until later this week... I'll update with pictures of my coolantless/oilless garage floor.

 

This is what makes the Blazer Forum such a great place: we all hang out here and offer friendly advice. If it weren't for the Forum I'd be walking everywhere! I'm happy that I was able to help someone else out just as I've been helped many times.

 

Well i got it all back together... no pics as promised cause i was too pooped to clean the floor up... but the blazer runs good just sitting there. Still got one more oil leak... not sure if its RMS or possibly a cracked oil pan... but the next step is plates/insurance and an alignment and it'll be ready to roll. :-)