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My great conversion van is 20 years old this year. It only has around 50k miles, from what I know from previous owner, well taken care of. Since I have it, we only use it for weekend trips.
As you can see, its in great condition, minor things here and there, last weekend, my son told me the the door handle was loose (right). I guess parts as these are going to start to give me some trouble, but nothing major.
What I can notice is that it has started to consume a little bit of coolant and oil. just a bit, not much but I can tell that I need to add at some level every 3 or 4 long trips. Something I should be concern of?
On the coolant yes I would be concerned. Oil, maybe. How many miles are you talking about between top offs for both fluids?
As old as that thing is, I would start checking for seeping around the radiator side tanks. If that thing has the original radiator, its a ticking time bomb regardless of the mileage. If that's good, next I would be checking the quick disconnects for the heater hoses and if still nothing get a pressure test of the cooling system. Oil consumption is dependent on who you ask. If were talking 1 quart every 3000 miles I wouldn't worry much about it. As low as the mileage is though, all that sitting around without use by the previous owner may not have been good for it as far top engine wear on a cold start after long time without use. I'm assuming you have the L31 5.7L engine.
On the coolant yes I would be concerned. Oil, maybe. How many miles are you talking about between top offs for both fluids?
As old as that thing is, I would start checking for seeping around the radiator side tanks. If that thing has the original radiator, its a ticking time bomb regardless of the mileage. If that's good, next I would be checking the quick disconnects for the heater hoses and if still nothing get a pressure test of the cooling system. Oil consumption is dependent on who you ask. If were talking 1 quart every 3000 miles I wouldn't worry much about it. As low as the mileage is though, all that sitting around without use by the previous owner may not have been good for it as far top engine wear on a cold start after long time without use. I'm assuming you have the L31 5.7L engine.
Yes, the 5.7L engine. I dont see any leaks,... nothing noticeable. I do see some old and dry redish substance around the radiator cap. Unsure how old this is. But there is something and it smells like coolant. I just topped the tank. Will note the next time I need to top it off.
Originally Posted by William Kisselstein
Oil not so much. These things will run 300,000 miles with good maintenance. Coolant I'd want to know where that's going.
My 02 with rear heat leaks somewhere under the right side where the hoses run up into the body just a bit.
Nothing I can notice there, nothing evident around those parts.
How many miles do you have on that engine? The 5.7 liter v8 has a known failure mode of the lower intake manifold gasket anywhere from 100-130k miles. The textbook symptom of this failure is an unexplained slow loss of coolant. The gasket typically fails at the front and rear of the engine, and coolant leaks at both locations are almost impossible to see without a borescope or removing the engine cover. If your van has close to 100k miles on it, and you have a slow loss of coolant (no wet spots on the ground under the engine), I will bet a 6-pack of your favorite beer that your lower intake manifold gasket has failed. I had a 96 Express (5.7 v8), and now have a 2002 Express with the exact same engine, and BOTH of the engines experienced a failed lower intake manifold gasket at 100-130k miles.
How many miles do you have on that engine? The 5.7 liter v8 has a known failure mode of the lower intake manifold gasket anywhere from 100-130k miles. The textbook symptom of this failure is an unexplained slow loss of coolant. The gasket typically fails at the front and rear of the engine, and coolant leaks at both locations are almost impossible to see without a borescope or removing the engine cover. If your van has close to 100k miles on it, and you have a slow loss of coolant (no wet spots on the ground under the engine), I will bet a 6-pack of your favorite beer that your lower intake manifold gasket has failed. I had a 96 Express (5.7 v8), and now have a 2002 Express with the exact same engine, and BOTH of the engines experienced a failed lower intake manifold gasket at 100-130k miles.
Peter
The engine is the original one, so around 50k miles. But its 20 years old, so I bet is the same issue. Surely that 6 pack is on its way.
Before you commit to replacing the lower intake manifold gasket, you really need to verify that it is, indeed, leaking.
The best way is to do a cooling system pressure test, and remove the engine cover so you can see the rear section of the manifold-to-engine block interface. When you pressurize the coolant system you should be able to see the coolant leaking out. It is very difficult to see the leaks on the front side of the engine because all the accessories obscure the manifold to block interface. I found that if I got under the engine I could see the leaking coolant collecting at the bottom of the block, immediately behind the crankshaft pulley. Usually it was a single drop, but it was enough.
just make sure the coolant is not coming from the water pump....those are also prone to leak/fail too.
Before you commit to replacing the lower intake manifold gasket, you really need to verify that it is, indeed, leaking.
The best way is to do a cooling system pressure test, and remove the engine cover so you can see the rear section of the manifold-to-engine block interface. When you pressurize the coolant system you should be able to see the coolant leaking out. It is very difficult to see the leaks on the front side of the engine because all the accessories obscure the manifold to block interface. I found that if I got under the engine I could see the leaking coolant collecting at the bottom of the block, immediately behind the crankshaft pulley. Usually it was a single drop, but it was enough.
just make sure the coolant is not coming from the water pump....those are also prone to leak/fail too.
Good luck!
Peter
Thank you Peter for such detailed explanation on what to look. I will have to take your post and show it to the shop, as I dont have neither the tools, the skills nor the time to do all of that!
Hello all, after 1 month, and maybe around 200 miles of weekend short trips, i had to add almos one quarter of coolant. Is this too much? Temps here require max AC on all the time.
February 22nd, 2021 | 4:34 PM
My VAN 20th anniversary
