Chevy 350

I have a 99 tahoe with the 350 in it. I had the same leak coming from the top of the engine but would leak down on the drivers side and under the transmission. I ended up asking a mechanic friend of mine, and he knew exactly what it was. He said that this was very common on the 350 engines.

If you get down to the point where you think you might have to pull the heads, I would have them checked at a machine shop.

I had to have mine milled as they would not seal at the head gasket (warped). Also, might as well put a set of valve seals in as these are notorious for going bad in time.

Tryin' to help,

Allan

You are exactly correct. If does turn out to be a head gasket, that could cause some warping in the head, often corrected by decking the head(s) .005 if that occured. It's a common practice.

One thing's for sure, if it's a gasket problem (much cheaper than...), there's only two gaskets that will allow coolant into the cylinders/cumbustion chambers: Intake manifold, or head. Since he's blowin' out the tailpipe, he's got one (if it's a gasket).

The reason I tend to believe it's a head, is because he's overheatin' as well. That's a symptom of compression back into the cooling system. Wonder what his radiator cap pressure looks like? Should be in the teens (not higher). Higher would also suggest a head gasket.

If were just an intake manifold gasket, and runnin' lean (overheating) in addition to suckin' coolant, then I'd think would be suckin' air around the top of the manifold where meets the head. If that's the case, could run a garden hose drip along that edge while it's runnin', and it'd suck the water in, motor would spit and sputter as water tries to mix with the fuel mixture. If the gasket were leaking from below (oil gallery), then probably wouldn't be runnin' lean, because would be sucking oil vapors from the crank case, which you know is very volatile (burns/explodes pretty good).

I'm thinkin' head gasket from the symptoms, but could get lucky and have it only be an intake manifold gasket. In any (either) event, don't forget to change that oil afterwards - a body needs good rich blood, and so does a motor.

Have a great day Allan, I've gotta get to work. Just tryin to help, as most do and have, but I'm still waitin' for a suggestion from that other guy though.

Mike, I'm an easy going person. People ask questions to get help or ideas, no big deal. The people that posted offered ideas, some that didn't pan out. No big deal, but they offered, and they simply didn't pan out, and at least they offered helpful suggestions.

That apparent expert took a cheap shot and swipe at ???, possibly me, then offered no help, solution, or suggestion. I don't opperate that way, and if I'm wrong, then I'm wrong, and will admit it. And when I find out the solution, I'll offer it up so that no one else makes my same mistakes.

Hey, I'm rusty. It's been a while, but little by little I remember things as I think of them. You're ok Mike, you don't opperate like that guy either. Thanks buddy, and sorry if there was a misunderstanding generated on my part.

You say that it's overheating, right? You also say that antifreeze is going out the tailpipe, right again?

If you only had a leaking intake manifold gasket and antifreeze was being sucked into the cylinders and blown out the tailpipe, it aint gonna "overheat" from that, not unless is running lean (hot) from a vacuum leak as well. Yeah, it would send moist (white watered down) exhaust out the tailpipe.

But since you said is overheating, and blowing out the tailpipe, it's obviously getting into your cylinders - and that's typical of a head gasket. Been there, done that more than once.

On your last post, someone took a shot at some of the replies and "imaginary" problems or solutions, but then offered no solution or suggestion - only a cheap shot. It's been years and I don't remember the specs off the top of my head, and admit to being rusty, but other than torque specs, I could take that motor apart and put it together in my sleep, and probably have more than once. Now let's see if that other guy stands up and offers a solution.

One guy suggested using a mirror to view the backside where it's hard to see. That was an excellent idea. Rinse the motor off, move it a few feet where it's dry, and between your eyes and mirror, chances are pretty good.

One way or the other, you'll get it. Asking questions can only help, never be afraid to do so.