Thank you all for you help in advance.
I have '97 silverado, 4.3 woth 40k miles. It is loosing coolant somwhere. There are no puddles where it is parked, and none to be seen on the engine or frme. Only trace is when my wife makes the .5 mile trip to work, and turs left in the parking lot, there id a small trail right there. Only place ever seen. Any ideas? thanks again!

 

1st thing is to check the obvious such as a leak in the coolant tank/system.If there are no leaks in the overflow tank/system refill it to the proper level and monitor it closely for level drops.GM has had a lot of trouble/issues with gaskets,particularly intakes allowing the DEXCOOL coolant to leak.Take a look at the inside of the radiator cap,is it muddy?Are you overheating?

 

Thanks for the help. No, there are no obvious leaks. No mud in the rad, cap, or even overflow. And yes, it has been low enough to overheat. Also, a time or two when very low, you could hear the watrer sloshing to the heater core. I would think loosing that much, i would see somethnig. (btw, no water in oil either)

 

Most likely the intake,if the obvious (water pump,heater fitting) is ok...

 

is this a costly repair, or diy?

 

Around 450 done "right"...with a new heater fitting,changing the oil,using the proper dex-cool coolant,and using good parts..
Ask the place if they have a scanner to set the timing..it can not be done with a timing lite...guessing,etc...it must be set using a scanner...at 0 degrees

 

Just got off the phone with the garage. Gonna be about 370. I took a look at it after work tonight, and is definatly the intake. So obvious now!! Can't belive I didn't notice it sooner. Thanks for your help.