i am experiencing a coolant leak that doesn’t really seem to appear everytime i drive my vehicle.it drips on the exhaust behind the engine.i haven’t been able to really locate it.the engine temperature is fine.there are no leaks coming from the overflow bottle.there is one thing i did do wrong with my vehicle.its a chevy and at 1 time i didn’t put in the GM recommended coolant for GM vehicles.i haven’t flushed my system of the wrong coolant.only added the correct coolant and tried adding some of that stop-leak that can be added to a radiator.what should i do?what can i look for? the vehicle in question is a 1997 silverado 4x4 k1500. it has the 5.8L engine and is an automatic.
A cooling system pressure test should be performed to determine where the coolant is leaking from. But from what you’re describing, it’s either an intake manifold gasket leak or a head gasket leak.
Tester
Check the heater hoses when the coolant is cold AND when hot.
The hoses expand and contract by temp.
could this be an issue if not repaired right away?now that fall and winter are approaching and the engines not as hot can it wait?
If it is an intake manifold gasket leak, coolant will be in the oil. The coolant displaces the oil from the crankshaft bearings. This is not good for the engine and should be fixed asap. At least have the truck checked for an intake manifold gasket leak.
Ed B.
The engine reaches the same temperature regardless of the season. NO, you can’t wait to fix this.