Izover4u

I have an oil and coolant leak... I think i found part of my coolant leak... looks like the hose that connects to the radiator.. I guess at that bend point the coolant ate away at the rubber casueing it to slightly crack...

As for the oil leak i have no idea where... there is realy no spots on the ground except for a few.. Should i just bring her in to the dealer and have them find where its coming from? i rather find out for my self and fix it if i can.. Dealer is going to cost me and arm and a leg :mad..
Any suggestions of what it might be and where should i look... Im new to all this so some of the terminology i might not know exactly where or what u are talking about :D SO please try to talk in very simple terms :cheers:

Thanks guys


[Modified by Izover4u, 6:32 PM 11/19/2002]

vader86

How do you know you have an oil leak if there are no spots on the ground?

Izover4u

there are little ones.. my low oil light always comes on after about 2500 miles... and actually i just got done looking at the at the motor... i took off the corvette plates and noticed little bit of oil towards the back on the block(near windshield)??? What could this be?? :confused:

jackdaroofer

If the hoses (for that matter the serpentine belt too) are original '95, they need to be replaced. 4 to 5 years is the "safe life" of rubber parts. Check all the hoses not just the upper and lower radiator hoses but also heater and oil cooler hoses.

Coolant doesn't really "attack" the hose, aging heat and drying out do.

As far as the oil leak, I feel like previous poster, how do you know you have a leak? Are you consumming oil?

:seeya

vettetax

Ut oh, if the engine hasn't had it done before, it may be that darn intake manifold gasket on the LT1 causing the oil leak, no?

Izover4u

yeah im consuming oil... i just changed my oil about 2300 miles ago... and last week i had to add about 1 quart and half... :confused:... This always happens... bye the time 3,000 miles rolls around for a oil change my low oil light turns on... there is little oil spots on the ground...

I think ill change all the hoses as well...

Izover4u

nope never changed the intake manifold gasket... car has 63,000 miles on her... Is this intake manifold gasket hard to fix?? or do i have to bring it into the dealer???

Alex D

In regards to your coolant leak......carefully investigate this one!! I had the same leak and was messing with the hose clamp and hose and the darn thing would not stop leaking and it even got worse......which got me suspicious........well, guess what.....it wasn't the hose but the seal that seals the plastic radiator tank to the aluminum radiator core!! New radiator was in order.....which came a day later from http://www.radiator.com for $160.....when driving the coolant creeps up from the tank and it looks like the hose is leaking, which is not the case. After posting here on the forum I found out that this is actually very common to our model and many guys had it happen to them......also, don't let the coolant spray under the hood!! The coolant is abrasive and will permanently damage the black underhood paint!!

The most common oil leak on the LT1 is the front and rear intake seal. It is not a question if, but rather when it will start leaking. other sources are the head gaskets on some cars or the crank position sensor on late LT1s

Izover4u

im going to check that out first thing this sat.. the coolant spots are in the area of where the hose connects to the radiator on the passenger side mostly on this hose itself... did u change all the rubber hosing as well?

jaa1992

Lets see your hoses are 7+ years old. If they haven't been changed now is the time before you spew coolant all over the place at an inopportune time.

My heater hoses were original and were well beyond needing replacement! Luckily one of them started a small leak and I caught it before it was a mess.

For the oil leak look around the back of the engine where the intake and heads and valve covers meet. Put a paper towel down there and see if it comes back oily. I have two small leaks one of them is there and the other is at the center of the valve covers. I'm losing less than 1 qt/3000 miles so it isn't a "do it now" project. I'm keeping an eye on it though.

Izover4u

Say it is the intake manifold gasket?? How do i go about fixing it? do I just reseal it or buy a new gasket...? :confused:
And if my leak is at the center valve covers how do i go about fixing that?
Sorry for all the questions but i have never had this happen obviously :cheers:
Thanks


[Modified by Izover4u, 8:30 PM 11/19/2002]

Alex D

Izover...sorry, maybe I have gotten you wrong....my mistake....the tank seal coolant leak is typical for the driver's side hot water inlet on the top of the radiator tank where the coolant comes in and is the hottest......I read now you mention the passenger side. Must be the hose like you said. Sorry..

Alex D

You have to remove the item to replace the gasket. The seal on the intake manifold that actually leaks is silicone caulking that is used by the factory to seal the front and back of the intake to the lifter valley. You can only replace this caulking by removing the entire intake and replacing the original caulk bead with a new, improved silicone compound available at the Chevy dealer.Unfortunately you have to replace the manifold gaskets to the heads too. If it's the valve covers, just get two new gaskets and replace them.

CentralCoaster

Not too sure about the LT1s, but it's possible that you have a oil pressure/sending unit mounted back there onto the block. That is a high pressure point, and oil often leaks past the threads, and runs down the backside of the block (on the rear seal part), and ends up looking like a rear seal leak. Start from the top, and work your way down to find the first sign of oil.

Steel Blue 91

Check the back of each head where it mates to the intake. Could be leaking oil there.

Izover4u

Thanks guys for all the info... :cheers: u guys are helping me out alot... im going to be checking these things out this weekend.. i have a final thurs.. so she wont be driven.. ill keep u guys posted of what i find.. thanks again.. :cheers: