Chevy Tahoe 2004 5.3 Liter antifreeze leak

bradburchett

My 2004 Tahoe with a 5.3 Liter engine has a coolant leak that my mechanic and I have not found. The first sign of the problem was the rear heater would not blow out warm air, we added coolant and the system began working. We have checked for external leaks and have not found any. It seems to have leaked almost a gallon over the last 3 months, but the oil level was not too high and there was no evidence of the oil being milky. However, the oil does tend to get very nasty after about 1500 miles. I bought this vehicle used with 55,000 miles on it, and my mechanic says that the previous owner may have never changed the oil and this would cause the oil to become nasty pretty quickly, but if we continue to change it frequently it would clear up. My question is, where could the antifreeze be going, and how dangerous is it to drive (we are getting ready to go on vacation, 1200 miles round trip)?

jaae

what might the problem be with the coolant leakage?

jaae

i have a problem with my coolant leaking. I have taken it to the chevy dealer twice for service of the problem. the 1st time they couldn't find a leak. the 2nd time they thought it was the freeze plugs, which they replaced. now the leakage continues. the air conditioner will blow out warm air because the coolant has leaked. when i replace the coolant, it blows out cold again. now the dealer wants me to bring it back in. what might the problem be and have there been any other complains of this problem?

gblair

Jaae-

I have had coolant leak problems with my Chevy 5.3 engine too. My 5.3 was in a 2001 suburban, and we found & fixed the problem -

You'll find some tips you can discuss with your dealer to help solve your mystery in the thread "Chevy Suburban Overheating"

Good luck!

redd85

Gm has a known problem with the intake gaskets leaking because of that red darn coolant that they use, they know it and keep using it. Make sure that you have your coolant changed if you already haven't and look closer at your intake to make sure that the gasket isn't leaking.

redd85

make sure that you have changed out the red coolant and go back to the green or one that you can use with any antifreeze. That red coolant is known to eat up the gaskets, and look closer to make sure that your intake gasket isn't leaking, becasue this is where your coolant could be going and this is a known problem with some of gm older vehicles.

hannk

try replacing the cap . i did this and now it goes to 3/4 full and the leak stops.still wish i knew why it leaks from full to 3/4.

skinsfan1

I have a 2008 Chevy LTZ 5.3L V8. It just recently started dripping coolant. I took it to a local mechanic and he said he could not find the leak. He said the water pump will typically leak from the front when it begins to go bad. The engine is dry and the area around the water pump is clean and dry as well. The drip can be seen on the ground under the front right side. Any thoughts? He also said a water pump replacement was $400?