1997 Suburban Using Coolant?

Could be, but you should see a tell tail sign of a stain there. Also it's possible that a head gasket is weeping somewhere. Possibly internally and the coolant is being consumed in the combustion chamber. You may want to look at the plugs to see if they look normal, providing you don't find an external engine leak.

Brian

"shawnb" wrote

See what "Doc" said.

Ian

Brian,

Look at the year of the vehicle. It's most likely the intake manifold gaskets..............they leak on damn near every one of these trucks eventually. To the original poster, time for some intake manifold gaskets!

Doc

Doc, I thought that 1997 had the plastic intakes? No water passages, did that come after 1997?

Brian

Upper intake is plastic and dry, lower intake is aluminum and wet. Lower is what seals to the heads and block, and lower is the one that develops leaks after time.

Doc

Yes, check the intake manifold gasket. I just had mine replaced. Cost was $500, done by local garage. Dealer wanted $750. It's been about a month now since I had it replaced. Everything seems fine, no more leaks. I stopped back to thank the mechanic at the local garage last week for a job well done. You should have seen the look on his face when I asked if he was he the one who had worked on my truck...I knew he was thinking .."whats this guy want to bitch about?" I shook has hand and said "Thanks, I appreciate your good work!" Big smile comes to his face. I told him I know everybody takes the time to bitch when something ain't right, but seldom makes the effort to say thanks when things are done right. You can't even tell any work was done under the hood. I certainly wouldn't want to have to change one of those gaskets myself!!!

Thanks Doc, intake manifold leak does make sense. I've tackled stuff like this on 60's/70's cars a few times, should I break out the toolset or take it to the more experienced? What is a fair price to pay for the gasket replacement?

Easy job for the DIY'er. If you have the tools, time and a manual have at er'! Expect to pay $450-$600 for the job at a garage.

Doc

I took a look in a service manual today, you are correct sir. Thanks for the info.

Brian

Turned out to be the heater-control-valve, $80. Got lucky this time! There was evidence of a leak on the frame(PS), just overlooked it...