coolant leak

[reggiecab2000]

hey guys,
ive had a coolant leak for quite some time now but its never been big enough of a leak to cause a concern, however in the last 3 weeks ive refilled my coolant reservoir 5 times!!!
something has to have happened, this is very sudden and i dont know what could have caused it, other than physically inspecting which i will be doing, is there any notorious culprits for this leak on my truck?
thanks!

[rileyjr16]

You can't see a puddle or anything under it indicating a leak?

[reggiecab2000]

not yet, just realized today that something must be wrong and i tried looking at it but my soon to be 2 year old wouldnt stop running off so i couldnt really focus, (had to keep him out of incoming traffic) LOL, so i will be inspecting tomorrow since it is my day off work

[Kady]

Prerssure test it, You'll find it.. But if you have a small crack, it might make it bigger and undriveable.

[reggiecab2000]

okay guys so heres the leak!!! (well the puddle of it)
this is very sudden and there is nothin i can think of that has caused it, i found this in the middle of the night under my truck (taking the trash out i noticed it, as you can tell from the picture)


heres some of the only pictures i could get
let me clarify this is the PASSENGER SIDE at the back of the engine block underneath the exhaust manifold, but it seems to be coming from on top somewhere then leaking down the back of the block and its all dripping from the bottom of the exhaust manifold


as you can see








here is a picture from up top, should be pretty familiar to most of you, but heres the thing.... that little space where you see coolant, that leak has been there for years, only on the passenger side, that why ive known that ive had a leak for a long time but it was miniscule, and yet the original leak i have still remains to be there, so i dont know if something caused it to get bigger or if its a new leak altogether, im so stuck right now....



all i KNOW is passenger side, coming down back of block, down to exhaust manifold, collecting near base of last exhaust port of passenger exhaust manifold, and dripping like crazy down.
i saw it leaking after i turned my truck off and took a video but i doubt it will upload, but you can see it trickling from underneath the exhaust manifold where the other pictures are

[Coach24]

Transmission cooler lines?Check fittings. Aslo look for the heater core connections. As Kady said a pressure test will be the best way to find out. most parts stores will rent for free. Just leave some collateral, maybe the 2 year old

[reggiecab2000]

haha, ive checked most of the lines but not all yet,
i have a day off tomrrow i am stocked to figure out what the hell this is, and i called about a pressure tester i am definitely getting one, just gotta pay the $150 then when i bring it back you get reimbursed, pretty weird how they do it here

[Coach24]

haha, ive checked most of the lines but not all yet,
i have a day off tomrrow i am stocked to figure out what the hell this is, and i called about a pressure tester i am definitely getting one, just gotta pay the $150 then when i bring it back you get reimbursed, pretty weird how they do it here

Just make sure you put coolant in system rather than water as coolant will find the hole much quicker.

[reggiecab2000]

gotcha there, prestone 50/50 is all i use,
from what you see, got any kinda of worst/best case scenario ideas??? or not enough info?

[reggiecab2000]

alright after a good hours use of the pressure tester and a friend to help me, ive found the source of my leak!
that last picture in my comment is the leak! it IS the intake manifold afterall, my friend dried it all up with a paper towel and as i start putting pressure in the system you see the coolant start to flow down that groove, basically since the engine is at a slight upward tilt, it flows all the way down that crack, down the back of the block, then down the exhaust manifold.
so it is the intake gasket and my friend who helped me has done the intake manifold gasket on the 4.3 before and he had the exact same leak, so hes dead set this is it, now its pretty much up to me...
do i want to spend alot of money or spend alot of time....
come to find out ive been calling local shops around me and found out that since i work at discount tire and we send our customers to a shop called pro drive, so we have some connections with them, i called them and they said they usually charge about 500.00, but since i work there they will do the gasket, w/ all shop supplies,labor, etc. for 350.00
now i think according to everything i see and hear about doing your own intake manifold gasket that this a deal that i should not pass up, even my father agrees with me..

anyone have any opinions on the subject?
or anything else that i should have checked out while they are doing this repair?
my truck does have 160,000 miles, and i do pretty decent maintenance of it, and im sure the mechanics would notice something that was out of the ordinary, but is there anything i should tell them to pay extra attention to?
thanks!