I am having a problem with my 1998 Chev Suburban 2WD, with a 350 Vortec. It
is leaving a small puddle (maybe a tablespoon each time it is parked) of
antifreeze on the garage floor. The antifreeze is coming from the passenger
side of the engine and is dripping from the skid plate on the cross member
and the right side of the pan, right back to the bell housing shows signs of
antifreeze dripping.
I have crawled underneath and I believe confirmed the following things;
-antifreeze is not coming for a loose hose, as all hoses do not have any
sign of antifreeze residue. In my climate of cold temperatures, -30 to -45,
hoses will sometimes shrink and a small amount of antifreeze will leak out.
-block heater is not leaking
-frost plug behind the starter is not leaking. Yes, I took the starter off
and looked.
-driver side drain plug is not leaking
The antifreeze is showing up on the passenger side of the block. That is why
I took the starter off to check the frost plug.
My two suspect areas are;
- on the passenger side of the engine, where the drain plug would be located
is a sensor. A friend who is an automotive mechanic told me this is an
anti-knock sensor. Has anyone ever had this sensor out? If so is it a pipe
thread like a drain plug or is there an o-ring in there somewhere?
I would ask my friend but he left town last Wednesday for his two week tour
at a diamond mine.
I have tried to clean off around this sensor this afternoon, and then I
backed it out of the garage and warmed up the truck. It is now back up on
blocks and after 15 minutes I had no signs of antifreeze leaking anywhere.
- the water pump, as the truck has 110,000 miles. But I can't really see up
in to the water pump with all the other stuff on the engine. Either that or
I have no idea what a water pump looks like! If the water pump were the
problem wouldn't there be antifreeze dripping from the front of the engine?
Any experience or ideas are appreciated.
Oh did I mention that my nearest Chev or GMC dealership is 375 miles away!
There is a local garage that will fix it, but I would really like to fix
this one myself.
Blaine Dumkee
Fort Smith NT
Canada
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