[burns]

I just bought a truck that has some antifreeze in the oil. Bought it cheaper than scrap prices and it has $500 worth of new tires on it that will go on my other truck if this one turns out to be junk.

I know this has had a manifold that leaked antifreeze before but don't know if it was repaired or replaced. I was wondering if there is a way to tell where the antifreeze is getting in without tearing into it.

The truck is a 1990 Chevy with a 350 TBI. If the motor is shot I get some cheap needed tires. If it is easily repairable without a total rebuild I get a smokin deal on a truck.

Also what would it take to carburate this motor and still have the rest of the truck functioning?

 

[chevyIIheavy]

could be a number of place most common is a blown head gasket most extreme would be a cracked block.

 

[Novaman Oscar]

when i was looking at nova's i came across a 69 with a freshly rebuilt 350 bored 40 over and when it came time looking at the oil pulled out the dipstick and it was a milky texture didnt even look like oli..but the rad had no oil in it or anything so my guess was that the block was cracked somewhere

 

[slow3oh]

If it looks like mud you could be in luck. I drained the oil in my nova the other day and it just about scared me half to death because it looked like someone substituted oil for mud.

but then i realized i added mystery oil to it PHEW!!!


but yours sounds like a diff problem

i attached a image just incase

 

[burns]

Bump. Anybody have any ideas?

 

[tehdrizzle]

Does it blow smoke? Does the temp continually rise? Does it have trouble running such as rough idle or stalling?

 

[burns]

It does not blow smoke but the temperature does continually rise.

 

[tehdrizzle]

If it's not smoking it's more than likely not a headgasket. I would check the water pump on the front of the engine though. It could be leaking from where the water pump connects to the block and weeping into the timing cover, or front oil pan seal.

 

[burns]

I will be looking a little more closely at it tomorrow. I haven't had a chance to really look at the truck too much yet.

 

[tehdrizzle]

Let us know your findings we are more than happy to help you out!

 

[dans67]

We've had a few of these in the shop in the past month with a leaky intake manifold, causing this. I forget exactly where the trouble spot is, but it's worth a shot.

 

[T. Jerman]

Back when i was wrenching at the dealerships in the late 80's gm come out with the new body style trucks and they removing weight everywhere. Well they did the same to the blocks. On the blocks they removed material from the underside on the head bolts in the lifter galley. After many heat cycles the torque from the head bolt would crack the block where they removed the material. This usually happened passenger side #8 cyl in the lifter galley. I don't know how many engine I replaced from this happening. As mentioned it could be the intake gasket also.
If the block is cracked I'm supprised it made it this long. I replaced some with only 18000 miles. I think the 90's truck fell into this also but not sure cant remember but I do know the 88 -89 did.
Oh I did pull out a few blocks that weren't cracked but got new motors and got couple of them.:yes:

 

[burns]

I think I have found the problem. The intake is leaking antifreeze between the front lip of the intake and the block. I didn't take the intake off but shouldn't there be oil leaking if that is where it is leaking from? The truck will hold a temperature on its own if you keep it full. It is a pretty good leak so the truck can't be driven but it won't overheat. I think this is going to be a simple intake swap. I am thinking that the coolant passage on the intake must be cracked on the underside of the intake and leaking in the lifter valley. Now I think I need to find an intake.

 

[burns]

Anybody know where I can get a stock replacement intake for this truck.

1990 Chevrolet K1500 5.7L 350 TBI Vin code K

I have been looking for a few hours and can't find anything but edelbrock and holley replacements.

 

[The Big Al]

It's very easy to mess-up a intake gasket when replacing the gasket. Especially hanging over the finder of a truck.

I have a Edelbrock intake "carb Style" that fits the TBI heads and a 600cfm carb that would work great on your combination. You will only need linkage bracket for the 700r4 transmission & cable linkage.

Al

 

[burns]

I think I have decided to stick with the tbi. It is all properly functioning and if all I have to do is replace the intake and change the oil I don't want to get more involved with the truck. If I was going to pull the motor and rebuild I would probably take you up on your offer Al. I found the holley tbi intake for $181. I may have to go that route if I can't find something cheaper. I will only be using this truck to haul tools and materials around in the summer. Maybe a tow here and there.

 

[carkraz1987]

might notneed the intake itself, just gaskets, ive seen the gaskets leekin alot from the front coolant passage into the valley. when u get the manifold off u can check the manifold, and it may not need replacing. before buying parts i would probly check first

 

[burns]

That is a very good point. I will pick up a set of gaskets tomorrow and pull the intake and take a look. It is over to the side so it could be coming from the water passage.

 

[burns]

Update

I pulled the intake last night and checked for cracks or other problems. No cracks but the intake gasket looked like it had just deteriorated around the water jackets. Cleaned everything up and reinstalled. No leaks except for the push in style heater hose on the intake which will probably need replaced and clean oil. Does not overheat. Looks like I got myself a cheap truck. Best $115.38(including the intake gasket) I ever spent. May already have my old truck traded for a car trailer. If the trailer isn't sold by this weekend I will be going to do the swap.

 

[69LT1Nova]

No leaks except for the push in style heater hose on the intake which will probably need replaced ...

I've got an '88 Chevy truck that has that had that same heater hose problem. I replaced it with a different bung and a new hose... and then found out that they sell replacement press-on style fittings that repairs the problem. DOH! Oh well, my truck works fine, but you can save some $$ if you just buy the fitting and O-ring on the push-in hose. I believe the kit is only $5.99 at AutoZone...