Do I need a head gasket?

[AlanL]

I have a 2003 Dmax/Allison with 20000 miles.

I have noticed whenever I do an oil change that the coolant level seems lower than it should be, especially given that the truck was warmed up before doing the oil change.

Today I started it and it said "Low Coolant Level". This is the first time I'd seen that.. I was parked in the same (level) spot at work where I park every day, so it didn't have anything to do with being on a hill or anything.

I've never seen any evidence of leaking coolant and my oil has always been pure when I've checked it (no signs of coolant being in it). The reverse is true of the coolant in the reservoir... no signs of oil being in the coolant.

Is this the tell tale sign of a head gasket problem? :mad: :mad: :mad:

-Al

[sdaver]

similar problem mine was a leak at the waterpump housing..............others have had injector cup seals leaking and I think maverick did have a head gasket changed..........they can pressure check with dye in it......hopefully its just a loose hose clamp

[David Proske]

You should have an oil report done from someone like Blackstone or AV lube and see if any coolant is in the oil. Do you smell any in the exhaust? How bout a coolant smell under the hood?

[AlanL]

A little coolant smell under the hood, but not too much and not all of the time. I thought I smelled some the other day.

I have a cat and EGR system so my exhaust smells funny anyway... has since day one with the truck.

-Al

[RichBailey]

Alan,
I just went through the exact same problem. The coolant level was dropping, about 1 qt per 1000 mi. Couldn't see a leak anywhere, although I would get a faint whiff of coolant at the front of the engine when I would open the hood. I also was very concerned about coolant in the oil, but just had an oil analysis done which showed no problems.

Took the truck down to a local GMC dealer (the owner of which is a friend of mine), and those lamedicks couldn't figure it out. Finally took it over to GMC truckcenter in Oakland (bigrig dealer) and they found the leak in 15 minutes.

It turned out to be a leak off the back of the waterpump to a coolant transfer tube.

Long story short, they replaced the waterpump, gaskets (7 of them), and coolant xfer tube. Everything is perfect now.

BTW, they said that they have not seen any cup seal leaks or head gasket problems in any 2002+ trucks, big or small. Had a few problems with 2001 model year.

Good luck, but your problem probably isn't serious.

[Paintdude]

I can not recommend enough to have your oil analized every oil change for piece of mind if nothing else..

Hope your is just the pump gaskets, I am sure it is..Good Luck..

[Lone Eagle]

Now that is overkill ;) or paranoid. :D Later! Frank

[JERMCK]

Place your overflow hose on the coolant tank into a plastic bottle and tape it. If you get any coolant in the bottle you probably have a head gasket issue. Just had mine replaced by dmaxalliTech. You can also watch for coolant on the inner fender liner just in front of the right front tire.

[AlanL]

I made an appointment for next Friday (My dealer is pretty heavily booked), so I'll find out what's happening then.

I'll also have them address my steering box (the typical rattle we all have) and the hi-beam indicator brightness and 265 tire size for the ABS.

Thanks for the info, I'll post the cause/solution to my coolant disapearance problems. At this point I'm thinking that its a leak at the water pump... when I start the truck in the morning something is loud/squeaky for the first few seconds.

-Al

[deadlyman]

alan had same problem leaky water pump first saw it leak then low coolant light long story short replaced injector cups and head gaskets seemed to fix coolant problem

[AlanL]

Yep, its the water pump!

They don't have all of the gaskets in stock, though... :mad: so I need to bring it back next week to have the water pump replaced.

While it was there they lubed my steering input shaft - which I know won't solve the clunky steering problem long term. tongue.gif

They also flashed for the high beam indicator and tire size for me. According to the service advisor chick (she's about 20, so don't get your panties in a twist that I didn't call her a "woman"... if were a guy that age I would have called him a dude) "They can flash your whole truck to know about the bigger tires". From everything I've read here, that's not true, just the ABS is effected. No matter, the Predator can take care of the rest. ;)

I'll post a reply when the truck is supposedly 100% fixed.

Thanks for all of the advice,
-Al

[dmaxalliTech]

Dont believe everything the "chick" tells you! She likely just got a promotion from Operator!

Tire size can only be adjusted in the ABS, NOT speedo through GM

[AlanL]

Funny enough, when I called to make the appointment, the operator told me that there was no such flash for the high beam indicator "You'll probably just have to live with it" she said in a condescending way.

Thanks to TDP, I *knew* that there was a flash for it!
:D

[AlanL]

So my truck is fixed, it appears as if was the water pump.

The day that I brought it back, I asked them to perform the switch to Synth on the front diff under warranty. The same service chick says that she's never heard of that TSB and besides, you need to have a problem with the truck before they'll perform a TSB anyway. I told her that I'd research the info (since she certainly wasn't going to) and I faxed it to her.

When I called her to see what was going on, she said that sevice manager said "NO" it doesn't get cold enough here. (Bullsh*t... its NH! Its was -12 plenty of times last year.) She said that she then went to the next manager up who "hemmed and hawed and finally said OK".

It seems cheaper to me than replacing a failed front axle assembly, but what do I know?

Anyway, When I went to pick up the truck it was after the service department closed... I paid the $69.03 (an hour's labor for programming for the 265/75 tires, even though they already had the computer there to program for the bright hi-beam indicator!) I drove to the bottom of the hill near the dealer and the "Low Coolant" message appeared.

I pulled a U-turn and went up to the flat part of the parking lot to check the coolant. Its low. I went back inside and ended up talking to the sales manager, who started making excuses for why it could have been right earlier when they worked on it, but the coolant got sucked back into the engine, etc... I told him that I understood the bleeding of the cooling system process, but that hardly seemed like my problem. I brought it in because the truck said "low coolant" and I drove it out of there with the truck saying "low coolant".

He told me that he would get to me after he finished what he was doing (which was chatting with somebody). We went to the service area and 3 guys in suits start putting coolant into my truck... they were going to add ALL coolant. I suggested that cutting it 50/50 with water might be better since that's what the bottle says to do. They take my advice and I drove home. While driving I turned the heat up to 90 for a couple of miles to make sure to get some coolant flowing through the heater core. I figured that the tech didn't do that because the temp was the same on the climate control when I dropped off the truck and when I picked it up.

When I got home I checked the coolant, it was low again. The next morning I stopped at another dealer on the way to work and paid $22 for a gallon of Dexcool. At lunch time I topped it up to the "full cold" level and its been fine ever since.

Funniest thing is, my bill said something like "In the next few weeks you'll recieve a survey from GM, we'd appreciate it if you fill it out and return it". Yeah... I don't think you do!

Oh, an now when I start it in the morning, it sounds like there's a hampster on a habitrail under the hood. Squeak Squeak Squeak.

Tell me again how the General makes money?

[David Proske]

There are only two infinate things. One is the universe and the other is human ignorance.

In the past I have called 5 service departments and talked to the service manager at each one. I got 5 different answers and a healthy dose of "I know it all" with each one.

That being said I can hear a tiny squeak with the hood open on my 03. I figgure it to be a tensioner.