Coolant and oil are mixing...

I've got a 2004 Silverado 1500 with the 5.3L V8 engine and around 85,000 miles.

I've noticed over the past couple weeks that my coolant level keeps getting low.
I'll top it off, then in a couple days, it's back to where it was.

I don't notice it leaking anywhere. There are no drips in my driveway, I don't smell burning coolant, and I don't notice anything leaking from anywhere.

Today I checked it out a little better. I pulled off my oil filler cap, and in the plastic tube that comes from the valve cover to the oil filler cap there is a bit of cream colored sludge.

I changed my oil around 2,000 miles ago and none sludge of this was there...
I checked the oil level on the dip stick and it looked fine.. the oil didn't look dis-colored or anything, and the level is just fine.

I started up and couldn't tell if its smoking or not.. it's pretty cold out here and all cars tend to let off a little steam or something that looks like white smoke when its cold, so I can't really tell if it is smoking or not.

The truck does not overheat at all.. just sits at it's normal temperature and never goes over or under it.

What do you guys think? Some people have told me that it could be a bad intake-manifold gasket, but I've always thought that cream colored sludge meant a head gasket..??

intake gaskets don't touch the coolant so...

if anything, a head gasket, check the plugs and see if one looks cleaner than the rest.

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p...s/IMG_0005.jpg

That's what I'm looking at..

Could be the castech heads. A lot of castings were faulty. There is a TSB, take it to the dealer have them run your VIN see if you have these heads. The General will replace them if you do.

I saw the TSB and was concerned this could be the problem as well..

Do you think GM will since it is a 2004, I am the second owner, and its at 84,000 miles?
Anyone tried it or heard of it being done?

They should.

if it's just that tube..i wouldn't worry too much. Most of the ones I see do that. I know my silverado/tahoe/blazer all look like that. The gaskets can leak, and moisture settles in there. Loosen drainplug and drain a little. If that's cream, head gasket. Normally vehicles idle very rough, and overheat when this is the case.

I haven't gone further into the motor.. I plan on taking the valve covers off tomorrow and seeing what I can find. It's just what I see in the oil filler tube and the fact that I'm loosing a bit of coolant every couple days and it doesn't seem to be on the outside of the motor..

Mine does it when it's cold. From october to april i lose the capacity of the reservoir. I just kinda brushed it off to heating/cooling to extreme conditions, and leave it alone. It's done it 3 years now, first 2 years drove me nuts.


What's 'a bit' of coolant?

It's probably been a half a gallon so far this month..

I've seen that on other trucks, wasn't too concerned with it, however, the customer didn't mention coolant usage either.

I took off the passenger side valve cover gasket today, and all appeared normal except for where one of the pockets where the head bolt is at in the middle of the head is filled with a milky/creamy color fluid.. the oil and coolant combination.. all the other pockets had oil in it which I am pretty sure is normal, but this one pocket is full of it kind of like the service bulletin about this problem said..

So, next question: Do you think if I grind that down slightly and apply JB Weld (for the right kind of metal.. are these heads aluminum or cast iron or what?) and would that fix it?
Or should I just get new heads?

GM will pay for the new heads.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Frenchy

GM will pay for the new heads.

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I went to a Chevrolet dealership and they said they would not.
I showed them the service bulletin, and the service advisor came back with a quote to remove the valve covers and inspect ($350).

He said after they pull off the valve covers and inspect it they can try to call a GM Manager and see, but more than likely GM won't do anything. They can't call a GM Manager until they pull the valve covers off.

So my choices with that are either pay them $350 to pull off the valve covers and inspect it then them do nothing and I'm out $350, or they might do something... it seems like a gamble to me and I don't know what to do on it..

That's unbelievable, when I was in the dealership GM paid for every set of heads. The inspection I can't say for sure, but the customers didn't pay for the heads. I'd try another dealership, it does depend on the regional mangers call. My service manger had the regional manager in his pocket, somehow.

My next nearest dealership is around 80 miles away,and I'm not too sure about driving the truck there.. really don't want to screw things up further. And according to the service adviser, it's the same regional manager for the Los Angeles area..
I also called the other dealership this morning and they said that GM won't pay for it since it's just a service bulletin and it doesn't say any additional warranty coverage.

I don't mind paying the inspection / part of it, but I just want to know if they will pay up front not when it's all taken apart..
And this Chevrolet dealer just opened about a month ago. They use to be a Saturn Dealer (Actually where I bought the truck used earlier this year in March), but they moved to this new location and changed to a Chevrolet dealership.

Ok my second solution is a call a reputable head shop. Most do know about the issue and they can fix it. Or junkyard hunt, 862 and 706 heads are the same but only Castech 706's had the issue. If I remember correctly there is markings to ID them. Or if you want more performance a set of 243 or 799 (they are the same) castings milled .030 would work nicely. If the dealer charges you, you will be bending over and you'll be paying for the lube too. If it was me and the dealer wasn't giving me a for sure answer I'd skirt around them, especially knowing some of the games that do get played.

Update:

I took the valve cover off again and took some pictures this time.
http://i591.photobucket.com/albums/s...c/IMG_0002.jpg
(the green circle is the area where the weird colored oil was. There was still a good amount there, where the arrow is at)

Here are some other pictures.. maybe you guys can see anything wrong or abnormal or can tell if I even have the heads the Service Bulletin is talking about..

http://i591.photobucket.com/albums/s...c/IMG_0013.jpg
http://i591.photobucket.com/albums/s...c/IMG_0015.jpg
http://i591.photobucket.com/albums/s...c/IMG_0019.jpg

I rented a coolant pressure tester from Auto Zone and put it on my truck.. pumped it up to 15psi, and let it sit for around 10 minutes.. it did not loose pressure and I did not notice any leaks or anything abnormal.
So I really don't understand where I'm loosing this coolant from.. (I may have over exaggerated on a post a little big ago.. I've probably lost about 1/4 of a gallon in the past couple weeks.)

I didn't see the castech emblem..i have a pic somewhere, let me see if i can find it, double check yourself if you have it

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-..._2922998_n.jpg


if you have this.... start lookin for some new heads. If you're going to wait til spring I'll have a set of 862's for sale, but I'm sure you can find them sooner if you feel like messing with this cold.

I just had my motor replace in my 05 silverado 5.3 because of the heads that were made by Castech. It did the exact same thing that your truck is doing now. The dealer never told me that the heads were cracked either. But if you Castech is infamous for cracked heads in these Silverado's..... I replaced my intake manifold, thermostat and that wasn't successful. Hope this helps

I feel your pain brother. Tuesday my low coolant alarm came up. I have the emulsified oil in the oil fill tube also.

Merry Christmas,
Tom