I know this is probably a stupid question but I need to ask someone other than chatgpt..I have a 2004 Chevy Express 2500 with a 4.8l engine with roughly 200k miles. About 8k miles ago the water pump went out while driving and the vehicle overheated about 3/4 of the way up the temperature gauge on the dash, so roughly 240 degrees.I got the vehicle home and replaced the water pump and thermostat and its been operating at normal temps ever since. However, I am not experiencing a loss of coolant out of the exhaust. When the vehicle has been sitting and I turn it on, some white fog comes out the exhaust as well as some water and a few drips of oil (maybe, need more evidence to confirm this). No coolant is found under the vehicle at all. I am under the assumption that the head gasket is blown and the block is likely warped slightly.With that being said, I drive the vehicle once a week for about 4-6 hours and during that time I lose about 12oz of coolant. So I've been keeping an eye on the coolant level and topping it off before I go anywhere. I recently did back to back long distance trips of 3k miles and 6k miles and got home both times, just needed to keep topping the coolant off.Because the van has a doghouse configuration (engine under the dash), pulling the engine is not really an option (for a diy) and the vehicle has 200k miles anyways so I dont want to drop a bunch of money at a mechanic when I could put that money into a new (used) car.I am torn between the following options:>keep doing what im doing and topping the coolant off>trying to seal it with headgasket fixer in a bottle (dont laugh at me)I understand headgasket sealer has its own risks and could plug my cat or seize pistons..etcWhat should I do bros? I'm hoping to get another year or two out of the vehicle
>>28742738>When the vehicle has been sitting and I turn it on, some white fog comes out the exhaust as well as some water and a few drips of oil (maybe, need more evidence to confirm this). No coolant is found under the vehicle at all. I am under the assumption that the head gasket is blown and the block is likely warped slightly.I had something similar happen with a 2001 Xterra. It would slowlllllly lose coolant but nothing came up with the head gasket tester from harbor freight, figured it was just old. It had bars gasket sealer poured in it sometime before I bought it.Turns out there was a microscopic head gasket leak. Had it for 2 years and 15,000 miles. Then one day POP instant fog machine.To help you decide to fix or not: If you drop X dollars on it what is it worth after? More than X dollars? Then do it. The same or maybe less. Don't bother, ride it into the ground. It will always be worth 600 bucks at the scrap yard.>Captcha: gpgay
>>28742762>To help you decide to fix or not: If you drop X dollars on it what is it worth after? More than X dollars? Then do it. The same or maybe less. Don't bother, ride it into the ground. It will always be worth 600 bucks at the scrap yard.I think you're probably right. I'm leaning towards driving it until it the engine blows. And in the meantime I can save up some money for a silverado of a comparable year, then when it blows, I could swap all my new parts from the van to the truck.One thing is for certain, I am never buying another vehicle with this shitty-ass doghouse configuration. I am so sick of laying on my stomach and contouring my body every time I need to do engine work. Kinda tempted to ditch the whole GMT800 platform and buy a late 90's honda crv where I know I can pull the engine and resurface the head at home if need be.
>>28742776>I could swap all my new parts from the van to the truckYou could, or just be done with it, cash the 600 dollar check and move on. One thing to consider is the van was designed for fleet customers. Lots of units for X, Y, and Z business who were never going to work on them themselves and some trucks also share this.There's lots of sole proprietorship businesses that operate out of soccer mom mini vans and crossovers.
>>28742783Maybe I should dump it on a used car dealer as a partial trade for a honda pilot or crv lol>"im here to downsize my vehicle, it runs great, but its too big for me"
>>28742738Sell it likes this. Don't disclose the issue. If moralfag, trade it to a dealer.
>>28742776I love my chevy g20 but having to remove the center console and carpet and then fight with the doghouse cover because it doesn't fit between the front seats and the dash can really get on your nerves
>>28742738yes
>>28742738You definitely warped the head. Headgasket sealer does work but for how long i dunno cuz i only used it on short-trip old shitboxes. Lasted me a couple yrs before the white smoke started appearing again.I've only used it for leaky headgaskets, NOT warped shit.
>>28742738Try some black pepper. It is non abrasive and grinds nice. The little flakes stack and overlap and compress to seal the leak. It works okay for radiators and probably even better for cylinder heads. I’d pick fine over coarse but I don’t think it matters much.
>>28742738>200k miles>plug my catthat shit isn't there anymore bro you have nothing to worry about
>>28742738I've heard these work pretty well
>>28746427Yep, I recommend OP trying the forbidden alkaseltzer. It's cheap, OEM, and has ginger and some natural fiber shit in it that makes it far less likely to fuck up things. Only if all the tabs don't do anything would I move on to a more chemical solution, something like K-Seal is decent.Something like the Blue Devil in the OP pic, a HG sealer that uses lots of sodium silicate, is exactly what you don't want. It basically can turn to liquid glass, which is exactly how it could potentially repair a leak, but that same chemical reaction can clog up other passages and cause many other problems.>tldr tabs>non-sodium silicate HG sealer>"liquid glass"
>>28746427>>28746436thanks. I didnt know these things existed. I just placed an order. will report back with results
>>28746436I know with the chemical sealers you have to follow the directions to an absolute T after doing an extensive coolant flush to get any contaminants out of the cooling system. They're actually awesome when the economics don't work out for getting an actual repair i.e your shit is rusty and has maybe 2 years left of roadworthiness or you're pushing 250k+ miles on a 20 year old daily. Where a lot of people go wrong is using them when an engine was killed prematurely with neglect where no mechanic-in-a-can could help, or ignoring the directions and just throwing the bottle in. Mechanically inclined drivers who take the time to do them correctly usually have good things to say.
>>28746507I feel like theres no coming back once you introduce that stuff into your cooling system. And this van I have shares alot of parts with the silverado which is another vehicle I could see myself buying someday, so I want the parts. Im gonna try to forbidden alkaseltzer and if that dont work, I'll buy another car, then try to pull the heads on the van without taking the motor out. I hear the passenger side is easy, but the drivers side is very difficult because of the drive shaft. From here on out, when I buy a used car, I am immediately putting a new thermostat and water pump in it. Shitty lesson to learn
>>28746516even if I can only pull the passenger head, thats like a 50% chance I solve the problem
>>28742738Like others have said you probably warped the heads. You could try a set from a junkyard but that job is going to be a bitch in a van. >>28742783>There's lots of sole proprietorship businesses that operate out of soccer mom mini vans and crossovers.Yeah and they're burning through vehicles every 2-4 years. Most people don't realize how hard fleet usage is on a normal vehicle even if you're just driving around empty let alone carrying tools or cargo. You're just a lot better off going with a somewhat heavy duty platform like a real van or a truck.
>>28746526>You could try a set from a junkyard but that job is going to be a bitch in a van.why not just pull them and have them machined?
>>28742738only good ghetto coolant patches are one's with copper in them, since they form a flexible metal plug when they melt rather than the hard silicate of waterglass (eg kseal)that being said, swapping a broken headgasket out for a new one is technically a pretty simple fix, just a matter of a knowledge check. doesn't require you to drop a trans or pull the engine out or put the car on lifts, so about the most any home wrencher can do. all you need is an adjustable or digital torque wrench to torque the new bolts to spec, and the factory service manual to follow the procedure for your make and model (you can find pretty much any online)
>>28746545>that being said, swapping a broken headgasket out for a new one is technically a pretty simple fix, just a matter of a knowledge check. doesn't require you to drop a trans or pull the engine out or put the car on lifts, so about the most any home wrencher can do. all you need is an adjustable or digital torque wrench to torque the new bolts to spec, and the factory service manual to follow the procedure for your make and model (you can find pretty much any online)its an access problem friendo
>>28746546well, simple for *most* vehicles
>>28742738>>28746546You probably warped the head and possibly the block so tossing a new head gasket isn't enough to fix your problem even if access were easy. Try the plug ideas mentioned by other anons and just accept that your car is on its way out regardless. Any remaining mileage you get is a bonus.
>>28742738>trying to seal it with headgasket fixer in a bottleyou need liquid glassgotta bypass the radiator and remove the thermostat to do this halfass correctfill er up and never try to open that engine afterreinstall the thermostat after following the rest of the instructions but while the motor is still warmreconnect radiator and refillDone right, the sodium silicate will fill leaks but make head removal damn near impossible
>>28747546>gotta bypass the radiator and remove the thermostat to do this halfass correctThat's actually brilliant, never heard of anyone trying that.
Wait, how easy is it to warp your heads anyways?
>>28747546>doing all this work when in the same amount of time you can just replace the gaskethuh
>>28747621some designs make it easy, others make it hard
>>28747749What are the symptoms? Part of my coolant system broke recently, shop fixed it up and said my car was doing well otherwise for its age and mileage, but I'm still kinda worried, it happened on the highway and I didn't notice til the engine temp light came on (no gauge). I've done an oil change since then and nothing looked out of the ordinary
