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- Jan 9, 2011
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I've been asking around about this in a few places, so please forgive me if you've seen this sad tale before! (Maybe I should post this under "Matters of the Heart," since mine always feels broken when Moby needs repairs. Sniff.)<br><br>I have a '96 1500 Express (5.7L engine) with around 95,000 miles on it. It has a cooling system leak. Actually, it had two until earlier in the week. One was resolved by tightening a hose clamp on a section of hose near the rear heater heater core.<br><br>The remaining leak is relatively slow. The system lost about one pound of pressure in 15 minutes when pressured up to 20 psi using a cooling system pressure checker borrowed from Auto Zone.<br><br>I removed the doghouse, and have more or less traced it to the front of the engine block. I am not happy about this at all. I don't know engines well at all, but it looks like it could be coming from the head gasket.<br><br>There may also be a small amount of seepage under pressure from the manifold intake gasket. (Frankly, I'm pretty much guessing that's what I'm looking at, based on the thick, orange sealant there, which matches the description of a Wacker T product I read about in a TSB.)<br><br>Sadly, I don't drive the van very much. I have put considerable time, effort and money into various repairs in the time I've owned it. I recognize that this kind of leak can have serious consequences if coolant gets mixed with engine oil. I check the oil every time it's driven, and have seen no sign of that.<br><br>The cooling system seems to function well otherwise, even in extreme heat with the a/c on. The water pump was replaced not too terribly long ago, and I was told the system looked pretty decent then.<br><br>Here's where I could really use some input:<br><br>Is it reasonable to consider adding some Bar's Gold (or similar) to the system, continue to monitor the engine oil and hope for the best?<br><br>I haven't checked with a shop yet to see what it might cost to fix this "right." Is it reasonable to assume it will be a small fortune?<br><br>BTW: I do run DexCool in it. PLEASE, no DexCool debates if at all possible (LOL!)<br><br>Many thanks for any ideas!<br><br>Vickie<br>(Sitting in my 93.5 degree van, pouting, and <i>still</i> loving it!)<br><br>