Looks like a sludge issue (99 Suburban)

[bigbull2984]

We have a 1999 suburban with the 5.7lt. We are the only owners. This thing has been giving up problems since day 1. Ok now the sludge issue. I just started doing my own oil change on this thing. ITs my parents car and when I go visit them I usually do the oil change. The last oil change i did was 2k miles ago. When I did that OCI I took the filter off and sludge just came out. I use a tough guard fram and Maxlife oil. 2k later I did another oil change and same thing. More sludge. \

Also I opened the oil cap and it was like the engine was steaming. There was steam coming out the oil cap. Is this normal?

 

[Pablo]

Define sludge.

Steam?

Coolant ingress into engine?

I suggest a Used Oil Analysis and go from there.

 

[bigbull2984]

Sludge = thick and chunky oil.

 

[Pablo]

Quote:

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Sludge = thick and chunky oil.

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OK so no whitish grayish khrap. Still, do a UOA. Then Just order up 2-3 bottles of AutoRx and go to town.

 

[wavinwayne]

My supervisor had a 99 Suburban that blew a head gasket last year. He did regular maintenance. You might want to have a professional take a look at it.

 

[bigbull2984]

What are the syptoms of a blown headgasket

 

[ThirdeYe]

Loss of coolant into the crankcase, or oil in your coolant.

 

[Donald]

I agree with the suggestion to do a UOA and also monitor the coolant level. You could also consider using Amsoil Flush before next oil change. If you add Amsoil Flush to your oil, you will need to get a sample pump to sample the oil for UOA prior to adding the Amsoil Flush. Do not consider any other flush products. Amsoil Flush is good for the liquid/gooey stuff and Auto-Rx is good for the hard crusted on stuff. You may need to use Amsoil Flush followed by a Auto-Rx treatment (or two).

Get a better filter than a Fram. Even a Supertech filter is better.

 

[Drew99GT]

GM 5700; known intake gasket eater. Has it been losing coolant?

 

[bigbull2984]

Yes its been eating coolant

 

[bigbull2984]

I acutally saw coolant leaking from back of the enging someehre

 

[bigbull2984]

How hard can the headgasket be to replace. I work on my Acura Engine all the time.

 

[Donald]

While this GM engine is a workhorse, it is known for problems with the intake manifold gasket as others have mentioned. If that is the case, then you will not need to pull the heads to replace a head gasket. A compression and leakdown test might also be a good idea.

 

[bigbull2984]

I got some prices on the gaskets. Wow alot cheaper than my 2001 Acura Gaskets.

 

[The Critic]

Quote:

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I got some prices on the gaskets. Wow alot cheaper than my 2001 Acura Gaskets.

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And transmissions!

 

[bigbull2984]

My TLs transmission blows I think I am on # 5

 

[Chris142]

Quote:

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I acutally saw coolant leaking from back of the enging someehre

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If it's leaking out it's also leaking into the engine. Intake gasket time.

 

[NYEngineer]

I replaced the intake gasket on my 98 Yukon for exactly that same reason.

 

[mechtech2]

Intake gasket.

 

[Jim 5]

LIM Gaskets on my previous 98 K1500 with the 5.7L Vortec. Very common.

Use the fel-pro problem solver gaskets. They cost more, but if done correctly it's a one-time fix.