I'm a relative newbie to the forum... just joined when we bought our 2004 Tahoe Z71 with the 5.3. I've been snooping around the forum looking for mods, etc.
About two months ago we got a low coolant message. It took about one gal. of coolant to fill it back up. Since then it has eaten about a gal. per month of coolant.
Took it to the dealership and they pulled the valve cover and discovered a ton of creamy colored build up on the inside of the valve cover and a good deal of sludge inside the head. The diagnosis is that the heads are cracked. Apparently there is a service bulletin about Castech heads and that they were improperly cast. The heads are porous and allow coolant to seep through the heads resulting in a slow leak. My slow leak turned into a fast one when the head cracked.
I'm worried that if I just change the heads (+-$2,000) I'll be leaving other issues in the engine that were caused by coolant intrusion. Option two is to replace the engine for +-$5,000 and get a brand new engine with warranty. Option three is to try to band aid fix it and cross my fingers.
Any advice here? I'd appreciate any help I can get!
Thanks,
Frustrated newbie.
About two months ago we got a low coolant message. It took about one gal. of coolant to fill it back up. Since then it has eaten about a gal. per month of coolant.
Took it to the dealership and they pulled the valve cover and discovered a ton of creamy colored build up on the inside of the valve cover and a good deal of sludge inside the head. The diagnosis is that the heads are cracked. Apparently there is a service bulletin about Castech heads and that they were improperly cast. The heads are porous and allow coolant to seep through the heads resulting in a slow leak. My slow leak turned into a fast one when the head cracked.
I'm worried that if I just change the heads (+-$2,000) I'll be leaving other issues in the engine that were caused by coolant intrusion. Option two is to replace the engine for +-$5,000 and get a brand new engine with warranty. Option three is to try to band aid fix it and cross my fingers.
Any advice here? I'd appreciate any help I can get!
Thanks,
Frustrated newbie.
