Nasty_Bird_'90

I'm gertting lots of coolant into my oil. Don't worry, I'm not driving it. I pulled the intake manifold off over the weekend b/c I had some vaccuum leaks. Got it back together, took it to the gas station, came home and checked all of my fluids to make sure I got everything right. Well, my oil was 2 qts. over and milky. So I drained it and there was alot of coolant in it. I did everything by the book, sealed up the intake with new gaskets, torqued everything to spec. The engine is a new L98 with aluminum heads that were all magnafluxed and not cracked. New head gaskets installed with the heads, torqed to spec. Do the TPI manifolds develop cracks anywheree? Its all I can think of

Air_Adam

Have you checked the bottom of the heads? I know that aluminum heads are more prone to warping than iron heads are.

rezinn

Did you drain the intake before pulling it? I could see a couple quarts of coolant draining out of it through the lifter valley into the pan if not.

ERICK87Z28

Sounds like an intake gasket problem. I just redid mine this last weekend, and discovered several things. It was leaking slowly, but getting progressively worse (coolant in oil). Also oil leak from rear of engine, getting worse as time went on. Tore it down, and discovered that some dingbat had used 2 different types of gaskets, one Felpro, the other was a cheapie paper gasket. No sealant on the bolts had allowed oil to migrate up and soak the cheap gasket. Loose intake bolts allowed gasket to fail, giving the pressurized water somewhere to go.

Pre-formed rubber gasket on rear China-Wall had been pinched on initial install, and no had given out, allowing a flood of oil over the wall, right behind distributor.

When doing the replacement, I went overboard and was extremely **** about making sure everything was perfectly clean, as I did not want to have to take it all apart again. It has been my experience, that even a very small piece of old gasket or even old RTV sealant will give the new gasket just enough of a bump so that it will not seal 100%. Even a piece the size of a head of a pin will allow water, under pressure, to find its way into the lifter valley.

So key issues I made sure to check and do: Clean the heads off like you want to see yourself in them. Then clean them again, using a razor blade and swab it all down with alcohol. Same goes for intake, where it will meet the purdy heads you just shined up. A wee bit of Blue RTV around the water jackets to allow for any pitting that might have occurred.

Nice bead of Black RTV along china-walls, extend it up heads approx 1/2".

Being very careful, install intake, position properly and put a bolt or two on each side just temporary, to make sure gaskets stay put. Use a teflon sealant, in a very small amount, on bolts (prevents oil migration), and install in recommended pattern. Torque accordingly, then recheck them all again. Retorqe, and check them again.

Remember, you don't want to be here again!!

Put the rest of the TPI back on, and you should be good to go. As I said, I was way overboard and spent lots of time making sure everything was well-prepped and clean, as I definitely did not want to tear it all apart again!

Hope this helps, and good luck.

Nasty_Bird_'90

I thought I was pretty **** about it the first time. Thats why I think there's a crack in the manifold or something like that.

Ed Maher

I bet you cracked your block.

Just figured i'd throw something out there too since we're all playing guessing games. Noone here has any clue what is leaking in your engine, and noone will until you start taking things apart.

BTW, TPI manifolds are notorious for getting eaten up by poor coolant maintenance, which could also lead to cracks.

Nasty_Bird_'90

Thanx Ed. I had the block and heads magnafluxed, so I doubt it's the block. The intake on the other hand came out of a boneyard from a car that didn't seem like it was taken care of very well. I'm pulling the manifold off tonight to inspect it. Thx.

Ed Maher

Hey. sometimes a little levity helps in the morning. TPI manifolds are notrious for basically rotting out, and you'll notice that there isn't al ot of meat to lose in the area of the crossover.

Nasty_Bird_'90

Well, I pressure tested the manifold and it had no coolant leaks . I meticulously cleaned and sealed up the top end of the motor. I could see when I removed the manifold that on the rear of the head where it looked like it hadn't sealed. All of the other ports had a ring around them where you could see that the gasket sealed. So I cleaned everything and gooped it all up good and buttoned it back up. I'll finish putting the runners/plenum on tomorrow after work and let you guys know what happened. Thx.