Chocolate Milkshake!

Yeah, it''s as bad as the subject implies. Here''''s a little history...

The vehicle was mistreated by the previous owners. I bought a 2000 Chevy Blazer (4.3L 4x4 LS) a couple years back, got a great deal. Problem is, they never did the routine maintenance. I obviously didn''t know this, and have been fixing minor problems since.
Recently, she overheated a second time; a year ago the coolant had coalesced into the rusty sandy gunk and I had the system flushed by the dealership. They did a crappy job, but at least the gunk at the cap was gone. I hoped things would be okay until she overheated again just this past week. This time I decided to flush the coolant system myself, knowing I''d probably do a better job and doubly make sure things were done right. As I was taking the overflow tank out of the car to give it a proper cleaning, I noticed there was oil on the top of the water. (started the process with a garden hose) I questioned the oil and it told me to check the engine oil dipstick, where it and some 10w-40 decided to hang out. The couple produced some nasty chocolate milk looking crap, and from that point on I knew I was screwed.
Decided to check things out; took the valve covers off and found horrible coffee coolatta looking gunk all over the place. I knew it was either a head gasket or intake seal; so I started first (after scouring these forums) with the intake manifold. It was pretty gross in there too; but the SUV has almost 100k miles on it. The intake seals were not too bad, so off came the heads. (Pain in the rear; the headers are a PAIN to take off on the left side) I found a busted head gasket and now I''''m ready to put her all back together. There was coolant all over the place mixed with oil; and before I put it all back together, I wanted to ask a few questions to this great blazer think tank.

I know coolant on the cranks, bearings, etc in the engine block is no good. My plan is to get her all back together, after cleaning and machining the heads, and first filling up with some new oil, then draining it after running idle till at temperature, then doing another oil change. I''''ll probably drive it for about 5-10 miles, and perform another oil change. Possibly after that, go a week of normal driving, and oil change a final time, and then putting in synthetic as a final hope that all will run well after this. I have to flush out the entire cooling system; radiator, heater core, and transmission (automatic). Also going to swap out all the cooling hoses just because they''re caked on the inside with rusty looking gunk; and the majority of them had to get cut off because they''ve probably been clamped on for 9 years.

Does anyone have advice or any extra precautions, experiences, or just a general good rule of thumb for what I''''m about to do? I have pictures to post, and they can be used at will by forum membership for anything that might be needed of them. They''ll be up hopefully when all is done. Please keep explanations and jargon fairly simple; I''m a fighter aircraft mechanic by trade and this is my first time delving into the realm of an internal combustion engine.

Thanks in advance for any replies; and wish me luck. :)

Edit: I was reading the guys problem below me with the leaky rad line. The aluminum lines that go to the oil and the tranny, I am leery on trying to figure them out on how to disconnect them. Chilton''s says undo the clip and pull it out; but after fumbling with some needle nose pliers, I''m scared to pry and break an expensive part. (as if this isn''t expensive enough). Any advice? They have a threaded ''rosan'' type fitting, but also has a paperclip sized clip thats around it. I''d really like to not break these. Thanks.

I think you are being overly cautious with this.  Too much water/coolant in the oil can wash the bearings causing damage (water is a poor lubricant), but we are talking predominantly water here.  Once you get the water out of the system by draining the coolant, you may want to run an engine flush to make sure all of that nice milkshake stuff is out of there, but after that, do oil changes as you regularly would.

As far as the clips on the oil lines go, hopefully the illustrations below help:



Or just check out THIS POST which details the replacement of the oil cooler lines on the 2nd gen.

The illustrations do help; thank you.

What are the procedures for a proper engine flush? Will I need any specialized fittings or some sort of pressurized oil cart to provide the necessary results? I suppose I am being overly cautious, I''m running off of aircraft maintenance procedures... and any contaminates in oil or hydro systems results in an extensive flush of all lines and reservoirs. I was looking at my rocker arm bearings and they are filled with the coolant/oil mixture. There was a lot of water removed but I''m going to put some compressed air to them and hopefully get out as much of that mixture as I can before reassembly. Or then again... maybe that too is being overly cautious. I''ll follow your advice, your the car mechanic here. :)

I am just another DIY-er like most people here.  By engine flush, I mean the flush in the can stuff.  Just follow the directions on the can.  

Sounds easy enough. Thanks for the help. I will get those pictures up soon; everyone can gawk at how disgusting it really was!

ravenhurst,
I have been in your shoes, although it was a ''''93 and I created the problem myself. Long story short. I swapped an ''''85 4.3L V6 into the ''''93 and had to drill one accessory bolt hole in the passengers head. Went a little too deep and had coolant mixing with my oil.

I popped off the intake manifold and valve covers to flush my engine.
I took out my oil pan drain plug and put a empty catch can under it. Then poured as much cheap oil as needed to wash all the sludge away, then a did it again. Replaced the oil filter, put the engine back together, filled her with oil and let it idle for 5 minutes while I checked for leaks, still using cheap oil. Drained that, changed the filter, topped off and let it idle for 20 mintues. Repeated the process and this time took it out for a 15 minute drive to get her up to operating temp. drained/ filter one more time and filled up with good oil.
2 years later and my son still drives it.

As for the cooling system. The gunk comes from air in the system. Replace the rad cap, hoses, flush throughly with a chemical, and top off. Drive and check that it is topped off.

Like swart said, the tranny cooler lines are easy to get off, even at the tranny end with the quick clips. I had to pull my tranny to rebuild it and didn''''t know aobut the quick clips until after I got it out. Trust me, the quick clips are much easier than removing the exhaust system to get a wrench in there.

Post up if you still have questions.
 
My engein swap thread with pics of hte oil milkshake.
http://chevytruckworld.tenmagazines.com/ew/account-photos.asp?album=18998
 
milkshake.
http://chevytruckworld.tenmagazines.com/gallery/Hanr2/245122.jpg
http://chevytruckworld.tenmagazines.com/gallery/Hanr2/245114.jpg
http://chevytruckworld.tenmagazines.com/gallery/Hanr2/245113.jpg

I added all my photos to photobucket. I''ll paste the link to the album below. Everything that came back from the machine shop looks awesome. They resurfaced, oven baked, and checked my valves, as well as resealed them with the parts from my felpro kit. Hopefully I''ll have her running by tonight, so keep your fingers crossed!

On a different note, I''m looking to replace my coolant overflow tank. I can''t find one anywhere. Mine is pretty gunked up with a hard coating of that old dexcool. It''s been like this since I bought it, and I put some engine flush in it and let it sit, but it didn''t help much; even with throwing in some lug nuts and shaking it around violently. If anyone knows a good vendor, please, let me know!

http://s12.photobucket.com/albums/a237/ravenhurst2/Engine%20Maintenance/

Seems like you have it well under control.
Let us know how it turns out.
 
 

Here''s an update on the status.

1. Put the valve covers on the wrong sides; and only found out after everything else was completely bolted on; discovered this when I went to put my air filter assembly on and the oil filler was in the way. I backtracked my steps to figure out how in the world this happened, and all of the engines in the chiltons/haynes have the filler on the left side. I went through some old pictures of my engine and found that it needs to be on the right side. Blah. Just added about an hours worth of work for nothing.

2. I still filled it with oil; and filled it to capacity. Although I measured the oil from the jug, the dipstick shows no signs of oil. My question to the forum is will it take more oil than usual to fill up or could this be a potential problem with the dipstick tube? It had been wiggled out of the way during the head and exhaust manifold process. Looking with an inspection mirror, it looks as thought it should be fine.

3. Readers will have to consult the photos here...


Upon rebuilding, I found a small vacuum line that I have no idea what it does. It starts here, in the photo above, and routes to this part below...


The rubber hose that curves off to the left in the photo is the vacuum line in question. I have no idea where it goes, and my gut tells me its an overboard drain because the end of the house has nothing but dust on it. Can anyone tell me the purpose of this hose? The parts visible run along the firewall right under the wiper blades.

Thanks in advance guys.

Do you have auto4wd?  Also, what is it that you are working with here...  I had made some assumptions initially...

If you have Auto4wd, then this may be the front axle engagement solenoid.  This vacuum line should go to the front axle engagement actuator which for a 2nd gen is located under the battery tray.

Yes there is an A4WD feature, though I never use it; and I''ll check first thing tomorrow and see if that is indeed the A4WD solenoid.



Vehicle is a 2000 Blazer LS 4x4. The usual 4.3L Vortec.

I still have yet to find where this vacuum line connects to. I checked out under the battery tray and couldn''t see any connect points... but I only spent about ten minutes looking; once I get knees deep in the engine bay again Ill look harder.

EDIT: So I removed the battery tray and there isn''t anything under there other than a junction box for the positive terminal and the wire harness for the horn. Any further hints would be greatly welcomed. I''ve been up in the wheel well, under the computer/overflow tank, and I just cant find where this hose hooks up. I have a feeling once I find it, or someone points it out, I''''m going to feel like a moron! :)

EDIT 2: Sorry I add more questions to the same thread. I hope I''m not confusing anyone. I need some advice on removing the fan from the water pump. Its still under tension from the serpentine belt, and when I put a large wrench on that center nut it just spins the pulley under the belt. If I hold one of the pulley to pump bolts with a wrench, its tightening it almost to the point of breaking, as I try to break torque on the fan nut. Am I suppose to use something special to take the fan off? Chiltons just says to remove the big nut. Maybe I should blast it with some WD40. Not sure. Advice, once again, is greatly appreciated.

On a side note, I fixed the oil dipstick tube, shes now showing the correct amount of oil in the crankcase. Valve covers are back to where they should be too.

Upon ensuring proper coolant level in the system, it started to heavily seep out of the water pumps weep hole. Read on here that its a bad impeller blade seal. Go figure. At least the water pump at the store is only 50 bucks, and its fairly easy to change without major incident.



If it isn''t one thing, its another...

The back hatch will no longer open either. I was storing the new jugs of oil and coolant in there so I wouldn''t mix them up with the "hazardous waste" of the recaptured old fluid in similar containers. Now; she just whines at me with the little noise of the actuating motor and doesn''t release the glass gate. Cant open the tail gate unless this is open either. No methods of prying are going to work... and while this is probably meant for a different thread, has anyone had to crawl inside the cargo area to pull the door apart due to the same problem? What a pain. So many times have I debated on selling this truck; but it has everything I want in a small sized SUV. Guess Ill love her through thick and thin. :) Any advice from you professional DIYers? Any tricks on getting the gate opened without power?

Thanks.

Sounds like you are making headway on the engine.  Before you go through all of the trouble of installing the new water pump, check the gasket surfaces against a known flat surface (piece of glass works great).  I have seen a few instances where remanufactured water pumps do now have parallel or even flat gasket surfaces resulting in a blown out gasket.

For the rear hatch, Faulty Rear Hatch

If by making headway you mean taking a few steps back, then yep, all is going great! :) I didn''t work on it much tonight; was busy enough thanks to the Air Force. However I will certainly check the gasket surfaces for flatness. It is a new ACDelco part, so it should be flawless; however with experience, its always better to check. Good advice, thank you Swart.

And the Rear Hatch thread worked great. I looked for it, but as you are a diety here it does make the normal user''s job much easier. Thank you very much; and I''ll keep everyone posted!

As a return for everyones work and advice, I''d like to make a step by step for removing the water pump; as soon as I break the torque on this nut that is. I feel a need to give back to this community.

I have more projects to do, so maybe I''ll do guides for those as well. We''ll see how the "easy" water pump goes! :)

I have a 2000 4x4x4 LS and couldn''''t find what you have posted in your picture. My truck looks different. If you do have the auto4x4 then that could be why. Mine doesn''''t ahve the auto 4x4, mine is a part time t-case NP233. Look at teh tag on the back of the t-case, what model do you have?
 
Too be honest I don''t remember how I got my fan off, or rather I dont want to confuse it with an earlier model. If memory does serve me correctly. I left the belt on, put a crescent, maybe a pipe wrench, on it with a long breaker bar and cranked. Or it had 4 bolts that hold teh fan blades in place. Now I''ll have to go look. I''ll post up later tonight. I have to stain my bar counter top today will I still have decent weather. I take a look between coats.

Thanks Hanr. I thought the 4x4x4 meant it was 4x4 hi and low, with the auto 4wd function. Dangit.
I haven''t looked at my transfer case yet. been doing the water pump today; couldn''t get the fan off of the pump so I removed the entire assembly. I''ll get it off somehow outside of the vehicle.

If anyone has a 2000 with Auto4x4 and 4x4 Hi + Lo, please if you can look at the post with the pictures of the vacuum line above, trace that line in question to where it connects to and tell me, I''ll love you forever.

<3

I was messing around under the hood this weekend and I tried tracing them and I lost them both. I wasn''t really trying to look were they went just seeing if I could find it. The one with the 2 lines on it the one that goes to the left, pass. side, goes around the engine then goes down at the front of the engine (I didn''t feel like crawling around under the truck). The line that goes to the right goes into that T fitting in the first pic. The one of the lines runs up the drivers fender and goes into the fender. I will look a little better if we are slow at the shop tomorrow, plus I have to change that T-case switch.

I found it. It was under the battery tray like swart said. It wasn''t out in the open either, to be in my defense. The soilenoid has a hookup almost dead center underneath, only visible with an inspection mirror. I took pics. Will post very soon.


First attempt at starting was a fail. Most likely I put the distrb 180 out. I smell fuel in exhaust and every now and then hear a pop of a combustion, but no crank. Will check rotor and cables tomorrow. Time for bed. :)

Thanks for all the participation.

quote:

ORIGINAL: djdrew010

I was messing around under the hood this weekend and I tried tracing them and I lost them both. I wasn''''t really trying to look were they went just seeing if I could find it. The one with the 2 lines on it the one that goes to the left, pass. side, goes around the engine then goes down at the front of the engine (I didn''''t feel like crawling around under the truck). The line that goes to the right goes into that T fitting in the first pic. The one of the lines runs up the drivers fender and goes into the fender. I will look a little better if we are slow at the shop tomorrow, plus I have to change that T-case switch.

 
Line dropping under the truck goes to your t-case, it provides vacuum to the t-case.
Line going in the drivers fender goes to your HVAC controls, it provides vacuum so you can switch from the floor to the defrost, the HVAC system is vacuum operated.
 
4x4x4=4 tires x 4 wheel drive x 4 doors.
 
It would have been easier with the pump in the truck.
Have you covered it with PB Blaster?
 

Thats what I thought too, the fan should be easier to unmount with the pump hooked up. However, there was nothing I could do to hold that pulley from spinning, even with tension from the belt. I took the whole thing out, took it to O''reiley''s, and was just going to replace everything. I couldn''t get it off in a vice or anything, without ruining that pulley. When I got there, I brought the part in with me.. lol.. they got a kick out of that. The dude had the huge spanner wrench and lever to hold everything in place and he got if off iwth almost no effort. Go figure. I rented the tools to bring home and mounted the new fan on. Must easier with the right tools for the right job. I took pics of that also, so maybe I can avert someone in the future from having the same problem.

So this is the thing that vacuum line connects to. Its underneath the battery tray, and the line hooks up underneath it.

That would be the vacuum actuator for the front axle.

and it goes to teh t-case.

Alright, here''s yet another update to the situation.
I got everything ready to go, installed the distributor per the EDI section here, and she wouldn''t crank. The battery started to get low, so I used another Blazer (2004) to juice up the battery. I tried cranking a few times and nothing happened. After about three tries, the electronics in the vehicle started going nuts. Flashing, dimming, etc. I turned the key off and removed it all sounds went away, but the lights (CES, ABS, Battery, etc) were still flashing, and a ticking noise came from the dash. Eventually they all went out, and now, she is completely dead.
Basically I''ve got a completely dead truck. Turning the key doesn''t do anything. Its almost as if the battery was gone.
Thinking we completely drained the battery, I hooked up a overnight charger to it and tried again this morning. Absolutely nothing happened. I also checked both fuse boxes for blown IGN fuses, or the crank one. Nothing seems burned out or anything.
Certainly looking for helpful advice again.


Please also take a look at the Water pump Rem & Inst I posted in the DIY submission section. Feel free to add stuff or critique. Thanks guys.

There is a ground wire from the battery to the engine block. Did you break or disconnect it?
There is also a ground wire ont eh back of the block that attaches to the firewall, and a ground fromt eh battery to the frame. Make sure all three are connected.