I'm losing coolant in my Tahoe with no visible signs of where it's leaking. I'm assuming it's headed into the engine, and this is gonna be a big repair. Does anybody know of a trustworthy independent shop in the DFW area they can recommend? I'm on the northwest side but willing to travel a little bit if someone has a place they really like.

Go see Jim at Autotech in Irving. Near Irving Mall. They did cylinder head replacement for me and can handle deep engine repairs.

^^^^^
This guy is in the know!

Thanks for the responses, gents. I'll check into both options. I'm no mechanic, but it seems to be drinking more fluid than would evaporate off. My oil level looks a little high as well, so it feels like it's probably headed to the engine.

The truck runs good, so I think I caught it before there was too much damage, but it's got 199k on it, so I'm probably at a critical decision point on bandaid vs rebuild. Not sure I have it in me to mess with a rebuild. I'll check these options and keep researching.

Take a sample of your oil from the drain plug. If you have coolant in the oil it will be very obvious since it would sink to the bottom of the pan. If so, then a new head gasket is in order.

Pull the dipstick. If you're getting antifreeze in the oil, it will look like a chocolate milkshake

There's a chance if it is going directly into combustion it may not get into the oil. I've seen it happen more often in diesel engines. In a gas you may notice a little white smoke and a spark plug or 2 that look different than the others.

I would definitely check that fitting first.

I bought a small vial of uv dye on Amazon and a black light. Was able to pinpoint a coolant leak at my thermostat on the old Volvo. Like 1ags said, could be evaporating before you see it!

I'm surprised Silvy hasn't been on to mention it's time to LS swap.


OP - good luck. The vortec 5.7 engines are pretty robust. If you end up having the manifold off for any reason, I'd have the spider injectors upgraded while in there. The old poppet style caused lots of issues. The newer style isn't crazy expensive and will help with reliability.