Coolant Leaking Problems of Chevrolet Silverado

Cylinder heads malfunctioned creating a coolant leak.

See all problems of the 2002 Chevrolet Silverado 🔎.

In June, 2011, I began noticing my antifreeze levels were dropping slightly. There were no noticable leaks of antifreeze anywhere. I attributed it to evaporation & added coolant. Over time the truck started using more & more antifreeze. A friend of mine noticed a puff of white smoke coming from the tailpipe. At the time I didn't really think anything of it. Last week while driving home from work after finishing up a "b" trick job (11pm), I noticed a knocking sound coming from the engine. It smoothed out after a few miles of driving it. The next day it happened again ( I work 26 miles from home) again it smoothed out & I was just grateful I got home safely that night. By this time I knew there were some serious issues & decided not to drive it again. I began researching the issue on line & found others that were experiencing identical symptoms. Turns out the problem lies with the cylinder heads in the engine manufactured for gm by castech. According to other people & by gms own admission, a faulty, weak material was used to build the cylinder heads. Over time the material wears away causing porous cracks & the antifreeze seeps into the oil system polluting it, causing significant damage to the engine. (by this time most extended warranties are up). The antifreeze mixes with the oil & is emitted out of the tailpipe as exhaust. This is why no traces of antifreeze were found & the reason for the white puff of smoke. Gm issued a bulletin #06-06-01-019b in June 2007 informing repair technicians on where to look for the damage. Through other peoples experiences, I am finding the engines were ruined in 90% of the cases & gm claims no responsibility. In my case I am driving a friend's vehicle waiting on word from my mechanic as to my options. These repairs are costly. Up to $5000 !! this is not from normal wear & tear this is a manufacturing defect & I feel a recall should be issued.

See all problems of the 2005 Chevrolet Silverado 🔎.

The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Silverado. The contact stated the vehicle was abnormally losing coolant every three weeks. The vehicle was taken to a local repair facility where the mechanic was unable to determine the source of the leak. The vehicle was not repaired. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer was contacted in regards to the failure. The contact was concerned with the possibility of the vehicle overheating as he located numerous complaints online regarding the failure in his year, make and model but no recalls. The failure mileage was 80,000.

I was seeing a low coolant warning light that was intermittent. I added distilled water to the coolant system several time in the amount for a total of about a half gallon. I searched for a leak in the coolant hoses but could not find a leak. I checked the dip stick to see if the oil was cloudy or had bubbles but did not see any. (I use mobil 1 synthetic oil). After about a week the coolant warning light came on at a higher frequency so I took the truck to the dealer. They diagnosed the problem as head gasket leaks and possible water pump gasket leaks. The bill for the repair was $1200. I was later told the head bolts lost torque and "stretched". The heads had never been removed and the truck had never required any repairs except for the broken tail gate cables which caused me to fall off the back trying to load my kayak on top. I do not believe a truck with 72000 miles should have to have the head bolts replaced. Gm was of no help because they knew I had insurance to cover 80% of the repair they did extend the warranty up to 100,000 miles on the head bolts and for the clatter in the valves that they said is normal. Next truck will be Toyota.

See all problems of the 2001 Chevrolet Silverado 🔎.

The engine coolant leaked out, and the vehicle overheated. This was caused by the heater nipple being corroded and breaking off.

See all problems of the 1998 Chevrolet Silverado 🔎.

Gm dex cool problem. I have replaced my tranismission. Coolant leaks onto the engine. Smells like burning coolant all the time.

See all problems of the 1997 Chevrolet Silverado 🔎.

Vehicle will stall usaually at highway speeds, engine will shut off, after coming to a stop vehicle could be turned back on, consumer contacted dealer and dealer was not willing to do anything. On 10-20-01, the vehicles engine abruptly quit running 3 times while cruising at normal highway speeds, all engine indications were normal with no failed messages, after coasting to a stop, the engine restarted ok each time. On 10-22-01 the vehicle was completely checked by the dealership for existing or previous faults, problem could not be duplicated. On 11-03-01 the same problem again occurred 3 times. On 11-06-01, the dealership was able to determine that leaking coolant tank was allowing coolant to follow wiring harness into the electrical connector on the drivertrain computer unit, causing intermittant fuel injection operation. Repairs were made, problem has not reoccurred.