TPMLE
Newbie
Back in 2014 I did my upper & lower intake manifold gaskets as I saw coolant leaking out in basically the same place as the attached photo shows. After the gasket replacement I didn't notice any leaks for a few years, but starting about 2 years ago I started to see coolant leakage in the same location. It seems to get worse in winter to the point I might see a few drops on the ground where the coolant flows back toward the firewall in the valley between the valve cover and intake manifold. I only see coolant leaking when the engine is off. Funny thing is that if I look into the radiator level the coolant almost shows no difference in the coolant level over time. I just drove it 700 miles a few weeks ago towing my 7500 lb trailer and seems like there was no difference in the coolant level before and after. If I look at the engine while it is warmed up there is no evidence of any leakage. I had the oil tested at Blackstone and the results showed Sodium levels of 96 ppm (universal avg is 35) and potassium was 259 (universal avg is 6). All of the other oil parameters were within acceptable ranges, though copper levels were 33 and the universal avg was 9. Blackstone mentioned the higher wear levels of copper might be due to the excess coolant. So it looks like some is leaking into the oil. How bad these levels are I'm not sure, but I understand it should be close to the unversal avg.
My question is if I go back in and do this again, what might I have done incorrectly or might do better this time. I read there are many opinions on how & where one should place a bead of caulk along the wall in the front and back (I just put a bead of caulk at the ends, where the rubber gasket touches the gasket), whether one should put permatex on the intake manifold bolts ( I didn't, I think I put thread locker on them). Interested in getting thoughts on the best methods for sealing and replacing the 7.4 Vortec lower intake manifold.
My question is if I go back in and do this again, what might I have done incorrectly or might do better this time. I read there are many opinions on how & where one should place a bead of caulk along the wall in the front and back (I just put a bead of caulk at the ends, where the rubber gasket touches the gasket), whether one should put permatex on the intake manifold bolts ( I didn't, I think I put thread locker on them). Interested in getting thoughts on the best methods for sealing and replacing the 7.4 Vortec lower intake manifold.