Coolant leak, need help. 1998 GMC K1500 Suburban Vortec 5.7

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BC K1500

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I need help identifying what the part is called were the leak is.



It is definitely coolant and not oil.



The leak is on the driver side just above the oil filter. Can only be seen when under the vehicle. It looks like some kind of sensor about 1” wide and has an electronic connector. It is not the temp sensor ( at least not according to the manual).

Cant replace it or fix it unless I know what it is. :rolleyes:

I tried to google it and looking in the service manual but I couldn’t figure out what it is.



Any help would be appreciated.

Thank you.
 

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El Tigre

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When dealing with a leak ,but still need to drive vehicle?
I back radiator cap off to first detent to relieve pressure.
If leak is small ,it may stop long enough to investigate ,and/or
get around to sourcing parts ,etc.
 

BC K1500

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Thanks for the suggestion.

The car doesn't have a block heater.
That thing seems to be secured by an internal retaining clip.
It does not seem like it is threaded in as there is no way to put a socket on it, it is flush whit the engine block.
Looks like it may be an engine block heater element...
 

BC K1500

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When dealing with a leak ,but still need to drive vehicle?
I back radiator cap off to first detent to relieve pressure.
If leak is small ,it may stop long enough to investigate ,and/or
get around to sourcing parts ,etc.

The problem is that I can't figure out what that part is. Since I don't know what it is I cant buy replacement part.
 

SUBURBAN5

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I agree looks like a block heater as mentioned. The repair would be a brass freeze plug, core plug or new heater element. My suggestion follow the wiring. If you live somewhere ice cold go back with an element. If warm or hot. Dont worry about it go with standard plugs
 

BC K1500

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Check again this looks pretty similar.
I agree looks like a block heater as mentioned. The repair would be a brass freeze plug, core plug or new heater element. My suggestion follow the wiring. If you live somewhere ice cold go back with an element. If warm or hot. Dont worry about it go with standard plugs

That looks very much like it but the wire looks like it is two prong 12v ( i could be wrong, I'll have to unplug it and see.) and not 110v. The wire leads into a large bundle of wiring harness and who knows where from there. Could have the previous owner removed the 110v cable? If so where would i look for it?

My google-fu seems to be lacking whit this one, I couldn't find any info about this exact thing.
I can only see 110v plugs that look similar but that's it.

Do I need to drain the coolant if I were to try to remove it to see what it is?

As for temperatures, it can dip bellow freezing here and most likely freezing when I'm out hunting. Does that matter?

Thank you.
 
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