2001 Savana / Repair or replace ?

Ohighway

Wannabe Minimalist
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The vehicle:

2001 Savana 8 passenger van with 350 vortec v-8 that was purchased new in late 2000. Currently has ~160,000 miles on it.


The situation:

Recently developed a leak in brake system narrowed down to one or both of the lines coming from master cylinder to ABS module rusted out. Parked the van in preparation for repairs.

Went out to run it one day.... noticed antifreeze a bit low but oil was clean and at proper level. Added antifreeze, ran the engine for about 20 minutes and shut it off. No problem, it ran fine.

Went back a couple weeks later to start and run. Checked the antifreeze and .....reservoir was empty and this time the oil was contaminated with coolant. Obviously did not try and start it after that. Assuming either a leaky intake manifold gasket or a blown head gasket.

Other random issues. Power windows no longer work. Bumpers are a bit rusty. OTOH Interior is perfect, and body is about 95+%..... the only rust being a small bit at the bottom edge of one of the side doors. Frame is not rusted either. Has nice features like front and rear A/C, locking differential, 4L80E trans and factory engine oil cooler.

Thoughts on repairing or replacing? I've got so much on my plate at this point the work to repair the engine and brakes would be farmed out.
 
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have a close look around the corners of the intake. If its leaky there, it should be crusty. My S10 was starting to do that at similar mileage but it was leaking externally, not into the engine. Just enough to catch a faint whiff of coolant smell and thats it. I changed the gaskets as soon as I figured it out just because I feared it going the other way into the engine.

If the engine has not been run with coolant in the oil, its probably fine. Once you get water through the bearings though, they go away extremely quickly. that would be my determining factor, if it needs an engine it can be someone else's problem. If its just a gasket set, no big deal. The factory Deathcool ate those gaskets up, though I suspect they were a bit crap to begin with. Mine lost the Deathcool probably around 2003, circa 90K miles. The lower intake gaskets got done maybe 2 years ago at 170K.

Power windows aren't a big deal to fix, but if the AC works who cares. All you need is the toll booth window to function :)
 
If the engine has not been run with coolant in the oil, its probably fine. Once you get water through the bearings though, they go away extremely quickly. that would be my determining factor, if it needs an engine it can be someone else's problem. If its just a gasket set, no big deal.

Well ...as mentioned.... at one point the coolant was low but the oil was clean and at the proper level. So I started and ran it for about 20 minutes. A few weeks later I wanted to run it, checked and the coolant was gone, and the oil was contaminated. So somewhere during that 20 minute run interval, or maybe after that, coolant entered the oil. When it was running it ran fine and didn't act or smell funny or anything. So maybe the coolant entered the oil when the engine was cooling off??? I don't know. But once I spotted coolant in the oil I did not attempt to start or run the engine.

Re: a gasket set being no big deal.... in theory yes. However it's a van so everything is a friggn pain to reach so......
 
yeah, true, vans are the devil for any sort of access. The one plus about it, changing that flat distributor cap with the idiotic non-retained screws is a piece of cake. Absolutely nothing else would be. No clue what someone would charge for that job.
 
if you scrap it, ill give you twice core for the 4l80E. at 172K it needs a rebuild and I need one for my squarebody bus
 
Well, cooling systems get pressurized when warmed up. If it leaks, it's gonna leak warm and 20min is plenty of time to warm it up. ;)

That's a lot of work all on one vehicle. Want me to quote you the hours for heads using my Mitchell guide tomorrow? Give you a ballpark of what a shop is going to charge you anyway...

We also tack on $250 machine shop labor for V8 engines. Pressure test / resurface heads, valve seals, valve job, all that stuff.

I'd say it's probably intake though so I'll check that as well... Heads leak in to cylinders 90% of the time, not the oil. Stupid plastic GM intake gaskets. Make sure the shop uses the updated Felpro gaskets as replacements.

Looking at about $200 per window if it's regulators. $200 total if it's the master switch, which is pretty common on this era Chevy.

Brake lines? Haven't the slightest. Stuff doesn't rust out here. We'd be leaving it open for that kind of job at $100/hr for however many hours it takes.
 
Hey if you wouldn't mind looking up the numbers I'd appreciate it. Will give me a baseline on costs. I personally think it's probably a problem with the intake gasket (and not a head gasket) ..... but hey you never know till you get in there.

Regarding the power window problem, my best guess is that it's a fatigue problem with the wiring where the door hinges open. At one point things would work/not work based on how far you had the door open.

Brake lines.... yeah you're lucky about stuff not rusting. Real lucky. I had to run all new hard brake lines on my 2000 Silverado pickup because of rust. Ditto the 1999 Cavalier. Ugh.
 
the thing about a coolant mix is: if it is minor, like a leaky crossover, you can often run it to operating temp for a while and steam off the water (the engine will get rid of a lot of water on its own) but if you get to a saturation point, it cannot and a motor like the SBC needs a TOTAL disassembly and rebuild - the sludge clogs the cold passages - namely the pushrods, insides of the lifters, and block/crank passages for rods 1/2 and to an extent 3/4

the bearings have to come out incl cam bearings - there is no clear repair here, just a rebuild.

I have seen too many engines in the shop where the upper set was done and everyone sang kum-bay-ya and a week later I get it with destroyed crank, stuck rings, oval bores etc. check GMPP at like Jegs or Jim Pace, chevy is practically giving away new 350's
 
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