O.T.- GM3500 Vortec Engine Head Gasket?

[Phil9N3667]

Anybody here got a GM/Chevrolet pickup/SUV with the 5 cylinder 3500 Vortec engine? My 2005 Colorado pickup is starting to lose coolant (less than a quart over 4 years), but acts like it doesn"t want to spin over when cranking first thing in A.M. or after sitting all day. Fires on up and runs OK, but I"m wondering if there"s a head gasket issue with these engines or other place to lose coolant into a cylinder. I haven"t googled it yet, just wondering. Don"t relish having to pull the head off of this thing! Thanks !
 

[George Marsh]

Phill,
A quart in 4 years doesn't seem like much. I had a van that lost coolant and I couldn't find where. I put a paper clip under the rad cap so the radiator couldn't build pressure, instead send coolant to the overflow tank.

A year later, the water pump locked up. Source of my leak, water pump.
George
 

[Ron-MO]

I used to own one. Like George said, a quart in 4 yrs is nothing to be concerned with. I would turn my attention to other things. When you say it does not want to turn over, do you mean slow cranking as in perhaps low battery? Or cranks fine, and just does not fire? I had an 05 I purchased new, and was one of the best vehicles I ever owned. Traded in on a new Silverado and the Colorado had 122,000 on it and was trouble free and never spent a day in a shop. Not something I can say about any other new vehicles I had owned prior. Would have traded on another Colorado, but a 4x4 Colorado was priced very similar to a 4x4 Silverado, so made no sense to buy the smaller truck in my mind.
 

[George Marsh]

I forgot to mention, load test battery. You may be needing a new starter if not battery. Do the simple things before you do a head gasket. If there is no foam in crankcase oil, that would be a good sign the antifreeze is not getting there. Run it until the real leak shows up.
George
 

[Kornfused]

water pump -probably such a slight mist that it doesn"t show yet. I"d keep driving it until gets worse - just keep an eye on the fluid level. You may try a pressure test if it bothers you.
 

[Ron-MO]

I meant to mention to check battery cable connections. If that is original battery - I would suspect that as well. I traded my 2005 off a little over a year ago, and it had original battery, and was beginning to show symptoms of needing a battery replacement soon (slower cranking). At 122,000 my truck still had OEM battery and brakes, however I did replace tires (got 92,000 out of tires), filters, and cleaned throttle body (once). Other than that it was low maintenance, and very reliable. I wish they put an inline engine in a full size truck - I would be one of the first to test drive.
 

[Phil9N3667]

I put a battery in less than 3 years ago. I might check it at work one day soon, especially since cooler weather's coming on! Dropping down in lower 40's at night now. Thanks guys.
 

[George Marsh]

Just because a battery is 3 years old doesn't mean it can't go bad. I knew a person who's new battery went bad in 3 weeks.

When I have my GMC serviced, they load test the battery. They told me my 4 year old battery had a full charge and failed a load test. I thought they were nuts. Come to find out the plates in battery were sulfated. I need a new battery. It felt like my starter was weak.
George
 

[36 Coupe]

Take a look at the spark plugs.A cylinder that is taking in coolant will have a very clean spark plug.On the slow cranking have the battery load tested.