Consuming coolant?? Strange vibration?? Am I just having way too much fun?

[Randee of the Redwoods]

The low coolant light came on a few days ago so I topped off the res. Came on again to day(about a week later) so I topped it off again. Might I have a slow leak? Oil is as jet black as usual, so signs of moisture. I'll be changing it soon so I'll be able to get a better look. Can't see the coolant much because the res is so dirty, but it looked ok. Could it be just my imagination?
I've also run to work(a tough 4 miles) for the first time without any exhaust after the dowtube. Nice and noisy. Hearing the turbo wind up and down is cool, but I've picked up a strange vibration as the revs climb. Could it just be the exhaust pulses hitting the floorboards? If I rev it good in park, the vibration is almost nothing. But if I'm under load climbing a grade, it's noticable, seems to come on about 1500 rpms. I guess I'll know more when I get that section of straight pipe in place of the removed cat.

[mhagie]

Randee,You could be on your way to a head gasket but untill it gets worse than it is now blow it off.
As for vibration it is very possible that you are getting a resonation from exhaust exiting from downpipe right at the level of the floorboards.
When I originaly built my truck it had a 383sb w/headers when I drove it from home to muffler shop it was really loud in cab, windows rattled and vibrated so I believe thats what is up w/yours.
all will be good when you install cat repair pipe. :D

[Bobbie Martin]

If you are concerned about coolant leaking into the engine, get an oil analysis when you change the oil. You can get one for $20 and it sure beats guessing. It will tell you everything about the engine - maybe more than you want to know. If there is a problem developing, it's best to know beforehand. There are several places on the web that do this. They will send a sample bottle on request and you just mail it back to them. The place I use will email the results, usually within a week.

[slagona]

I second the oil analysis. It will let you know exactly what you have. I changed my oil first thing after purchasing my 99 Suburban with 127K miles. I went 4K on Shell Rotela T (I know, but I really wanted to see how the extended miles affected the oil since I put on 3K miles a month), sent in the sample and dreaded what I might find. However, I was pleasently surprised. The oil was still in great shape - they even suggested I go 5K between changes as the oil was so clean. The engine had excellent levels on all readings.

I was worried about a few things: Coolant (The reservoir was emty after the 800 mile drive home) - don't know what it was like when I left), excessive wear or metals in the oil, soot with extended time on Rotella T Dino, Sillica because of my K&N filter.

The cooling system was fine - haven't lost any coolant since topping it off. There were NO signs of excessive wear. Soot was fine - they said I could easily go another 1K miles. My K&N filter is performing Flawlessly - way within the recommended levels.

For $20, it's a great way to learn about your particular engine. I'd highly recommend it.

[cruzer]

Did you actually check the coolant in the rad to see how low it was. The sensor is a couple of inches below cap.Do it when the rad has cooled down so you wont get burned, then top off the res.

[Randee of the Redwoods]

Bobbie Martin-what are some of the places that do the oil testing?

[whatnot]

It might be worth it to pull off the coolant crossover and the fan belt and start the engine to see if one or both sides bubble.