My 5.7 leaks coolant from a minor worry to moderate worry. It initially leaked enough for a puddle and having to add into the overflow tank, but now just a few drops here and there. I have not pinpointed it but it comes from the back of the motor, passenger side. I was hoping it was a frost plug, but talking around heard that maybe an intake gasket. Also heard that the orange coolant in 5.7's from 95-99 eats away the gaskets. Any truth to this?

 

Never heard of it "eating" gaskets before. It could be your heater core or a line running into it/out of it. It would be around the area you are speaking of (rear of motor) and is pretty common. Sometimes a line just needs tightened up.

 

You are sure it was coolant? If your heater core has a leak, the box it sits in collects the fluid and drains it out the firewall.

 

Pressure test the cooling system. That will tell you where its coming from. It can come from numerous places, and its hard to pinpoint this and tell you the answer over the computer. You should be able to get an adapter from napa for the over flow tank to test the system

 

The 5.7's are famous for leaking from the rear of the intake manifold. Everyone (including my previous truck) I talked with who had the 5.7 has had to replace the intake manifold gasket. You need to buy the Intake Gasket Kit as it come with a few other things that will need to be replaced during the project. The kit is less than $20 if I remember correctly. However if you go the dealer expect to pay upwards of $500 if this turns out to be the issue. First thing you need to do is let the dealer pressure test the system. That will find the leak. By the way, I did have a couple of leaks. Water pump of course, and the oil cooler lines. ( K2500 ). Good luck...

 

pretty much an intake..not too bad a job...but does require a scanner to set the timing