I noticed a small amount of antifreeze dripping off the block next to the starter every now and then. Head gasket maybe? If so what all am i going to need to fix it, and how do i know what head gasket to get. I have an 88 Sub w/ a 350 TBI all stock as far as i know. Thank you guys for any help. Also how much of a pain in the butt is it to fix? T/Y  

General head gasket do not leak unless it has been severally overheated. I would check of a leak at back of intake leaking down around head to starter or a bad freeze plug. In the interim you can limit leakage by getting rid of stock radiator cap and install a Stant 7 to 9 PSI one (Napa sells them too under Napa name) I have used them for many years and they reduce/prevent leakage on older cars because they limit pressure and strain on seal and should a leak develop it is a lot slower/less violent because of reduced pressure behind it. BTW, I have been up Pike's Peak twice with a low pressure cap with no problems.  

You may be looking in the wrong place. It could very well be a freeze plug seeping, or a heater hose with a pin hole leak or a fitting going bad. It may not necessarily be a head gasket...  

You guys are awesome, it looks now like it is a freeze plug seeping. I just never see very much on the ground and i fill my overflow from just about empty to the full line about once a month. but no smoke from tail pipe, except when i first start up after sitting a while so i didnt want to think head gasket but as soon as you said freeze plug sure enough I saw a drip right on the bottom edge w/ no sings of antifreeze above it. So how and should i fix it or just swap the cap like you sugested? It seems im going to owe you some beer money, Snoman, lol you have helped me every step of the way so far. I thank you so much for your help!  

First, I would swap the cap because it will buy you time and also it will extend life of radiator and hoses too due to reduced strain. On freeze plug, drill or punch a hole in it and then pry it out via hole you created with a long thick screw driver or like pry bar. If you live in a cold climate it would be a good time to install a block heater that goes in a freeze plug hole too. BTW, generally when freeze plugs go bad it is because coolant has not been kept up to par and not enough antifreeze has been used. While 50/50 is factory level for cost concerns, I recommend 60/40 (antifreeze/water) as I have used between 60/40 and 70/30 for years and I have some 20 year plus old cooling system than are as clean as new and even overflow bottles are spotless too.  

thank you so much again. I do live in northern nevada and it does get down to 10 or 12 degrees in the winter here 20's on avrage. I already have a block heater installed on the other side so i guess i will just replace the plug. Is there any sealing or is it just a compression thing? Also is 60/40 good to run all year. I guess its better than 50/50 witch i have been running since the end of last summer and how much coolant/water does the 350 hold? Just want to buy as close to what i need as possiable? Thanks again, your burb must be immaculate. Any pics? LOL have a good day.  

A 350 in a full sized SUV like in your post takes about 21 quarts of coolant. 3 gallons of anitfreeze will do it. There is a drain plug in bottom of block on each side in center. If it is a TBI motor the sensor uses one on passenger side. When you remove plugs sometimes the holes are plugged up with leftovers for sand casting when block is made and you need to clear it out with a small screw driver for it to drain. On installing plug you can use a little automotive RTV on plug if you want before you drive it in. On coolant level, there is a lot of myths about cooling capacity of antifreeze vs water. Anitfreeze (Ethylene Glycol) is denser and absorbs more heat in a liquid state than water does. Sometimes engines appear to run a bit hotter with high levels of antifreeze in them is because it has a lower surface tension and higher boil point and transfer heat better out of block and coolant temp sensor read coolant temp not block temp.Water tends to form a gas/steam bubble boundary in contact with hot parts and this reduces heat transfer and the higher surface tension of water helps keep this barrier in place. They use a high pressure cap to minimize this and raise boil point of coolant but higher concentrations of coolant boil at higher temps so less pressure is needed too. Lastly, it does take more energy to boil off a gallon of water to steam than it does a gallon of antifreeze (this is were myth may have started) but since we do not drive our cars to boil them dry this is a moot point.  

on the subject of cooling, do you think a 16" electric puller fan will keep the suburban cool? I have one for my s 10 but it cooled it so fast i was thinking of getting a smaller one for it. And the performance gains on the s 10 from removing the fan were huge!! But if the 16" isnt big enough for the burb i have to get a dual and thoes are like 3 bills.. Ouch! Thanks for the info.  

If this is a burb like in sig, STAY AWAY from electric fans. While they look good on paper they lack HP to moves serious air and heat. A engine driven fan can consume 6 to 10 HP at max cool effort and move more than 40,000 CFM doing it too. For a electric to have that kind of capacity it would have to draw power well in excess of your vehicles electrical capacity by a wide margin. For serious reliable cooling it is hard to beat a good clutch fan that is properly calibrated. My 89 stay cool no matter what I do with it and at times you can hear fan really clawing at air to do it too. Smaller cars with smaller engine and average cooling loads can get by with electrics but a big heavy SUV on a hot day working hard (especially at lower speeds) will not stay cool with electrics.  

Thats what I was afraid of especially here where the temps in the summer can hit 110 no prob sp I will just replace the clutch the fan stays on all the time so I just needed some input before I did something Id regret! Thanks again!  

No problem. This is not to say that you could not maybe use electric fan to augment cooling at a idle but do not scrap engine driven one.