Cooling system help

[WB1]

I have a 1995 Grand Prix and am having problems with the cooling system. The car is 95 GTP with the 3.4 engine thats the duel overhead cam. I have already replaced the water pump and the thermostat. I bled as much air out of the systemas I can but it seems I keep getting more air in the system causing the temp gaudge to go all the way to 260.There are no signs of leaking cooling fluid but when I run the car I am noticing smoke and smelling coolant down near the exhaust header that runs across the front side of the engine. any suggestions what might be causing this? Thanks Bill

[ern2112]

Originally Posted by WB1

I have a 1995 Grand Prix and am having problems with the cooling system. The car is 95 GTP with the 3.4 engine thats the duel overhead cam. I have already replaced the water pump and the thermostat. I bled as much air out of the systemas I can but it seems I keep getting more air in the system causing the temp gaudge to go all the way to 260.There are no signs of leaking cooling fluid but when I run the car I am noticing smoke and smelling coolant down near the exhaust header that runs across the front side of the engine. any suggestions what might be causing this? Thanks Bill

ANy white smoke coming out exhaust? Man....it sounds like a head gasket.....based on the info you have provided. This will overheat the car and let air in the system......sorry to say


Good luck to you. There are some people here with way more experiance than I on these cars......so take what I have said with a grain of salt.....and see what they have to offer

[WB1]

No white smoke coming out the rear exhaust or smell of antifreez burning. I wonder if the smoke I see and smell up front is due to the fact that the bleed screw is right there and alot of coolant got on the exhaust manifold but it seems to me it should be all burned off by now. How hard is it to change out a head gasket on this engine? I have done engine swaps and trany swap on other cars and trucks is there any specific reason I should leave this one to the pros?

[richtazz]

Check the o-ring on the coolant transfer tube that runs across the front of the engine. They will leak right down onto the front exhaust manifold. You can also try pouring water over the front manifold to rinse the coolant that spilled. Coolant doesn't evaporate like water, and can get into crevices that will make it stay around and burn for quite a long time.

[ern2112]

Originally Posted by richtazz

Check the o-ring on the coolant transfer tube that runs across the front of the engine. They will leak right down onto the front exhaust manifold. You can also try pouring water over the front manifold to rinse the coolant that spilled. Coolant doesn't evaporate like water, and can get into crevices that will make it stay around and burn for quite a long time.

Good point Rich. Will air in the cooling system cause this much problem? I was really not aware of this being such a huge issue. Frankly...up till talking to you guys....I had no idea of such an issue...and had never bled the system off.

[WB1]

Thanks for the help guys. This mornig I used some engine cleaner and clead the area in question and am going to take it out on a test spin this afternoon and maybe Monday trying to get it to pass the Emmissions test. I will keep you updated on the outcome Thanks again Bill

[richtazz]

Air in the cooling system can cause a whole mess of issues. If it gets in the heater core, you'll get no heat. If it gets in the intake, you can overheat the engine and blow a head gasket. It can cause steam pockets to develop, causing excessive cooling system pressure, blowing coolant out the overflow and/or blowing hoses. It's a PITA to deal with.

[ern2112]

Originally Posted by richtazz

Air in the cooling system can cause a whole mess of issues. If it gets in the heater core, you'll get no heat. If it gets in the intake, you can overheat the engine and blow a head gasket. It can cause steam pockets to develop, causing excessive cooling system pressure, blowing coolant out the overflow and/or blowing hoses. It's a PITA to deal with.

Wow....guess I have just been lucky here.....knock on wood

[wlkjr]

My 89 Grand Am had a similar problem and it was the head gasket. The engine was the 2.3 DOHC. Hope yours is not a head gasket as that can be expensive.

[richtazz]

As far as the Quad-4's are concerned:
SOHC stands for "Start Over Head's Cracked"
DOHC stands for "Do Over Heads Cracked"

[wlkjr]

Originally Posted by richtazz

As far as the Quad-4's are concerned:
SOHC stands for "Start Over Head's Cracked"
DOHC stands for "Do Over Heads Cracked"

I had about 290,000 on that car and had the head gaskets replaced twice and lots of little stuff. But that little thing would fly and got 32 mpg to boot.

[kknobl]

Originally Posted by wlkjr

I had about 290,000 on that car and had the head gaskets replaced twice and lots of little stuff. But that little thing would fly and got 32 mpg to boot.

The Quad4s could go...

I remember busting a few V6s off the line back in the day with that engine.

Never had a head gasket problem with mine though. Guess I got lucky.

Kevin

[WB1]

Well it passed Emmisions. As for the air in the cooling system I am not sure if I am still getting any in there or not. I did have problems with no heat so thats why I tried replacing the water pump and themostat but I still had the same problem so I took the themostat out and am running with out it. Lucky for me I don't drive the car much, In the past 4 years I only put 15000 miles on it because I drive my truck to work and have a Bike for ripping around on, by the way the car only has 78800 miles on it not bad for a 95 should last another couple years.
Does anybody know how hard it is to replace the head gasket if needed or what the typical cost is to have someone do it? I realize it's not hard but I am not sure if I need any special tools aside from a tork wrench and I have a couple of those.