1996 Grand Am Cooling Questions??

[FullyAvenged]

Hi all!

I just have some things to say and hopefully you guys can help me out! Not to long ago I was driving down I-96 and I noticed that my car was running warmer than normal. Prolly a lil over 200 F. Well after I noticed this my car went well into the RED and hit over 260 F. I popped the hood and noticed DEX-COOL spraying from tht bottom portion of the Upper Radiator Hose. So I went to the Auto store grabed a new hose, 2 gallons of 50-50, and a new thermostat to top it off just in case. Popped them all on and good to go right?? Well little did I know that my Radiator completely split down the side were the plastic is at. SOO I replaced the thermostat the Radiator and the Coupling that Plug right in near the Thermostat the runs to the heater core. All done okay! But I am noticing that when I take my TOP off of the Coolant Resevoir it is coming out like splashing over the sides. Also I can hear like a tad quiet sputtering coming from what sounds like my exhaust I HOPE but is it possible it is a HEAD GASKET leak???? My Coolant and Oil have not mixed, but is it possible to have a blown head gasket and not have the fluids mix? I really don't want to take it to a MECHANIC cuz I really can't afford it right now. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks -Nick

[xeroinfinity]

Make sure thiers not an air pocket trapped in the cooling system. Should hav a bleeder valve somewhere.

Also make sure to turn the heater of full blast to clear any air trapped in the heater core.

If that does solve the problem then you may very well have a blown gasket.

[lebky]

if you can not find that bleeder valve, turn the heat on, remove coolant reservoir cap, let your car idle until fan turns on and off, put the cap back on all the air shoud be out. If your head gasket is blown you will see steamy exhaust, and what you hear from your exhaust is misfire. Take two sparkplugs out see if they are wet. Usually when all your sparkplugs are wet from coolant your gas pedall will pulsate on acceleration. Sometimes that red coolant when it mixes with oil will not turn into that milkshake looking thing so do not judge your head gasket by that. Check your oil level if it is too high. Do not overfill your coolant reservoir !!!

[FullyAvenged]

Yep I figured out that it was a bunch of air traped. THANK GOD! I'm all set now thanks guys!

[xeroinfinity]

Cool !!

The only real way to find out if you had a bad head gasket would be to do a compression test or a leak down test.

[FullyAvenged]

Hey again!

I drive about an average of 160 miles a day for work. I got about 25 percent DEX-SHIT in my car and 75 percent water. Is it normal for when the car is shut off and I remove the resevoir cap for it to boil out?

[xeroinfinity]

Thats not enough coolant for one thing.
it should be at least 50/50, I tend to run about 75% coolant and I have no problems.

It is not normal for the tank to over flow at any time!
I'd suspect you have bad gasket.....

And for the record::

The PCM commands Low Speed Fans ON under the following conditions:

The engine coolant temperature exceeds approximately 106°C (223°F).
The A/C refrigerant pressure exceeds 1310 kPa (190 psi).
The vehicle is shut off when the engine coolant temperature is greater than 140°C (284°F) and system voltage is more than 12 volts. The fans will stay ON for approximately 3 minutes.

The PCM commands High Speed Fans on under the following conditions:

The engine coolant temperature reaches 110°C (230°F).
The A/C refrigerant pressure exceeds 1655 kPa (240 psi).
When certain DTCs set.

Other then those things listed above,
the fans should rarely come on at all.

[FullyAvenged]

Oh. What's a leak down test??

[FullyAvenged]

Also, if it is a blown head gasket wouldnt the oil and coolant be mixing? I just replaced the DEX-COOL and I think I might have filled it up a lil to much cuz it overflowed out the top again.

[lebky]

Leak down test is a very helpfull test here how you do it: remove all spakplugs, remove your air hose between TB and AIR filter, remove oil cap, each cylinder that you test must be at TDC. There is a special gauge that has to be connected to your sparkplug thread hole on the other side is shop air, so you are basically pressurizing your cilinders with air. The gauge will show you how much % of air is leaking from your cilinders. anything over 20% is too much. Here is a fun part: when you pressurize each cylinder listen for escaping air from your TB (if you hear any air from TB that is burned intake valve) if you hear air from your exhaust pipe that is burned exhaust valve, if you hear air from your oil cap hole that is bad piston rings or cylinder walls, if you see bubles in your coolant reservoir or hear air comming out of the spark plug hole right next to the one that you are testing that is your head gasket.

[xeroinfinity]

Originally Posted by FullyAvenged

Oh. What's a leak down test??

It is simular to the compression test but a little more precise.
Its a little more complex then what Lebky explained.
Check this link out.
And they sell a tool to perform this proceedure
Here's a pic of the device, I made my own you probly could too.

Originally Posted by FullyAvenged

Also, if it is a blown head gasket wouldnt the oil and coolant be mixing? I just replaced the DEX-COOL and I think I might have filled it up a lil to much cuz it overflowed out the top again.

Not all the time.
It could just be blown enough to cause the cylinder to not seal properly, like between cylinders. Which can cause performance problems. Overfilling the coolant's not that big of a deal, the excess will overflow out the res. drain.


and btw lebky, check your PM'S !