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Mysterious coolant loss ...

timweidner

New member
I have a garden variety, 2006, 3.8L V6 Naturally Aspirated Grand Prix

The coolant reserve tank will lose a quart of fluid in a couple of days, then I can fill it up and it might go a couple of weeks with no discernible loss and then suddenly lose a quart again. There are no leaks on the garage floor, wetness in the engine compartment or signs of coolant in the oil. Any ideas where the coolant could be going?
 


sounds like your burning it. smell the tail pipes if it smells sweet thats the prob.
Jessica -- I'll check that out -- awesome tip!

If it does turn out I'm burning the coolant, would that definitely indicate a leaking intake manifold gasket? I have seen lots of posts here and elsewhere that say this is common problem with this GM engine. I'm reasonably fearless when it comes to tearing into stuff like this, but how difficult would this job be for a shade tree mechanic. I don't have a good shop manual for the car yet, but I'll get one. So, armed with a torque wrench and an intermediate level of DIY skills, is this doable?

Thanks!
 


its not a horrible job, just a little messy with the coolant that youll have to run through. you just have to make sure you change your oil once or twice immediate after doing it so there is no coolant in the oil after you spill it into the engine (you will).
 
Anytime yell at me if ya got questions. It took us a total of 7 hours to do everything and that time included errors and such. I got the permadry problem solver fel pro gasket set.
 
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