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Recalls

Z

zenko84

New member
Just brought a 1999 grand Prix GT from private owner. I see that the coolant seems to be leaking but couldnt find out where until I google it and find its a commom problem with this car. everyone says to replace the intake manifold and it should fix it. so my question is can I still take my car to a GM dealer to have them fix it along with other recall problems I saw for this car. I know I will have to pay for the intake manifold fix but will the recalls also cost me?
 


its the intake manifold for sure. where the coolant runs through the one side of it a tiny hole begins to form. it's common on all older 3.8's. i had a 95 bonneville and the intake manifold cracked. coolant everywhere. the car wouldnt run either. definitly replace it!
 
well idk about a recall on the intakes, but i know there is a recall for the valve cover seal as well. so make sure u do that. i just bought mine too and it has an open recall for it so i'm gonna get it done soon as i get it running and fix my intake as well. u shud call the dealer with the VIN and ask if there are any recalls. get them all done; they're free :)
 
Thanks that's what plan to do is get all the recalls fixed n the manifold. N the driver side window motor needs to be replaced n the sunroof. Plus some upgrades on the muffler I really love the car coming from a KIA Rio lol
 
lol i hear that. i got a plan going too, my dad bought me one that needs fixing up. the dash is sun bleached in spots and cracked on the passenger air bag cover so i gotta see an upholsterer. umm the intake needs fixing (FIRST we gotta figure out why it wont crank after just running two weeks ago), i need a courtesy light on the door, i gotta clean the leather and vacuum/shampoo the carpets, put the radio in, get new clips for the door panel, build my own intake, and give it a basic tune up. hell i got so much work to do once i get it. plus the fender needs to be bolted back up where the previous owner of the car's son ran over a street pole = |
BUT i do love it it's really pretty. hehe
 
Alexaloisio said:
its the intake manifold for sure. where the coolant runs through the one side of it a tiny hole begins to form. it's common on all older 3.8's. i had a 95 bonneville and the intake manifold cracked. coolant everywhere. the car wouldnt run either. definitly replace it!
Click to expand...
how are u sure its the intake manifold?

i had a bad leak, and it turned out to be a coolant elbow. $5 fix
 


reason being is because the new intake manifolds that you can order for 3.8's have a thicker wall between the coolant passthrough and the intake itself. because the coolant was basically melting a little hole in the plastic and leaking into the intake resulting in coolant in the heads and the car struggling to run and spark correctly. it should be a recall but it's not i don't think. just a little problem. not hard at all to fix. just need a torque wrench specifically.
 
Sorry for taking so long to give a update but I got the recalls fixed n I found out the intake manifold had already been replaced before I brought it so the leak is from something else the car is still in the shop but I will u know what it is. Thanks again everyone for your help
 
A manifold being replaced before does not mean that it's bulletproof or not leaking again. It is well worth checking while the coolant is drained etc.
 
exactly. definitely let us know. i would bet it's probably the intake manifold. but hey i'm not a certified mechanic. i'm just going off of personal experience and general knowledge.
 


I have a 95 olds and it had a problem like your , I was losing coolant and did know why . I thought it was intake gasket so I bought a plentum kit....what you have is an upper and lower intake. The lower is aluminum and there is a 3/4 tube sticking up on the driver side of it. That is for the egr valve. There are water jackets on both sides of that. What happens is this , the egr sucks hot gases out of the motor ( upper intake ) and reburns the gases.the tube gets so hot it melts the plastic upper intake , because the tube it the same size as the hole in the upper intake , and then it will pop holes between the water jackets and the tube allowing coolant to be sucked up and then burned . That's why you can't find it... That is if you don't have puddles under the car. The fix is to by the upper intake kit , it will come with the upper intake manifold , gasket, and a couple of different sized tubes so you can take out the stock one and replace it with a smaller one that will not touch the sides of the upper intake and cause it to melt again...it is very easy to do and it only takes a couple of hours to do.... the kit is about $120.00.
 
buckslayer said:
I have a 95 olds and it had a problem like your , I was losing coolant and did know why . I thought it was intake gasket so I bought a plentum kit....what you have is an upper and lower intake. The lower is aluminum and there is a 3/4 tube sticking up on the driver side of it. That is for the egr valve. There are water jackets on both sides of that. What happens is this , the egr sucks hot gases out of the motor ( upper intake ) and reburns the gases.the tube gets so hot it melts the plastic upper intake , because the tube it the same size as the hole in the upper intake , and then it will pop holes between the water jackets and the tube allowing coolant to be sucked up and then burned . That's why you can't find it... That is if you don't have puddles under the car. The fix is to by the upper intake kit , it will come with the upper intake manifold , gasket, and a couple of different sized tubes so you can take out the stock one and replace it with a smaller one that will not touch the sides of the upper intake and cause it to melt again...it is very easy to do and it only takes a couple of hours to do.... the kit is about $120.00.
Click to expand...

YAY old thread revival... again.

While this could be a problem it also could very well be the Lower Intake Manifold gaskets. They are made of a type of plastic with rubber seals and over time the Dexcool that comes in 99s will break them down and the gasket gives out... I have pics amongst many other threads like this one. My 99 only had 75k miles on it when I had to replace them. Age is the killer on this not miles so little driving can still yield similar results. The replacement is aluminum gaskets with rubber seals so the Dex can't break it up later down the road.
Best bet is to take off the upper plenum, and inspect it. If anything is melted, you need to replace. If not you need to take off the LIM and inspect those gaskets. Buying the $120 upper and having to tear it back off later because that wasn't the real problem is a waste of time.
 
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