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I have a 1999 Chevrolet Lumina with a 3.1 engine and auto trans. The car is losing coolant either at the intake manifold gasket or the head gasket. I’ll fill up the recovery tank till it’s full and I can drive maybe 40 miles and the recovery tank will go empty.
I recently replaced the upper and lower intake manifold gaskets, but it seems this has made things worse with the coolant loss. I’m trying to figure out if I made a mistake on the intake manifold gasket replacement, or if the repair on the intake gasket is now pushing more coolant to a bad head gasket.
Is there a way to tell if the coolant loss is from a bad intake manifold gasket or a bad head gasket? Thanks…
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Check your oil. Is it the color of coffee with creamer in it? If so change your head gasket. If not I would double check all my hoses and radiator for cracks.
There’s no water in the oil. The oil is still pretty decent after 5000 miles from an oil change.
It seems like on colder days that the tail pipe is blowing out a lot more steam than normal. So, I’m guessing that all the coolant is escaping through the exhaust system.
I’ll try to do a block test/combustion leak test to see where the leak is located. Thanks!
My 1992 lumina was losing coolant in that long pipe/hose contraption that goes around half the engine compartment to get to the heater inlet/outlet. That had rusted through down by the wheel well, where salt gets thrown on it. It was difficult to find, because it would seep out as I was driving and not leak much when the system was not pressurized. Also if yours has that heater inlet around the thermostat, that failed for me also, but leaked a little for a long time until the junk metal finally failed completely. I’d say pressurize the cooling system and look for visible leaks first. ‘Course you did say that you can lose the whole overflow tank in 40 miles…
DaveIf the coolant level is dropping that quickly and the oil is clean there must be an external leak somewhere. I suggest to pressure test the cooling system. Most head gasket leaks I have seen on a 3.1lt G.M.s have been external. Check the water pump, radiator closely as well as both ends of the intake manifold. Check the carpet on the passenger side for coolant. Check the A/C condensate drain for leaking coolant. The best time to check for leaks is when the engine is partially warmed up.
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