Hello everyone, I am new to this forum and well new to DYS car care. I have ran into a dead end tracing a coolant leak on my 99 grand am v6. I have traced the leak to behind the water pump housing toward the cab of the car. I am not sure where to go from this point. Any ideas would be welcome. I do not have any experience with repairing cars. I have already removed the coolant overflow, alternator, belt tensioner, and bracket behind belt tensioners. This has created more room to work but still cannot reach leak. Photos are attached.
99 GrandAm Coolant leak, help please.
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- 99 grand am coolant leak
richardgriese
New member
are you sure that is your only leak? support the engine and pull the engine mount off. then take all of the other pulleys off and the Power steering pump - be careful the reservoir has a plastic nipple that is easy to break off. After that, pull the timing cover off (great time to check the chain to see if it has slack). Then put a new gasket and reinstall it all.
The car is leaking oil, transmission fluid, and recently just dumped the coolant. The first two fluids weren't bad enough to prompt action. The coolant dumped and I knew I had to do something. Now seems to be a good time to track down the other leaks but I am after the coolant mostly. I have been comfortable with taking the parts off that I have so far. But supporting the engine and disconnecting it is hard to grasp. The car is parked on an inclined driveway. What would be the best way to support it with jack and stands?
richardgriese
New member
Wow that's a lot of leaks! "Dumped the coolant" What exactly do you mean? It gushed out from one of the leak spots?. Coolant is important not to leak since it needs to have a certain pressure (idk 15 psi) to work properly. Oil leaks? have you found those - might as well get them too) Transmission leaks - yikes that is a scary thought where is it leaking the pan?
Do you have/can you get a floor jack? I have a 3 1/2 ton that I used. You would need a brace like wood (could be done without) and place the jack under the oil pan. Jack it up a little bit (not much keeping in mind the engine is attached to the car via that mount and the transmission). Also I think there is a bracket in the back that is bolted to the bottom of the oil pan ( to the left of the harmonic balancer).
I rebuild my 3400 and painted it as I went so if there is a leak in the future it will be easier to spot. If you need any pictures I can send them. The good thing about this car is it is old tech and the engine is forward (compared to my 2005 impala 3400)
Do you have/can you get a floor jack? I have a 3 1/2 ton that I used. You would need a brace like wood (could be done without) and place the jack under the oil pan. Jack it up a little bit (not much keeping in mind the engine is attached to the car via that mount and the transmission). Also I think there is a bracket in the back that is bolted to the bottom of the oil pan ( to the left of the harmonic balancer).
I rebuild my 3400 and painted it as I went so if there is a leak in the future it will be easier to spot. If you need any pictures I can send them. The good thing about this car is it is old tech and the engine is forward (compared to my 2005 impala 3400)
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Yeah there are a lot of leaks. The oil leak doesn't lose enough to show on dipstick over long period of time. I am not really sure where the transmission leak is coming from. It is strange that there is no transmission dip stick to check it.
As far as disconnecting the engine mount I have a few questions/concerns. The car is on a slight incline. How will this effect the disconnection of the mount? How many mounts are holding engine in place. I just don't want the engine to shift do to the incline once the one mount is disconnected. I have a floor jack, two jack stands, and a 2 X 4 piece of wood. Where exactly should the wood and jack be placed to prevent damage?
Thank you for the help/advice.
As far as disconnecting the engine mount I have a few questions/concerns. The car is on a slight incline. How will this effect the disconnection of the mount? How many mounts are holding engine in place. I just don't want the engine to shift do to the incline once the one mount is disconnected. I have a floor jack, two jack stands, and a 2 X 4 piece of wood. Where exactly should the wood and jack be placed to prevent damage?
Thank you for the help/advice.
richardgriese
New member
There is 1 engine mount (you can see it in your photos) the only other thing supporting that engine at that angle is the transmission bell housing bolts (and that bracket I mentioned). I have actually taken that mount off and let the engine rest (2-3) inches lower where the oil pan came to rest on the frame - no problem keep in mind this is older tech and is fairly forgiving. And I didn't use wood to raise/support the engine but it is recommended - it is a pretty sturdy oil pan. Placement anywhere is fine really i would say slightly toward the front of the middle of the pan if possible. I wouldn't really worry about the incline (did my rebuild and the things listed above on an incline).
The piston rings may be old and it is burning the oil if you cannot locate an external leak. Transmission - ? how do you know you have a transmission leak? yes no dip stick :s not my favorite idea!
The piston rings may be old and it is burning the oil if you cannot locate an external leak. Transmission - ? how do you know you have a transmission leak? yes no dip stick :s not my favorite idea!
richardgriese
New member
Here is a picture after I installed the harmonic balancer - you can see that the engine is resting on the frame.
There is oil everywhere on the engine from over time but the oil level remain good. I believe there is a transmission leak because there is red oil (trans fluid I believe) drips forming on bottom of oil pan I believe.
I have a couple questions before I disconnect mount. If there is anything that should be disconnected besides the stuff I have already disconnected as posted before? Should I empty the coolant before taking off the cover? What exactly is under the cover (for the timing belt?)
I have a couple questions before I disconnect mount. If there is anything that should be disconnected besides the stuff I have already disconnected as posted before? Should I empty the coolant before taking off the cover? What exactly is under the cover (for the timing belt?)
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richardgriese
New member
yea there are block plugs to take out to drain the coolant. timing chain actually. you will probably want to get some rtv to reseal the timing cover to the oil pan. The harmonic balancer needs to come off ( you will need a harmonic balancer removal tool which can be rented). I would remove all of the other pulleys too and inspect them for wear.
Ok I had to stop working on the car for a while. I am back to trying to get the timing belt cover off. I am having serious issues getting one of the bolts off the engine mount. I was able to loosen three as seen in the picture at the beginning of the thread. But I can not loosen the back left bolt on the mount. I even broke a socket trying to get it off. Could this be because the way the engine is. I have a hydraulic jack and board under oil pan. I lifted just a little and the whole car lifted about an inch. stumped. Any help welcome.
Zimgxp
New member
Lower the motor down till the car is at normal hight.
Ok so I was able to get the mount off. I just needed a pipe for a breaker bar. I have everything off except the harmonic balancer. I know I need to go get the removal and installer tools. But how do I stop the pulley from spinning so I can take the bolt off? And Is there a gasket/ring or something that I need to replace for the harmonic balancer?
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richardgriese
New member
Air or a breaker bar wedged on the harmonic balancer-then crank the engine (not start you could take the spark plugs wires off to prevent if you're concerned). the breaker bar will hold the bolt and the engine will spin the harmonic balancer and it will come right off.
the breaker bar would need to be against the control arm.
the breaker bar would need to be against the control arm.
Update: I have completed what I started. Turned out pretty good so far.
The harmonic balancer: I was able to stop the Harmonic Balancer from turning by using vise grips on the flywheel. There is a little cover by the starter that allows access.
Once everything was off I cleaned off the gasket. I reassembled everything with new gaskets.
Harmonic balancer: When I was putting the harmonic balancer back on I couldn't get it to go flush, Is this ok?
There is no leaks so far. But when the car was first started, the engine made a clunk, clunk noise. After running the engine for a few mins the clunking sound faded away. The only noise I have noticed no is a squealing from the belt. What would cause this? could it have something to do with the harmonic balancer not being flush? The belt seems to line up correctly.
The harmonic balancer: I was able to stop the Harmonic Balancer from turning by using vise grips on the flywheel. There is a little cover by the starter that allows access.
Once everything was off I cleaned off the gasket. I reassembled everything with new gaskets.
Harmonic balancer: When I was putting the harmonic balancer back on I couldn't get it to go flush, Is this ok?
There is no leaks so far. But when the car was first started, the engine made a clunk, clunk noise. After running the engine for a few mins the clunking sound faded away. The only noise I have noticed no is a squealing from the belt. What would cause this? could it have something to do with the harmonic balancer not being flush? The belt seems to line up correctly.
Kevlar
New member
The harmonic balancer seems to be the obvious suspect. Not good if it is not fully seated into place. I'd hate to do it myself but if it were my car, I know I'd have to break it back down the the balancer and make sure it is properly installed. You don't want to do all this work and expense just to end up with a trashed engine.
richardgriese
New member
^^^ I agree. go to o'reilly or autozone and get a harmonic balancer installation tool (and maybe a puller too) You may want to take it off again and reinstall it.
If you use the installer tool properly the engine will not turn. This can all be done without air it will take you a while to turn that bolt! You will problably want to drop the engine so that it rests on the frame as seen in the picture. you will need a 12" cresent wrentch to turn the nut and a breaker bar with ??(17mm? socket). Wedge the breaker bar on the lower control arm of the tire and use the 12" cresent wrench on the nut. This will take a while and be careful because the cresent can slide off.
It will take a while because you can rotate about half a turn at a time but this will force the harmonic balancer flush. After that install the bolt and torque it down and your done.
If you use the installer tool properly the engine will not turn. This can all be done without air it will take you a while to turn that bolt! You will problably want to drop the engine so that it rests on the frame as seen in the picture. you will need a 12" cresent wrentch to turn the nut and a breaker bar with ??(17mm? socket). Wedge the breaker bar on the lower control arm of the tire and use the 12" cresent wrench on the nut. This will take a while and be careful because the cresent can slide off.
It will take a while because you can rotate about half a turn at a time but this will force the harmonic balancer flush. After that install the bolt and torque it down and your done.
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Ok, the sound is gone the car is running good. But now the check engine light is on. The code that comes up is P0327 knock sensor low input. The tester had the O2 sensors blinking too. The store associate told me to replace the o2 sensors.
Could this be caused because of the crankshaft position sensor. Maybe I pinched the wires when installing it back in. Could this have anything to do with that code?
Could this be caused because of the crankshaft position sensor. Maybe I pinched the wires when installing it back in. Could this have anything to do with that code?
richardgriese
New member
See if you can get a live OBD II tester. O2 sensors should fluctuate between 0.001 and .999 volts normally. If it is stuck at say .5v or 0.000 then replace. I don't know if you would have a pinched wire if the HB is not flush. Is everything plugged in properly? Funny question but I had a friend tell me his G6 died and he thought it was the battery- turns out someone unplugged the alternator. Easy mistakes to do.
richardgriese
New member
To iterate don't forget to make that HB flush. it may not be producing problems now but you want to keep it that way! Not being flush I could image that the belts would wear out faster and it may cause perturbation and wear out bearings