1999 Pontiac Grand Prix coolant problem

Hi,
Here is the deal. My son bought car and found full of bars leak. We were
told intake gasket was bad and
had it supposedly changed, doesn't look like it was apart to me but I know
nothing. Car still uses
antifreeze. None in the oil, radiator builds up pressure when running and
overflows when cap is removed.
None on the ground either.
This leads my friend to believe it has a cracked head.
So I guess my question is could it still be the intake(my friend says the
intake won't put pressure and bubbles
in the radiator) or is it for sure a head gasket or cracked head, my friend
says it is for sure a bad head.
Oh, the guy who put the intake gasket in said he did a leak down test on the
cylinders and there was no problem,
so it is a head problem this also leads me to believe he didn't put the
intake gasket in.
Thanks for any info with this problem,
Kirk

I forgot to add it is a 3.1L if it makes a difference.
"Kirk Frei" <fangoria@muscanet.com> wrote in message
news:112pskhkj8unf21@corp.supernews.com...
> Hi,
> Here is the deal. My son bought car and found full of bars leak. We were
> told intake gasket was bad and
> had it supposedly changed, doesn't look like it was apart to me but I know
> nothing. Car still uses
> antifreeze. None in the oil, radiator builds up pressure when running and
> overflows when cap is removed.
> None on the ground either.
> This leads my friend to believe it has a cracked head.
> So I guess my question is could it still be the intake(my friend says the
> intake won't put pressure and bubbles
> in the radiator) or is it for sure a head gasket or cracked head, my
friend
> says it is for sure a bad head.
> Oh, the guy who put the intake gasket in said he did a leak down test on
the
> cylinders and there was no problem,
> so it is a head problem this also leads me to believe he didn't put the
> intake gasket in.
> Thanks for any info with this problem,
> Kirk
>
>

Kirk Frei wrote:

> Here is the deal. My son bought car and found full of bars leak. We
> were told intake gasket was bad and
> had it supposedly changed, doesn't look like it was apart to me but I
> know nothing. Car still uses
> antifreeze. None in the oil, radiator builds up pressure when running
> and overflows when cap is removed.

What do you mean by the above statement? It's normal for
the radiator/cooling system to build up pressure when the
engine is running, and it's normal for the coolant to overflow
when you remove the cap. What would not be normal is if
the cooling system were to continue to bubble into the overflow
bottle after the engine reached operating temps.

I would suggest that you have the vehicle properly diagnosed.

> This leads my friend to believe it has a cracked head.
> So I guess my question is could it still be the intake(my friend says
> the intake won't put pressure and bubbles
> in the radiator) or is it for sure a head gasket or cracked head, my
> friend says it is for sure a bad head.

Your friend is correct about the intake gasket....but the jury
is still out on his bad head/gasket theory. More "proper"
diagnosis is needed.

> Oh, the guy who put the intake gasket in said he did a leak down test
> on the cylinders and there was no problem,
> so it is a head problem this also leads me to believe he didn't put
> the intake gasket in.

I don't think you can draw these conclusions from what you've
said here. You may be right, but I'd get another shop to have
a look and see. 2nd opinion and all that!

Ian

Thanks for the info, I was thinking that if the car was running it should
not overflow when the
radiator cap is removed.
Kirk
"shiden_kai" <violet_lightening_modified@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:Vj9Xd.601924$6l.252000@pd7tw2no...
> Kirk Frei wrote:
>
> > Here is the deal. My son bought car and found full of bars leak. We
> > were told intake gasket was bad and
> > had it supposedly changed, doesn't look like it was apart to me but I
> > know nothing. Car still uses
> > antifreeze. None in the oil, radiator builds up pressure when running
> > and overflows when cap is removed.
>
> What do you mean by the above statement? It's normal for
> the radiator/cooling system to build up pressure when the
> engine is running, and it's normal for the coolant to overflow
> when you remove the cap. What would not be normal is if
> the cooling system were to continue to bubble into the overflow
> bottle after the engine reached operating temps.
>
> I would suggest that you have the vehicle properly diagnosed.
>
> > This leads my friend to believe it has a cracked head.
> > So I guess my question is could it still be the intake(my friend says
> > the intake won't put pressure and bubbles
> > in the radiator) or is it for sure a head gasket or cracked head, my
> > friend says it is for sure a bad head.
>
> Your friend is correct about the intake gasket....but the jury
> is still out on his bad head/gasket theory. More "proper"
> diagnosis is needed.
>
> > Oh, the guy who put the intake gasket in said he did a leak down test
> > on the cylinders and there was no problem,
> > so it is a head problem this also leads me to believe he didn't put
> > the intake gasket in.
>
> I don't think you can draw these conclusions from what you've
> said here. You may be right, but I'd get another shop to have
> a look and see. 2nd opinion and all that!
>
> Ian
>
>

Kirk Frei wrote:

> Thanks for the info, I was thinking that if the car was running it
> should not overflow when the
> radiator cap is removed.

It all depends.....is the engine cold? If you just
start the vehicle and it immediately begins to
pressure up the cooling system, yes...you may
have a problem. If you take the cap off after
the engine is hot, there will be pressure in the
system...that's normal.

Ian

I'll have to try it when the engine is cold because I don't know when it is
doing it.
The day we took the cap off we had been driving on and off for a few hours
and
it only set off for about 20 minutes before we tried it.
Thanks,
Kirk
"shiden_kai" <violet_lightening_modified@hotmail.com> wrote in message
newsWNXd.624651$8l.9375@pd7tw1no...
> Kirk Frei wrote:
>
> > Thanks for the info, I was thinking that if the car was running it
> > should not overflow when the
> > radiator cap is removed.
>
> It all depends.....is the engine cold? If you just
> start the vehicle and it immediately begins to
> pressure up the cooling system, yes...you may
> have a problem. If you take the cap off after
> the engine is hot, there will be pressure in the
> system...that's normal.
>
> Ian
>
>