Hi all, I'm trying to help a friend with her 96 Ciera 6cyl that has a radiator leak Fair warning, I tend to give either way too much information or nowhere near enough There's just no happy medium with meAlso, until a couple years ago, if I had car issues, I was at a loss If it had gas in the tank, air in the tires and wasn't on fire, I couldn't diagnose or fix didley squat
I'm still barely above that
If I can find a video or have a manual, I can follow instructions but it doesn't come naturally Anyway, I live in a very small town and my friend has had more than one garage tell her they couldn't find why the engine smelled hot but wasn't overheating Yet it took me 1 peek under the hood to see that there is coolant leaking from the backside of the radiator The idle was "surging"too but I'm hoping that was a dirty maf sensor which I cleaned today Ok, see what I mean about too much info?Anyway I need someone to walk me thru additional diagnosis to make sure I'm seeing the whole picture, flushing the radiator adding Stopleak and refilling it
I've tried to look on Google, YouTube & downloaded a supposed repair manual
But I can't find anything specific to this car

So, my plan is to clean off what I think is coolant from around the radiator and go for a drive so I can see if it's leaking from anywhere besides the obviousobvious
I'm going to list my specific questions before I forget them
1. Should I do a pressure test to if there are more leaks?
2. How do I get the coolant out of the overflow? Will it drain when the radiator drains?
3. I saw a post that mentioned using, "the petcock AND both block drains" to drain it
4. If I have any or all of the above, where are they?
Could the coolant that's on engine components just be blowing from the one leak?

I'm sure I have more questions but can't think of them right now
I added text to the pics or circled/pointed at what I'm trying to show

Oh, and the coolant in the overflow looks a little murky
Flushing it should solve that right?





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Hello. Welcome to the site. I don't know why this thread is moderated and I am answering with my phone so I will keep it short.

The Cutlass Ciera has a 3.1l v6. Chances are the coolant has changed to sludge. You need to cut one of the heater core hoses, install a Prestone flush kit fitting and use your garden hose to flush the coolant system. The 3.1l uses DexCool so make sure you get the proper coolant to refill it. No need to take out the freeze plugs when you do a flush. Just open up the pet **** on the bottom of the radiator and run water through it with the engine running. Good luck.

 

Thank you for your reply
I know you said you're using your phone so I'll try to keep this short
You said to CUT the hose to the heater core?
This might be a stupid question but
why cut it?
Can't I just take the hose clamp off?
I'm going to call around to see if any of the local stores have a flush kit and I'll look for more videos
I laughed when I read "Open the petcock and..." because you didn't hold my hand and lead me to the petcock.
I don't even know what a petcock looks like
Is it shaped like a rooster? Haha
Thanks again and wish me luck

 

LoL. No, the petcock isn't a rooster. It's near the bottom of the radiator and it's essentially a hollow captive screw that threads out to drain the cooling system. Make sure you open the cooling system cold.

You could disconnect one of the heater core hoses but then you'd need another length of heater hose to re-connect the T-fitting in the coolant system. The objective is to have the petcock open, with the radiator cap off and the hose on. Then you start the car with the water flushing the coolant system into a bucket (or onto the ground). Do this until the water runs clear.

You can get a Prestone flush kit at any auto parts store. There are basic instructions on the back. Good luck!

 

I believe this engine is similar to those used in other GM cars from Buick, Chevy, etc. (Both 3.1L and 3.8L) You may have luck searching online for instructions and videos for those makes.

 

You are correct. I recently flushed the coolant on my 96 Oldsmobile with a 3.8l v6. The common failure on these engines is the lower intake manifold gasket failure which ends up using coolant and overheating similar to a blown head gasket. They rarely actually blow a head gasket. There are also composite coolant elbows that fit into the water pump. The o-rings on these elbows get old and start to leak. Eventually the composite material breaks down and the elbow comes apart.

BTW, here's the flush kit the OP needs to find. It wouldn't hurt to run the flush compound in the coolant system for a few days before doing the flush.

 

I swear, if I go to hell, my punishment will be working on stupid cars
For eternity haha (kinda)
A neighbor stopped by yesterday when he saw my hood up and helped me flush the system
But he had me close the petcock
Wth it closed, does the whole system get flushed instead of just the radiator?
Also, after the flush, I opened the petcock again to get all the water out, closed it and started to put antifreeze in
I bought 2 gallons of the 50/50 antifreeze (orange) but it didn't even take a full gallon between the radiator & the overflow
So I put the cap on and ran it for a few minutes but the level barely went down
So I downloaded a Chilton manual and it said to start it with the cap off and let it run til the thermostat kicked on
I did that (also had the heater on) & about the time the thermostat kicked on, it started "burping" coolant out & I started seeing smoke (or steam?) so i turned it off
i checked this morning and the level is still where it was, took it around the block and it seemed ok but I'm paranoid that I did something wrong
Is any of this normal or should I worry about the engine blowing up & me to smithereens, hence sending me to hell to work on stupid cars?

 

Are you in area that freezing temps? If yes you'll need to get more coolant/anti-freeze in the system. Buy a coolant tester, they're inexpensive and see what temp it is protected to . Use at least 30 percent anti-freeze but no more than 50 percent. If the concentration is too loe, drain some from the petcock and refill from the bottle.

What about the leak? The pic looks like it is the radiator leaking.

Good luck!!

 

You need to have the radiator cap off and petcock open to completely flush the coolant system. Do this and start the car with the heater on full blast to make sure the thermostat opens and you flush the heater core as well. As Sugar Bear said, you can get a coolant tester at the auto parts store to test your protection level. Since I live in OK I just always run 50%. I could probably get by running a lower concentration but it isn't worth the hassle for me to use my tester.

 

Our low is in the high 30's-low 40's
How do I get more coolant in the system if it won't take anymore?
I've let it run with the heater blasting for 15-for minutes a couple of times and took it for a short drive but the level in the radiator isn't going down to allow more coolant
I have a tester and it shows that it needs more
But what I have is the 50/50
I'll go get straight antifreeze, drain some out and add the straight

I guess my big questions are, 1. Should it take more than a gallon?
2. Will spilled coolant make the engine smoke?
3. If it smells hot but the temp gauge shows it's ok, what does that tell me?
And last but most important, 4. I have to work tomorrow and it's just under 30 miles away...am I gonna make it?

 

This might be a dumb question but, if the petcock is open, how does rhe water get though the entire system
In my mind, it seems like it would just drain out at the petcock
Or does turning on the heater create a vaccum that sucks the water through?

 

I forgot to address this part
Yeah, the pics are to show the leak I mentioned in my o.p. and the results of that leak ...or what I HOPE are results from that leak, not indicators of another leak

 

If you open the petcock with the cooling system full and add water to the radiator with a garden hose the system fills faster than it drains. You have to start the engine so the water pump will circulate the coolant.