Engine Cooling problem
2000 Buick Century 6 cyl Front Wheel Drive Automatic 83000 miles
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Is it more likely that my coolant is leaking (1 gal every 3 months) because of a bad interior gasket or the water pump needs to be replaced?

The 3.1 engines are common for an intake manifold gasket leak. You need to get his fixed. If your luckier it is leaking externally and not internally as it can ruin the engine.

Best bet is get it pressure tested at a shop and have them verify the leak before something more serious happens. There are a variety of possibilities and you don't want to change things on heresay.

IF you want to do some checking yourself, I can try to guide you through some possiblilities.

There has been a recent lawsuit against DexCool and all owners of selected vehicles can get their money back for the repair. Go to WWW.Dexcoolsettlement.com and it explains what you have to do.

I don't believe Dex-cool is the source of the problem. I do believe it is oor engineering as the problem is not reoccuring if the job is done right with the right materials. The exception is the 3800 engine. The force of the coolant, (dex-cool or otherwise) exposes an engineering flaw that invloves pressure eroding.

Service Writer wrote:

I don't believe Dex-cool is the source of the problem. I do believe it is oor engineering as the problem is not reoccuring if the job is done right with the right materials. The exception is the 3800 engine. The force of the coolant, (dex-cool or otherwise) exposes an engineering flaw that invloves pressure eroding.

I had my intake gaskets replaced 5 weeks ago. The gasket material was not conducive to the Dex-Cool, improved gaskets are available at parts stores which I had put in. I am waiting for my check from Dex-Cool.

Exactly what I meant, the Dex-cool wasn;t the problem, it was the engineering and specified gaskets they used.

Glad you posted that, these are problems that GM should take a hit on.