2004 Pontiac Grand Am Coolant, Overheating, Heater & Po

Tiny
TOMMYBOY08
  • MEMBER
  • 2004 PONTIAC GRAND AM
  • 6 CYL
  • FWD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 14,000 MILES
I have a 04 pontiac grand am se with 140000. Ive always have had issues with the coolant leaking and my car overheating. I think there has been a small leak somewhere but I was able to get by by only having to refill my coolant about once a month. About a couple of week ago before I headed to work my car got stuck in the snow so I kinda floored the gas pedal trying to get it out. I think that overheated it. Well that night the coolant was empty again so I filled it to the top. My car ran but my car heat didnt work and the temp gauge keep moving back and forth between the half quarter mark to the three quarter mark even tho it was full of coolant. Then the next day I started my car and let it run for about ten mins to see if it it would heat up and my heat would work but it didnt. Also I couldnt drive it because when I pushed the gas pedal down my car would barely move even if it was all the way down to the floor, my borther in law said that could be the transmission but I have no idea. Could u tell me what might be wrong with it and how much would it roughly cost with parts and labor?
Sunday, February 7th, 2010 AT 5:51 AM

3 Replies

Tiny
SERVICE WRITER
  • MECHANIC
  • 9,123 POSTS
Whew. Don't like the sounds of this one.

At this point I assume the engine seems to be running normal?

Are the heater hoses hot going to the heater core at the firewall?

Do you know if the leak is external?
IF so pressure test it and fix that first regarding the cooling system.

Does the car operate in reverse?
How often has the transmission filter been changed?
IS the check engine light on? IF so get the codes.
When you are at wide open throttle and in gear what is the engine idle doing? It should be Racing.
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Sunday, February 7th, 2010 AT 7:32 AM
Tiny
TOMMYBOY08
  • MEMBER
  • 3 POSTS
Ok so today I started my car and let it warm up for a good 20 mins. The heat still doesnt work and I still have the issue with the temp gadge and coolant leak. But I tried driving it and it drove like it normally did. So im guessing I thought I was having tranny problems cuz I didnt warm it up enough?

But I remember one time I went to get my oil changed and they said my car was hot to they looked at it and said there was a small leak somewhere in my radiator. So could that be causing my problem? And how much would a fix like that cost?
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Wednesday, February 10th, 2010 AT 9:33 PM
Tiny
SERVICE WRITER
  • MECHANIC
  • 9,123 POSTS
The 3400 motors were common for intake leaks.
You need to do what I said earlier.
The system must be pressure tested for leaks and verified. Regardless of what Joe Oil change thinks.

The first component that loses antifreeze is the heater core. Thus you lose your heat. Hopefully you didn't already damage the engine by overheating it. You may have croippled the thermostat and it may now not be opening.

The more times you get the temperature into the dange zone the higher the odds you are going to smoke the motor.
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Thursday, February 11th, 2010 AT 4:29 AM

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