Hey guys, I've been having a problem with my bird, I've noticed that I have been loosing coolant in this past week, I check it about every 4 days and when I do check it most of the water from the radiator is gone but it doesn't leak anywhere, its like if it just vanishes without dripping. Does anyone have any idea what the problem is and what I can do to fix it?

Not a mystery... it's going to be in 1 of 3 places... in the engine compartment or floor, best scenario, water pump, rad hose, rad itself. Next check under the pass side floor mat, if wet, it's your heater core, bad but not as bad as the next scenario. The dreaded head or intake gasket... check your oil level, if rising then water is going into the engine. Also look for chocolate milk under the oil cap. Best way to to sure is to drop the oil & filter, if it looks like chocolate milk... Our cars have issues with intake gaskets, better then the head gaskets...The sooner you find out the better... anti-Freeze eats engine bearings...

Heater core? Have you felt the carpet on the passenger side?

If not that, and no visible signs of dripping... have you checked your oil for contamination? Lots of white smoke now coming from your exhaust?

If you don't see any of the above it is still most likely the head gasket...

A very small tear from the cylinder to the water passage can cause little bits of coolant to enter and then "disappear"

has it ever gotten really overheated since you've owned it???

I have not checked the passenger side for water but I will later on tonight, umm, it started getting hot just recently, but the strange thing is that the meter inside the car stays at or below 220, it stays around the middle, it never goes any higher. When you say the head gasket, what exactly is that, is it the same thing as the heads? It doesn't drip anywhere, the radiator is not dripping and neither is the water pump or any hose. My uncle says its the heads but I need to know for sure, and how important is it for me to change the heads if it turns out to be that? And how much would some heads go for, or the head gasket go for?

the head gasket is the gasket between the heads, and the block. you can get small tear in it, and coolant leaks (slowly) into your engine contaminating you oil,. does the car have white smoke? if its it the head gaskets. then just change the gaskets and your oil.

No, there is no white smoke

if there are no leaks of any sort, i would still guess head gaskets. I dont know where else coolant could go.

Yeah I checked and the passenger side under the rug is not wet, so I guess the anonymous problem is the head gasket, I still need some more opinions so I won't buy something I don't need. But you might be right though I don't see where else the water could go. WHAT DOES A HEAD GASKET LOOK LIKE?

http://replacement.car-stuff.com/par...howdc=true#top

scroll down to the 3.1, theres a picture of the head gaskets, there the ones at the top of the pic.

Thanks Man, I called a (hood) mechanic and his first response was that it was the heads, he was almost sure of it, so I'm asking you can it be the heads? And is there any way to see if its the heads or head gaskets? For example if its doing this then it must be this. Thanks for the pic man, I sure hope its the head gaskets.

well when he is saying heads, he could be refering to the head gaskets. unless he thinks one or both heads have warped. my guess is head gaskets. i would do an oil change, and if you see anything seperating from the oil(it coolant), then you know its a head gasket.

This guy said it would cost around $700 for everything so I'm guessing he's talking about the actual heads here. But like I said that was his first guess, but I'll tell him that people are telling me that its the head gasket to see what he says, I know him well so I know he won't try to cheat me.

I doubt it, he would probably test the heads, and replace the headgasket (and thats giving him alot of credit).

^^^ very true

Yeah thats true but I'm pretty much screwed knowing that if he says "its definitely the heads" and if I get a second opinion you know their going to say the same thing, so I'm just going to buy the head gaskets and say "dammit replace now" and watch it not be that and it turns out that it is the heads from the beginning. I knew I should have gone to a mechanic school, I love cars and working on things, but oh well I can still learn from books. Anyways so it has to be either the heads or head gasket right? Nothing else? How hard is it to put the head gaskets?

My sister had the same problem with her car. She had to get the head gasket replaced and it cost about $900.

Damn, I will get another third gen before I pay $900 for a head gasket, really did it cost that much to put on a head gasket, mostly all of it was labor right? Buying either the heads or head gasket does not mean that one will automatically fix the other right? For example if I get some heads from Turbo Dave, will that pretty much fix both the heads and the head gasket problem?

She has a 99 Grand Am GT with a 3.4. Basically the same motor but most of the cost was labor. I'm not sure if they pulled one or both but they replaced a gasket. To get it off they had to take the whole to of the motor off. I think that she took it to the stealership. $700 sounds about right.

Yeah my mechanic said it would be about $700, yeah now its just figuring out if it really is the heads and buy the heads seperately because if I go to him and say hey buy the heads for me and install them, he's going to buy the cheapest heads ever and he will add a grip load of labor cost. So yeah I'm pretty much stuck, but what I'm still trying to figure out is which one it is, the heads or head gasket and if I replace the heads will the head gasket also get fixed by that replacement? who knows

They better replace the gasket if they put on new heads.

if it is the heads and you have to get new ones, you are going to have to replace the head gasket anyway. i doubt it would be the head its self, but its not impoosible. chances are its the gasket which would only be about $100 for a gasket kit, plus labor to install. when your mechanic was refering to heads, chances are he meant the heads gasket, and not the heads itself. unless he told you otherwise. i am actually doing the samething on my car now. its pretty easy just alot of time consuming work.

Hey guys I fixed the coolant loss problem, and it wasn't the heads or head gasket either, everyone was telling me that I had to spend at least $500 to get it fixed, every mechanic and everyone in the forums, I went out and bought a firebird repair manual at the local Pep Boys, and looked up my problem and they gave me 4 things that it can be 1. Ignition 2. head gasket. 3. Thermostat. and 4. The Radiator cap. and yeah it was the radiator cap that was letting out vapors from the radiator, thats why there was no leak and no other signs in the oil, I went to the store and bought a $4.99 radiator cap and saved hundreds of dollars, my 3.1 was almost about to get junked, but a little radiator cap was the final solution and the remedy that saved my loved firebird.

good to hear that you got your problrm fixed, its hard to diagnose problems via the internet, without being able to see it personally. but im glad its fixed, and your happy.

do a compression test leak down test on them that will give you a better idea and let you know which side and cylender is bad . better to replace as pair . mechanic my self and have had problems in past with just replacing or resurfacing just one side