1999 Pontiac Grand Am GT Logo
Anonymous Posted on Jan 04, 2010

Im getting no heat in my 1999 Pontiac Grand Am, I just replaced the lower and upper in take gaskets due to them leaking and the thermostat, I have bleed the system numerous times and I was told that I have a big air pocket stemming from the thermostat area into the heater core (no heat) then into the coolant over flow. How do I get rid of that air pocket ?

  • Anonymous Jan 05, 2010

    Tried your solution a couple of times, I still have antifreeze coming out of the overflow hose of the coolant resevoir. I brought my car to a auto repair shop and got a coolant flush,hoping to push the air pocket out,didn't work. They arent 100% sure nut they think the radiator is clogged, they did check the water pump and its good. When it idles, we get cold air, we hold the engine at 2800 rpm's for a couple of minutes and get the temp up to 215-220*, we get real good heat, slow it back down to an idle and we get luke warm. Is it possible to heater core is clogged?

  • Anonymous Jan 05, 2010

    I see you didn't even mention the heater core, so the next step is to repair the Radiator ? But first I'm going to turn the t-stat around for the hell of it, I wasn't having this problem before I put the gaskets in and a new thermostat. Would a backwards t-stat cause a slow opening and lack of coolant to reach the heater core ? Thus causing major bubbling (hearing) in the hose going to the t-stat housing ?

×

1 Answer

Anonymous

Level 2:

An expert who has achieved level 2 by getting 100 points

MVP:

An expert that got 5 achievements.

Governor:

An expert whose answer got voted for 20 times.

Scholar:

An expert who has written 20 answers of more than 400 characters.

  • Expert 172 Answers
  • Posted on Jan 04, 2010
Anonymous
Expert
Level 2:

An expert who has achieved level 2 by getting 100 points

MVP:

An expert that got 5 achievements.

Governor:

An expert whose answer got voted for 20 times.

Scholar:

An expert who has written 20 answers of more than 400 characters.

Joined: Jan 04, 2010
Answers
172
Questions
0
Helped
100550
Points
362

Put your heater temperature control in the max position on(this opens the valve for coolant flow through the heater core). Top off the radiator and the coolant resevoir. Make sure the cap is on tight and bring the engine up to operating temperature. Shut off engine, allow to cool, and top off the radiator again. Repeat these steps until you are sure it will not take anymore coolant. Drive the car at speed for 5 or 10 miles and recheck again when cool. It takes awhile to work air out of the system with multiple openings of the thermostat.

  • Anonymous Jan 05, 2010

    A plugged or partially plugged radiator would mimic what you are experiencing. It also sounds like a thermostat isn't closing and regulating as it should, although it shouldn't pump coolant out of the overflow if it is stuck open. I have come across thermostats that were inadvertantly installed upside down. Typically the short side of the t-stat goes toward the engine. A good radiator flush may be beneficial, but if it is plugged very much you may want to recore the radiator. The folks at the radiator shop would have the best judgement on that.

  • Anonymous Jan 05, 2010

    I didn't mention the heater core as I figured you had enough to deal with right now, and replacing a heater core can be a long laborious job! If you look at the thermostat there will be a "hat" the assembly sets in. The short side of the assembly should point toward the engine(some even have "eng" stamped in them, or "rad" for the side that points in the direction of the radiator. If you didn't have this problem before you replaced the gaskets, then there is a good chance the t-stat is turned around.

×

Add Your Answer

×

Uploading: 0%

my-video-file.mp4

Complete. Click "Add" to insert your video. Add

×

Loading...
Loading...

Related Questions:

0helpful
1answer

Coolant leaking on grand am

Can be a cracked radiator, bad hoses leaking at the thermostat or the upper intake or lower intake maybe even a head gasket blown. Your looking at around 400 if u got a leak anywhere other that a radiator or hoses
0helpful
4answers

99 pontiac montana overheaten already changed thermostat what is it?

you have a GM common problem and that is a bad intake manifold gasket. GM change the gaskets to plastic and they crank and leak causing over heating. here is a picture of one i took from a 2005 pon. bonneville with 74,000 miles on it2_12_2013_3_00_09_am.jpg
0helpful
1answer

Water leaking from back top side of motor

well to answer your question if you have a chevy 3.1 engine the leak comes from the lower intake manifold gasket in the corners ,the after market replacement gaskets made by felpro are much better and usually end this problem,and when you have the job done make sure to do the thermostat and o-ring also....!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
0helpful
1answer

How to replace a thermostat on a 1999 pontiac grand prix

  1. Disconnect the negative battery cable.
  2. Lower the coolant level a bit.
  3. Follow the top radiator hose to the thermostat housing.
  4. I would just leave the hose on for this thermostat and go right to removing the two mounting bolts.
  5. Pull the housing up and clean the gasket off bothe sides of the gasket real well. Becarefull not to gouge the aluminum.
  6. Install the thermostat with the little "tip" facing up.
  7. Now put the new gasket and a little sealer on it too.
  8. Reverse the previous steps to finish the installation.
  9. When you get the antifreeze full remember to burp the system with that little bleeder valve on top.
  • see diagram below for a visual.


ironfist109_446.jpg



  • Hope this helps.
3helpful
3answers

1999 Pontiac Grand Am with "lower intake leak"...What does this mean specifically? Would this mean the intake for the radiator, gasket, or valve?

Usually intake has to do with the induction system, as in intake manifold , The intake manifold can have several types of leaks, the intake can have a vacuum leak, oil leak, coolant leak or a combination of any of the before mentioned....hope this helps,
3helpful
1answer

2003 pontiac grand am where is thermostat located

If you have the 3.4 V6, the thermostat is under the throttle body. Just follow the upper radiator hose to the engine where it connects. Where the hose connect's to on the engine is the thermostat housing and the thermostat is under it. If you have small hands, you can remove the housing with a socket, u joint extension. If you have to remove the heat shield to the exhaust pipe, If it's still to tight for you. Your going to have to also remove the throttle body to get to the thermostat housing and remember to buy a new throttle body gasket. Good luck and hope this helps.
3helpful
1answer

THERMOSTAT REPLACEMENT

You will need a 1/2" socket with ratchet, and a 1/2" wrench for the actual removal of the thermostat housing. First, remove the air duct from the air filter housing and the air intake connection to the engine. Set aside. Next, remove the upper radiator hose from where it connects to the engine by loosening the hose clamp. At the other end of this part where the hose was removed from is the "L" shape that houses the thermostat and bolts to the engine. This part (housing) has two bolts. The top bolt will require the use of an extension on your ratchet which you will need to insert between the water bypass pipe and the exhaust heat shield before coupling with the 1/2" socket. Loosen the top bolt. The bottom bolt will require the use of the 1/2" wrench, as the socket will not fit due to the location of the heat shield. NOTE: the bottom bolt only needs to be LOOSENED and not removed, as the housing has an open "C" at the lower bolt location allowing the housing to pivot upward from that bolt. After removing the top bolt and loosening the lower bolt, you can pivot the "pipe" end of the housing downward and carefully maneuver the housing out of its location. You should now see the thermostat. Clean surfaces of the engine and housing well. Insert the new thermostat with the "spring" into the engine and the "bell" outward. Be sure the seal is seated properly into its socket in the engine. Position the housing carefully, making sure not to move the thermostat out of position. Reassembly is the reverse of removal. In my case, I did not use any gasket seal. The thermostat has a rubber seal on it which works well on its own. Adding gasket seal may make removing the housing in the future more difficult
4helpful
3answers

THERMOSTAT REPLACEMENT

Follow the hoses leading from the radiator to the block -- upper hose first. Where the hose connects to the block there is a housing -- the thermostat is in that housing.
Not finding what you are looking for?

1,224 views

Ask a Question

Usually answered in minutes!

Top Pontiac Experts

ZJ Limited
ZJ Limited

Level 3 Expert

17989 Answers

Thomas Perkins
Thomas Perkins

Level 3 Expert

15088 Answers

Brad Brown

Level 3 Expert

19187 Answers

Are you a Pontiac Expert? Answer questions, earn points and help others

Answer questions

Manuals & User Guides

Loading...