My friend has a 1995 V6 3.4L 'maro. One day it starts "smoking" (steaming) and smells sweet. She stops and checks the coolant dipstick, and its about dry. She fills it up and 2-3 days later its about empty again. It doesnt appear to be dripping according to her. More like its steaming out and evaporating. Any ideas or problems known to cause this? I suggested teh intake manifold gasket, but Im not sure if thats only a problem on transverse 3.4L V6's and not the longitudinal ones like in Camaros.

Thanks!

 

Intake gaskets can be an issue, but, it could also just be running over. First thing I would check would be the thermostat. If the thermostat is jacked, it could be overflowing from the radiator. Is there white smoke coming from the exhaust? Check the oil. See if there appears to be any anitfreeze in the oil. Also, when it's parked, see if any antifreeze leaks onto the ground, and if it does, look up from the spot it leaked to and try to pinpoint it's source. It could be a small, simple problem such as a thermostat, to a bad problem w/ a blown head gasket etc. I had problems such as these about 8 months ago and ended up having to get my 3.8L rebuilt.

 

pray to god it isnt the head gasket! (been there)

 

Freezeout plugs! It happened to me. Tell her to fill it with water and watch where it drips from. If it is between the back of the engine and front of the tranny it most likely is that. The problem is the part is cheap but the labor isn't!