common problem or no???

i am starting not to like the gp. it is my wife's car, 2000 gt with only 71k on her, driven like a baby, and the other day the low engine oil light comes on. come to find out, it is 1 qt low on oil!!!! blows no smoke and there isnt a drop on the ground where we park it. filter and drain plug are tight- no oil around them. i am pretty sure it is leaking out of the valve cover gasket down onto the exhaust manifold, burning up, and that is why i never see it. i drove the car and found the oil burning up on the exhaust making white smoke. the car is only driven to the grocery store, walmart, etc, and always makes short trips. she only put 6k on the car last year. i am just kinda irritated that a car that is babied would be losing 1 qt of oil with only 71k on it. fyi- the pcv was changed at 65k. oh ya, and the oil change still had another 500 miles to reach the 3000 mark!! .....end of rant

my question- i am going to change the valve cover gaskets- it looks like i need to remove the top motor mount to do the front- do i need to support the motor when i take the mount off, and if so, where do i support it???

question 2- has anyone else had this problem????

Common problem. I think everyone who owns a Grand Prix at one time or another will need to change these gaskets. This is especially true if you are running synthetic oil. You will need to remove the mount on the passenger side of the car. You can leave the other mount in place and you shouldn't have any issues that would require you to have to support the engine as these are for torque control mostly when the engine is running. When you change the gaskets you will need to remove the ignition module. Make sure when you reinstall it that you do not overtighten it as it is easily broken.

You will also need a set of deep well sockets to get the bolt that holds the mount onto the engine. This is not a hard job but is time consuming. You may want to change the lower radiator hose while you are there since you have to remove the same parts to get to it. Just a thought to save you some time and hassle.

, driven like a baby,

Every had a baby? They leak all the time ... and some of it is worse than you can imagine !!! :lol:

But seriously I have an '04 GTP with same problem. Shop cost was about $400 to fix, I guess the high cost was due to the difficulty with the motor mounts. Yeah, I copped out and paid some body to do it. I have heard this is a common problem with GPs.

I replaced my valve cover gaskets when I did my intake manifold job. Not necessary to support the engine when taking off the dogbone support. They aren't that difficult to replace.
I haven't had any significant oil loss doing 5000 mile oil change intervals and mine has 322,000 miles on it. I did have an oil line leaking about 7 years ago that a mechanic fixed and somewhere there is a small leak but nothing for me to be concerned about.

[QUOTE=69goatfarmer]Every had a baby? They leak all the time ... and some of it is worse than you can imagine !!! :lol:

yes i have had a baby.... and i expect it to leak, but not my car. not here to bash the gp's- if you look around you will see i have had a lot of good to say about them. i personally dont understand how some cars now days can go for 150k plus and the motor still be clean(exterior). i just dont think that for the tlc that has been thrown at this car that it should be leaking a whole qt in less than 3000k, and no, i have never used synthetic. besides i am working 2 jobs and taking 1/2 load at school- just dont need this right now!!!!!!!!

Don't get too bent out of shape over this one. It isn't that big of a deal. You can probably do the entire job in less than 2 hours if you have the proper tools and no one pestering you. If the wife is constantly asking you how long add at least an hour for your responses. And by the way one quart every 3k miles isn't that bad and this can probably wait until spring or vacation time to repair.

Don't get too bent out of shape over this one. It isn't that big of a deal. You can probably do the entire job in less than 2 hours if you have the proper tools and no one pestering you. If the wife is constantly asking you how long add at least an hour for your responses. And by the way one quart every 3k miles isn't that bad and this can probably wait until spring or vacation time to repair.



no kidding about the wife part. i think i will take it to a friends house just for that reason. i have all the tools and i think i will do it over spring break- couple weeks from now. one qt every 3k IS kinda a big deal- its a whole qt which is 20 - 25% of the oil capacity, not to mention is has started to drip down an engine that used to be clean and pretty. and since i noticed the problem, it seems to be getting worse, not better. and since this is texas (it was 85* yesterday) i dont want it to cause problems before i can get it fixed!

Have you tried tightening the bolts that hold the cover in place. The can vibrate loose and this could be what is making it worse. Once you get it repaired spray the engine with some simple green and allow it to sit for a few minutes then wash it off with a hose. The engine will be as clean as it ever was.

Putting on so few miles per year is hard on gaskets and seals. The gaskets and rubber seals shrink and harden from lack of use, which will cause them to fail prematurely. The valve cover gaskets are a weak link in the 3800, so yes it's fairly common, but nothing to curse the car over.

Have you tried tightening the bolts that hold the cover in place. The can vibrate loose and this could be what is making it worse. Once you get it repaired spray the engine with some simple green and allow it to sit for a few minutes then wash it off with a hose. The engine will be as clean as it ever was.

big 10-4 there. i tightened them when i discovered the problem- however it didnt seem to help and if anything it made them worse. i know you can overtighten, so i tried to be careful. on another car a few years back i replaced the valve cover gaskets and started cranking until i had stripped out 2 bolts. speaking of which, does any know the torque specs for the valve cover bolts- just got the new craftsman torque wrench.

p.s.- gaskets are on the way from zzperformance, jug of simple green standing by, and the "for sale" sign is in the window.....kidding.....about the for sale part!

big 10-4 there. i tightened them when i discovered the problem- however it didnt seem to help and if anything it made them worse. i know you can overtighten, so i tried to be careful. on another car a few years back i replaced the valve cover gaskets and started cranking until i had stripped out 2 bolts. speaking of which, does any know the torque specs for the valve cover bolts- just got the new craftsman torque wrench.

p.s.- gaskets are on the way from zzperformance, jug of simple green standing by, and the "for sale" sign is in the window.....kidding.....about the for sale part!

Sounds like your's would make a good parts car for mine.

big 10-4 there. i tightened them when i discovered the problem- however it didnt seem to help and if anything it made them worse. i know you can overtighten, so i tried to be careful. on another car a few years back i replaced the valve cover gaskets and started cranking until i had stripped out 2 bolts. speaking of which, does any know the torque specs for the valve cover bolts- just got the new craftsman torque wrench.

p.s.- gaskets are on the way from zzperformance, jug of simple green standing by, and the "for sale" sign is in the window.....kidding.....about the for sale part!


so i got the gaskets from zz performance on saturday- fast shipping- but it didnt come with any rubber grommetts- do we not have any rubbers or do these not need changed?

also, does anyone know the torque specs for the valve cover bolts?

thanks