2001 SE V6-losing water --found ?

Ok my wife has own this car since new and all we have done since is replace almost everything. I have begged to get rid of this car for 3 yrs now and its costed me over 2K in those (3)yrs. Fuel pump just 2 weeks ago !!!

Now at 117K miles the car was given to our daughter after she wrecked the last one.

Its been overheating and losing water by the tons. I told them to put the car aside and use my other one til I could take a look.


Now today.....

The water is running down right by (behind) the thermostat housing close to the motor. It would seem to me an intake gasket or so but we had most all of these things changed over the yrs. I couldn't get a real good looksee in there but it was streaming pretty heavy after I got the car good and hot.

Any answers out there ??

Intake gasket replacement was not a permanent fix. These will continue to fail at some point as long as you drive the vehicle. The newest version of the gaskets (metal/rubber) seem to be holding up better/longer. These can go bad as often as every 40k or last as long as 100k. Just depends.

Sounds like your intake is leaking again!

Intake gasket replacement was not a permanent fix. These will continue to fail at some point as long as you drive the vehicle. The newest version of the gaskets (metal/rubber) seem to be holding up better/longer. These can go bad as often as every 40k or last as long as 100k. Just depends.

Sounds like your intake is leaking again!

Thanks for reaffirming what I thought would be bad news. I looked again last night and could see the water streaming just under the stat housing. near the block next to what looked like a freeze plug but with a small mirror could see that it wasn't coming from either .SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO it MUST be
THE INTAKES AGAIN !!!!!!:banghead:



Its been just about 45K since they were done last also.



What a great car my wife picked out...:sarcasm1:

It is important to use blue thread lock on lower intake bolts and normally use proper torque.

I did not have blue handy and used red :screwy: hopefully I will be able to get them loose one day :icon16:

Might double check that the hose isnt split. And that the thermostat housing isnt cracked, or loose.

The last LI gaskets I done on my SE was the metal ones.
I run it hard daily, and hasnt given me a bit of trouble in over 2 yrs. And my SE has over 210k on the block. :2cents:

good luck

Might double check that the hose isnt split. And that the thermostat housing isnt cracked, or loose.

The last LI gaskets I done on my SE was the metal ones.
I run it hard daily, and hasnt given me a bit of trouble in over 2 yrs. And my SE has over 210k on the block. :2cents:

good luck


:iagree:if the thermostat was installed after the LIM gaskets then it is possible that who ever worked on thermostat didn't tighten the bolts good since there is very little room for that.

Yes its very tight in there!
The thing about the thermostat is the rubber gasket gets caught in between the housing and intake and over time starts to leak. Wont know without getting in there and inspecting.

Yes its very tight in there!
The thing about the thermostat is the rubber gasket gets caught in between the housing and intake and over time starts to leak. Wont know without getting in there and inspecting.


Now I remember. Last time about 3yrs ago when they pulled the manifold it was found to be cracked around where the water temp sensor is (or so I was told-this guy is pretty honest). I was told the metal there was very thin. So on top of it just leaking last time we went for a good/used intake.

Either way it has to get fixed with winter coming and its of no use this way.


Question--What is the going rate$$$:eek7: for this repair since I have 4 other cars I'm keeping after and no time whatsoever to tackle this..

$600 to $1,000 depending on the labor rate in your area. This would include the LIM gaskets, valve cover gaskets, EGR gaskets, o-rings, oil pump drive o-ring, t-stat, injector 0-rings, plenum gaskets, oil change, and coolant flush.