INTAKE GASKET MAIN PAGE, PLEASE POST Q'S&A'S HERE!

[zeta4]

I just did this repair on my mother's 01 Alero. It took me one day to tear down and label the parts, one day to clean all of the oil/dexcool goo from the lower manifold, valve covers, engine valley etc; and one day to reassemble.

I went with the FEL-PRO kit for my application. This LIM gasket was made of metal and had rubber molded material around the intake openings and on the end pieces. I got it at rockauto.com and paid $15 less then the locally available ones at Autozone. The kit comes with a small tube of RTV. I bought a tube of Ultra Black RTV as a reserve because I fashioned and applied a small piece of thin gasket material, sandwiched between the RTV, to the end ridges as an extra measure. The LIM seated normally and the gasket material stayed in place with no problems. I choose to reuse the original LIM bolts; however, I cleaned them real well with lacquar thinner/ wire brush and placed blue thread locker on them before installation.

Make sure to get RTV up under the gaskets at the end ridges, and apply a generous bead along the end ridges as well.

I replaced the fuel rail o-rings that are notorious for popping-out or shreadding upon removal.

Replaced the plugs/wires and added a 180 degree thermostat. I also replaced the oil drive shaft o-ring and placed a distibutor gasket for overkill.

Bleed the coolant system real well to remove the air that may get trapped during the refill before initial start-up.

In conclusion, the car started on the first try with adequate oil pressure and no fluctuations at the temp. guage. The three quotes I received from authorized GM dealers in my area averaged $875 just for the LIM repair. Total cost for my DIY job was approximately $250. Goodd luck!

[RocketUSA]

How many hours did you put in, zeta4?

[MT-2500]

For everyone that has had trouble with the intake gasket the GM dexcool class action settlement may help pick up the tab.
Good Luck

http://www.girardgibbs.com/news.asp

http://www.dexcoolsettlement.com/

http://blogs.cars.com/kickingtires/2...s-out-for.html

[zeta4]

Originally Posted by RocketUSA

How many hours did you put in, zeta4?

The first day I put in about 8 to 10 hours only because it took some time to properly label all the electrical/vacuum connections. This was the first, and I hope only, time I wanted to endeavor on this project so I was real anal about marking everything. This paid off as a time saver too when it came time to reconstruct.

Second day took aproximately 6 hours. Make sure to clean ALL of the gasket mating surfaces. I used lacquer thinner, it cuts oil real well. I placed alot of clean rags in the engine valley to prevent any debris from falling down into the crankcase. Good thing I did, because when I removed the pushrods with the Lisle tool and went to remove the old GM gaskets, they literally crumbled as I attempted to remove them. After everything was cleaned, I performed a trial run so that I would be able to see how the LIM seated with the new FEL-PRO gaskets. Make sure the tabs on the gaskets seat into the matching holes on the head before final assembly.

Started fresh on the third day and put about 8 hours in. In my case, I got everything together; however, I did not start the car until the next day. It was late on a Saturday and I wanted to let the RTV/locktite cure until the next morning. I took the time to make sure all connections and fluids had been taken care of correctly. I primed the fuel system/checked for leaks a few times by turning on the ignition for a few seconds as well. The new fuel o-rings looked to have sealed Okay.

The car started up on the first try the next morning. It ran a little rough for the first 30-60 seconds; however, the oil pressure was good and the temp. guage never went over the halfway mark, so I knew that I got most of the air out of the coolant system when I refilled it with 50/50 dexcool.

No leaks thus far, and the car runs noticably better!

['97ventureowner]

Originally Posted by MT-2500

For everyone that has had trouble with the intake gasket the GM dexcool class action settlement may help pick up the tab.
Good Luck

Not quite
Depending upon certain criteria, ( when it was performed, and the amount you actually paid,) the amount of "refund" isn't a lot. Most cases you'll see up to $400, or up to $800 if you paid more than $1500 and can recover up to 40%. The least amount is $50. Many of us have done the repair ourselves and will probably qualify for an amount at the lower end of the reimbursement scale, whereas those who paid a dealer or independent garage to do the work will see more.

[lrssms]

Well,

I'm almost there. The fuel leak was due to the o-ring. It's 6:30am memorial day weekend, and I'm leaving shortly to get the ring. NO local dealer or parts store had the ring. At least it's only going to take me an hour drive (one way). For as many jobs as dealers due, I can't believe no-one local - had an o-ring for the rail.

Anyway. I should be done by lunch time today!

[lrssms]

I just finished the lower intake manifold job. I got stuck in the middle of the job because my back went out and the upper intake manifold cracked – rear driver side. I took it off and found that the lower was also cracked, but in a spot that after talking with a few mechanics, I used JB weld – a new lower intake manifold would have only cost me $150, but I would have had to do the job all over again. As it was, the upper intake cost be $130. Worst part was it cracked well before it hit the torque mark. The upper intake manifold had cracked in the air chamber. Two mechanics we’re not surprised - thought it was probably heat stressed – or the dealer that had done the job at 50k had over torque it.. I also had to take the upper intake manifold off twice because of fuel injector leaks.

Anyway, here are my comments on the whole job. This is not a weekend job. I would plan one day for disassembly – take lot’s of photos. I labeled and bagged all the parts. A day for cleaning the manifolds and installing the lower intake manifold, replacing the water pump, oil o ring, and a third day for reassembly

Buy the good rubber gloves from an auto parts store, they have good grip and kept my hands clean. You will also need a degreaser – I used a sea foam product to clean up the manifolds. Locktight for reinstalling the screws. Vaseline for the o rings.

Buy a ¼ inch drive set – metric 5.5 – 14 mm and you’ll need a 15 ½ for the alternator bolts. I had the Ampro ¼, 3/8, and ½ set. I used the ¼ inch set the most. It came in real handy in the cramped areas.

The upper intake manifold has small fiber type rough surface, keep covered with a towel so your arms don’t end up covered – it’s like fiberglass.

I used the felpro metal gasket, but instead of using their gasket sealer, I used permitex’s “the right stuff” – highly recommended by mechanics for this specific job.

Make sure when you reinstall the injector rail, remember to run the MAP wire (green connector). This cost me a lot of time.

Since you have the car apart, replace the water pump.

Replace the oil pump o ring

Replace the wires and plugs, radiator cap, thermostat, radiator hoses, PCV valve, serpentine belt, oil and filter

I went green with the radiator fluid. – screw dextron.

I thought it was a lot easier rotating the engine and removing the coil

Buy the valve tool to remove the rods. It took me 30 seconds to remove all of them. Get a box and as you remove them, puncture the box in the order you remove them.

Replace the fuel injector o rings – both ends. Mine disintegrated after reinstalling and starting up the car.

Before reinstalling the upper intake manifold, re-connect the injector wires and battery. Turn car on and charge the fuel line. If there are no leaks, then disconnect the battery and continue.

This is not a simple job for people who like to change oil and do a brake
job. I haven’t done a job like this in years – I’ve swapped out motors and converted a 5 speed car to an automatic. While I found the job was fun, it was certainly not easy and I think if the leak re-occurs, I’ll dump the vehicle.

In the end, I had one screw left – from the under carriage guard. I’ll get to it one of these days.

Biggest help to the project – read everypage and comment on this topic, put the car on ramps, take lots of photos, have the 1/4 inch socket set, and bag and label everything.

Good luck

The Venture is the LAST GM car I will ever buy.

[Efix]

I am starting the Intake manifold gasket job on my 2000 Venture - 140,000mi. I have oil in the coolant (brown stuff in the coolant bottle) but the van is still running fine.
I have the Dorman gasket kit on order and the o-rings for the injectors (there is only 4 ??) and the valve cover gasket.
I should start disassembling later this week (Thursday ?)
Wish me good luck !

[Bcelect]

Is there a link to the class action lawsuit filed in regard to the intake manifold gasket and dexcool repairs? If not here it is........http://www.girardgibbs.com/dexcool.html . A claim must be filed by the end of October 2008.

[JediKnight2]

I have had a temperature gauge dancing on me and the van overheated on my wife the other day. I took it in to the mechanic to be looked at....I spoke with the mechanic today..he said it was/is IMG...he can see water just barely seeping out on both the front and back of the engine. He said the coolant system was about 1 quart low...I guess that's enough air in the system to cause steam to go by the sensor and cause the temp guage to go up. ALSO, he said while testing it to see what was going on the guage went up on him and he turned the van off and could hear gurgling...Is 1 quart low on this system enough to cause it to do that? I asked him about the head gasket like 3 times and he said it wasn't the head gasket. How much extra work is going ahead and doing the head gasket...is that necessary/suggested by anyone...

for a blow by blow as to what has happened... http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbul...d.php?t=933037 He also said that this is a VERY COMMON issue for this engine and for as many as he sees for the work he does....points to an issue GMC would have to know about.

[radiofixer]

Hello all,

I am doing an upper and lower intake gasket, and head gasket change on a 3.4L V6 GM engine. In the process of putting the thing back together the push rod order got mixed up (kids). Can anyone tell me the long/short order on the front and rear heads so I do not cause damage?

Thanks

[66chevelle]

YOU WILL GET PAID. FYI to anyone that was smart enought to file a claim under the class action lawsuit. My friend got his check a couple weeks ago. He was fully refunded and paid zero for the repair on his Impala.

[gary 291]

my son has a 2002 chev venture van had problem with cooling fans not coming on it was a wire broken at the computer now the engine light does not stay on all the time hope this helps

[javaswing]

just an quick reply on the classaction in canada I fianlly heard from laywers, Offer was $50.00 for my year of van 2001, there was no scaled moneys, they offer more if your van was newer...Told them to keep it and buy an beer..

Van is now off to the scrap heap..

[conjuay]

I'm in the middle of the intake gasket nightmare, but I can only locate two bolts on to remove the pass-side torque strut. It's still on solid, so there must be at least one more bolt.
I got the one visible when you look directly at the mount, and I found one off (and lower) to the left side coming up at a 45 degree angle. Where is the other(s)?
thnks, Mike