coolant leakage

[szhang]

Ihave a 98 buick century, and recently there is coolant leakage problem. the mechnics said it is the lower intake gasket problem and they asked $700 for that. I am a foreign student and can't afford that much, so I decided to fix myself. could you please give some suggestion how does this part look like and where can i buy it. Actuaaly I went to autozone and merrray, they just gave the upper set intake gasket, i am not sure if it is the right one. if it convenient to you, could anyone give some help and suggestion to my email: [email protected]? thanks a lot.

shijun

[bignoisey]

I also have a Century - a 2000 model - and I also have an intake manifold coolant leak just starting. The mechanic told me this is common this V6 model and usually the leak is external only, so its not as serious as an internal leak would be. I was told to watch for coolant in the oil (a bad sign) and if I don't see that to just watch the coolant level until it gets worse. Unless I wanted to fix it right now for $400+... Or I could fix it myself, which I have done before on my old '86 Century, and that wasn't too bad of an experience. It just involved removing the intake manifold and all associated parts, then cleaning all the surfaces and reassembling with new gaskets. As I remember, the gaskets are a little tricky to install because there are 4 separate pieces involved which all have to stay in place while you place the manifold on the engine assembly. Be sure to properly torque the bolts.
One thing to remember on the smaller V6's -- NEVER! let them overheat. That's what forced me to fix that '86. If you have a coolant leak, check the level often.
You'd think GM would have gotten it right by now.