gm wont help

[worm6]

2000 montana 3.4 74,000 miles. while checking the radiator because my van stoped heating up. thought mabey it was low but oh no was nice and all full of rusty brown white goo. so i check around in this forum and see alot about the intake, and how general motors help with the bill. so i call the dealerships in town theres three. no one knows about this problem. surprise surprise because they had no clue about the flickering lights you guys helped me fix. anyhow i call gm and they tell me no luck in helping pay the bill because to many miles. and i bought used not gm certified used must make a difference. but hey it needs done so i call the stealership he says 641.44 (wow) 7 and1/2 hours. could anyone plz tell me if i have this right if i try myself. things to do, 1)remove the air intake up to throttle. 2)remove all connections to everything. 3) move power steering and alternator out the way. 4) remove coil pack 5)remove the air thing that say 3.4 on it(is this called the upper intake?) 6)remove fuel line 7)the intake can come off now and put on new gasket and then do the reverse. is this close because the way im reading what i wrote dont sound to bad but im probaly wrong. thanks alot for all the help ive gotten just from reading and any help with this problem.

[Dragula]

worm, you pretty much have it. After you take the lower intake off you have to remove the rockers + push-rods in order to get the gaskets out.
DON'T mix the pushrods up, the intake and exhaust are different lengths.
(I don't remember which is which of the top of my head, I also get my left and right mixed up a lot...)
The part that leaks, most cases, is the ends where the intake mates against the engine block. For that use GM silicone sealer, not the Autozone rtv.

Also, removing the alternator, and coil pack assy sounds easier than it is. What I do (shhh don't tell anyone :/ ) is leave those on. You can get the top two rear valve cover gaskets off with a wrench, snake the intake off, carefull not to damage the valve cover gasket, and then wrench the back rockers off.

Good Luck

[worm6]

thanks dragula, did more checking around and its crazy 2 locals shops wanted even more than the dealership. midas will charge under $500. boy i wish it was warmer. what antifreeze do you put back in the pink or go back to older stuff. i've just about talked myself into trying this. couple more ? top left motor mount will this come off to remove valve cover and about the fuel injectors can they stay in when intake comes off. thanks alot.

[Dragula]

Worm,
No, you don't need to remove the mount. You can get a socket on it if you have flex sockets. Yes use pink, or if it's expensive, green will be fine, it doesn't hurt to mix them, just won't have the extended life. Oh, and yes you still have to remove the fuel rail/injectors... but your just moving it out of the way, not off the car... Look, when you get ready to do this, email me, I'll walk you through it...
I know a lot of little tricks that doesn't necessarily make it faster, but makes the job a little easier. Especially if you have the right mind set going in to it. If you constraint yourself with a deadline, it will be harder, more stressfull. Try to plan a means of transportation for a few days. It will be more fun if you don't have to hurry.

Regards
Rich

[worm6]

dragula, thanks for your offer of help. unfortunately the shop got my buisness. having the job done in 6-7 hours won out. i could't carry the wife and 4 kids in my truck. i'm pretty sure with this van ill need more help in the futre. thanks again.

[2pontiacs]

Is it usually the upper or lower gasket that goes?

[worm6]

well a little good came of the bad. the lower intake was leaking and some oil from where the distributer used to be. the job took way longer than it should have. monday through thursday. tuesday they wanted to keep to do a flush and check over. wednesday intake ok but check engine light on. shop put on new (iac) i think still no good. now ive been there 2 hours while they mess with it. i tell them keep it over night and fix. thursday i get off work early 10am. van runs great. after the iac shop put on a new maf sensor and a new belt because of a squeel. best part those parts were free! iv'e put on about 300 miles it seems to be getting better gas milage. more good from the bad i guess.

[JJhammer]

Took my 2000 MOntana in today to the dealer-need new intake gaskets and head gasket-only $1357.00, wow!! Will call Pontiac in the morning to see if I can negotiate a bette price-called them earlier today but no luck. Only have 59000 miles on this-thinking about trading it in and letting the dealer fix it themselves-any thoughts?? Might just get a lease and do the work myself-but I think it is a rather big job-10-15 hours maybe?

[soonergary67]

Originally Posted by Dragula

The part that leaks, most cases, is the ends where the intake mates against the engine block. For that use GM silicone sealer, not the Autozone rtv.

Good Luck

I' have everything torn down and ready to actually remove the lower manifold. I can definitely see where the leak is.

I bought a gasket set from O'Reillys and it came with rtv. Do you think that's good stuff or should I get GM? Where can I buy the GM sealer?

Thanks

[Luiggi]

I also have the problem of antifreeze leaks (external leaks) through from the intake manifold gaskets on my 2000 Montana. I tried with GM last year (77K miles) and this year (109K miles) but they will not help me to fix the problem. I noticed the problem a few years ago and last year I tighten the bolts on the drives side and top of the manifold and it helped a lot. This past year, I put over 30K miles on the vehicle. This year I added loctite to the bolts on the driver side. I could not get to the passenger side as I will have to remove the steering pump and I have never done the pump.

My question are: Am I wasting my time by just tightening the bolts ? Last year it seemed to help until they re-loosen - I am hoping that the loctite this year will help them keep in place.

How many bolts are on the passenger side of the manifold? I can only see one directly underneath the steering pump. Do I have to remove other items to get to any other bolts ?

Thanks much for any advice.