Overheating/Loss of Coolant/Please help!

[mayhemmistress]

Hello! I found this forum and I'm hoping somebody can help me out. I have a 2000 Alero 3400 V6 which is loosing coolant fairly regularly (I have to fill it about once every week and a half), and overheated in a bad way the other day. I drive about 10 miles one way to work, and it started overheating about halfway there. I turned on the heater to try and pull some of the hot air off the engine, but it only blew cold air. Then it started to loose power. I parked it, let it sit for a few hours, and limped it back home. On the way home, it started loosing power and finally died about 4 blocks from the house.

It overheated about a month ago, but it never lost power and refilling the lost antifreeze solved the problem. This time, it didn't, and I couldn't find any external leaks. I checked the oil to rule out any possible cracked heads, and the oil was fine. Thought that maybe it was the thermostat, and when I pulled the upper hose off, it was dry. I'm not ruling out the thermostat at this point, as I would like some other options.

Could this be an intake manifold gasket, or would it be something else? I don't want to have to replace random parts only to find that its something else.

Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!

And P.S. what is the best way to get the thermostat out? I lacked about 1/4 inch of being able to get the housing off to drop the therm. down.

[BNaylor]

There is a high probability that your lower intake manifolds gaskets are bad. It's a common problem on the Alero with the 3.4L V6.

On the thermostat removal: is the lack of clearance because of the exhaust shield covering the crossover pipe?

[mayhemmistress]

I wouldn't doubt it on the Aleros. I haven't had too many problems with mine and it has 94K miles on it. . . so far its been a very dependable car. Thank you for giving me a direction to look in.

On the thermostat: yep. . . that shield and pipe really gave me a headache. ><

[BNaylor]

The only thing I can suggest is to remove the heat shield and see if that gives you any additional clearance. It's held on by small bolts which seem accessible.

A GM Technical Service Bulletin has been out for the 3.4L intake gaskets for quite a few years now. We had ours replaced back in 2003 when it was still under warranty.

[mayhemmistress]

Thank you for the information you've given me on the gasket. . . I bought it in for the diagnostic today, and yes, it is the manifold gasket. Unfortunately, the dealership was unable to find anything mentioning a service bulletin on it (grrrrr!) so I'm going to call Olds and see what they can do about it. If I can't sweet talk them out of anything, its going to cost around $450, which isn't BAD, but a little steep for me at the moment.

To add insult to injury, I had the hazard switch replaced last fall, and when I noticed it was sitting too far inside, I pushed it thinking it was solid. . . NOPE! I turned on the hazard lights and now the button is sitting somewhere inside the dash.

Anyone want another Alero? I'm buying a horse.

[BNaylor]

Originally Posted by mayhemmistress

Thank you for the information you've given me on the gasket. . . I bought it in for the diagnostic today, and yes, it is the manifold gasket. Unfortunately, the dealership was unable to find anything mentioning a service bulletin on it (grrrrr!) so I'm going to call Olds and see what they can do about it. If I can't sweet talk them out of anything, its going to cost around $450, which isn't BAD, but a little steep for me at the moment.

To add insult to injury, I had the hazard switch replaced last fall, and when I noticed it was sitting too far inside, I pushed it thinking it was solid. . . NOPE! I turned on the hazard lights and now the button is sitting somewhere inside the dash.

Anyone want another Alero? I'm buying a horse.

If your Alero is under any extended warranty, the intake gasket work may be covered but chances are it's not. The $450 is about right and not out of line. Some Alero owners got lucky and GM covered at least half the repair bill. Doesn't hurt to see what you options are by calling GM Customer Service. Good luck!

[JTrujillo86]

$450 is a steal. I paid $750 on my 1997 Chevrolet Malibu. The engines are nearly identical and the same damn gasket fails on both...

Jeremy

[aleroowner]

Originally Posted by bnaylor3400

If your Alero is under any extended warranty, the intake gasket work may be covered but chances are it's not. The $450 is about right and not out of line. Some Alero owners got lucky and GM covered at least half the repair bill. Doesn't hurt to see what you options are by calling GM Customer Service. Good luck!

Thank you so much for this information! I'm experiencing the loss of coolant now...and the same exact thing happened to my hazard light button (the clip that holds it in breaks). Now I can tell my mechanic what to look for! Thanks Again.

[vamc]

Originally Posted by bnaylor3400

There is a high probability that your lower intake manifolds gaskets are bad. It's a common problem on the Alero with the 3.4L V6.

On the thermostat removal: is the lack of clearance because of the exhaust shield covering the crossover pipe?

I agree 100%. i had mine changed, prob. solved.

[BNaylor]

Originally Posted by vamc

I agree 100%. i had mine changed, prob. solved.

Hey Andrew, do you remember how much you paid for parts and labor. I know the ballpark figure before it becomes dealer rip but we were fortunate and had the gaskets changed out while it was still under the bumper to bumper warranty.

[vamc]

I think all together was about 500 or so, real close to that. How is it down there with round 3 of the weather? rain? SNOW!LOL

[vamc]

Bob, How many miles do you have on your alero? I have 127,800 on mine. runds brand new..well almost.