2003 GM 3.8 Lower Intake Manifold Leaking

[GaryFenza]

Well..im about to buy a 2003 Pontiac Grand Prix GT, with the 3.8 Series II engine, with 110,000 miles. I havent seen the car yet, but he says the car does not leak anti-freeze. i was talking to a few people, and they said that GM fixed the LIM leak by 2003 on the 3.8 engine, is this true?? I do not want to have to do this job again myself like i did on my 2001 3.1 v6 se grand prix before.

[richtazz]

the 00-03 3800 LIM issue is not as bad as the 3100, but wasn't fixed until 04, when the 3800 VIN designations changed (from K & 1 to 2 & 4 respectively). It's a similar issue, junk plastic framed gaskets failing at the coolant transfer passage, but it doesn't fail as catastrophically as the 3100/3400 engines do. GM has a revised metal framed gasket for this engine too, Fel-Pro and Victor do not offer it yet in the aftermarket.

[GaryFenza]

Thanks, so i guess i dont have to worry about it being a big deal like on the 3100 engine, that was a nightmare the amount of water that thing leaked.