97 Cutlass 3.1 intake milkshake

[tharrison57]

Had my 97 3.1 Supreme, 123,000 miles, in the garage today replacing turn signal switch .... no brake lights. Thanks to AF, we got that one fixed !

While it was in, I pulled the EGR due to a recurring 1406 (?) Pintle position code. When I pulled the EGR, it appeared as though someone had poured a nasty looking milkshake inside. Filled it with throttle body cleaner & put the EGR back on. Radiator overflow was low, pulled the radiator cap & it was a touch low. A quick swipe around the the radiator neck left the appearance of checking the crankcase ..... pretty oily !

My wife has been going 5 blocks one way to work instead of me going 35 miles, due to the brake light problem. Don't know about overheating, it still appears to be housebroke (no leaks), and it doesn't seem to miss. I'm guessing it's probably time for intake gaskets ? Maybe I just caught it at the beginning ??? If it is, is this something I can handle over a 3 day weekend ?

As always, your help is GREATLY appreciated ! ! !

[maxwedge]

If you are not loosing coolant then the intake is probably not bad now, but if OE it will be at sometime, the milkyness can occur from short trip driving in cold weather. I think I would do it anyway. Yes most people with decent mechanical experience can do this on a weekend, do a site search here, plenty of how to info is around.

[tharrison57]

Thanks maxwedge, knew I could count on someone here. I may not be a frequent "poster", but I AM a frequent "reader". Central Illinois is plenty cool right now, and with the short trips, you have a point. Checking it cold tonight, about 1/2 qt low in the crankcase, but tranny was overfull. Don't know, but pretty sure gaskets are OE, so I'm sure I'm due. I'll do a search for the 'how-to', and I think I read somewhere here about the "preferred" gasket set.

Thanks again AF, for help keeping 'em on the road ......... SAFELY ! ! !

[maxwedge]

FelPro makes an excellent updated gasket, also get the new intake bolts with it.

[tharrison57]

Okay, got the Fel-Pro set, nobody had bolts (special order) so now I'm freezing out in the garage, and I've hit a snag.
On the firewall side of the thermostat housing is a large connector, with plastic inserts, that hooks to a metal pipe to feed the heater core ? How do I separate this quick disconnect ? I think it needs to come apart there so I can get the lower manifold off. I've tried squeezing with pliers, I've tried pushing the plastic in toward the thermostat housing, but I'm still stuck.

Geez, I think I'm getting too old for this stuff !

Thanks again for the help.

[discnik]

Have you remove the nut that attaches the retaining bracket on the pipe to the cyclinder head ? And if you have a "pick"set, small picks, those sometimes will get this removed.

[tharrison57]

The nut is off, and the pipe is "loose" in the fitting. I can spin the plastic inserts around by hand, but I'm pretty sure I should push it in toward the fitting, and the pipe SHOULD pop out ...... bit it doesn't. Guess I'm not getting it pushed in far enough to release ? I've looked in the Haynes, the GM shop manual, Autozone on-line, guess I'm just missing it somehow.

But thanks for the help ! !

[David3100]

I had the same problem and wasn't comfortable reusing that plastic. Autozone has two versions. Check them closely. About $9.