Cost for installation of intake gasket

[N2OIL]

This is gonna sound silly but trust me it works.
You live in the US. Call a parts store that resells GM or AC Delco parts and tell them you need "cadillac pills". This is a GM approved with a GM part number. And they really work. The GM
part #12378255 or the number on the package is 10-108 they cost about $1.20 and people ask all the time about them and I advise to at least try and have yet to see someone be dissatisfied.

 

[pitzel]

People on http://www.gm-v6lemons.com end up paying between $400 and $800 for the work to be done. Leak sealer will not correct this problem either.

Insist that they use an updated gasket, even if it means a bit of a wait. Look at the above site for more information.

 

[Drew99GT]

For everything done by a good mechanic, your lookin at about $800 total. Don't get it done at a dealer. Find a good private tech who will use aftermarket gaskets like felpro/carquest/roll. You'll also want the oil changed immediately after the procedure.

 

[edvanp]

Looks like my Montana Van will need an intake gasket installed. I know some on here have had to have it done. Anyone remember what they paid to have this performed? Thanks..

 

[N2OIL]

Intake air leak? Or antifreeze?

 

[edvanp]

Anti-Freeze. Thanks.

 

[Mud]

What Drew said - don't stick ANY anti-sealant pills or potions in the engine. Failed gaskets are not fixed by material dissolving and being circulated in the cooling system and this can lead to bigger headaches.

This is the 3.1 engine in these vans, I think. I've done several of the lower intake gaskets in the Olds/Malibu and it is fairly involved labor wise. You will also pay an additional "penalty" in shop time for almost any work done on a van engine. Just more of a pain to work on.
You have to pull everything off of the top of the engine and even remove the rocker arms since the pushrods go through the lower intake gasket. Fortunately the rockers are pedestal type (bolted in) and do not need to have the lash reset while the engine is running. Use the updated Fel-Pro or factory gasket. Be sure to check that the mating surfaces are smooth and not etched by coolant leakage and also flush the entire coolant system as well. I always add a small bead of 3M rtv (not a pure silicone, has some additional stuff in it for better adhesion)at the corners of block and cylinder heads and I let the whole thing sit overnight to ensure complete curing before adding coolant and starting it up.
The injector assembly will need to be removed - I have noticed that the factory attachment/seal of the fuel line to the rail is a little weird - after the nut is loosened, it feels like you are actually breaking the connection loose - takes some arm muscle to get it apart. The ones that I have seen do not have an o-ring at the fitting, but you absolutely must use one when re-attaching - otherwise major fuel leak. Get new o-rings for the injectors too when re-fitting into the manifold. The original ones get too brittle to re-use. Before installing the upper intake plenum check to see that the fuel lines are tight and not leaking by turning the ignition on to prime the system. If you have a leak and don't check it, you'll have to pull stuff off to get back to the fuel rail and connection.
If you use the regular (green) antifreeze, then really get the old Dex-Cool flushed completely. Personally I have not really had any issues with the D-C (in a properly maintained system). There is a bleed screw in one of the hoses that needs to be opened up as coolant is added, otherwise the engine may overheat.
When done, you may get a check engine light, especially if you have turned the key on to check the fuel system. It can either be reset by a scan tool or you can also leave it alone - if all is OK the ECM will reset (turn the light off) after a factory set number of drive cycles have been completed without any additional out-of-parameter voltages being detected.

 

[edvanp]

Here is a little more background on this. I recently had an oil analysis done on my Van. It has 48k miles on it. For the summer, I ran a mixture of Synpower, 2 qts of 5w30 & 2 qts of 10w30. Since it's a 4.5 quart capacity, I added a Maxlife oil treatment (15oz) to top it off. I put over 4k miles on the oil and it ran fine. When the analysis came back, the sodium level was very high (results can be seen under Used Oil Analysis). One poster wondered if the Maxlife oil treatment could be at fault especially if it's like the Synpower oil treatment and comes with a good dose of sodium. The oil looked good when I changed it (just dark) and my coolant level hasn't gone down. Can anyone suggest what I should visibly look for? If it's a very slow leak, would 2k oil changes (Dino) help in the short term? I really can't afford to drop $800 or more to take care of this problem right now, especially if it might not be a problem!?! Any thoughts are appreciated! Thanks.

 

[Drew99GT]

Really, the only true way to tell is pressure test the cooling system to the cap rating and see if it holds. Have that done by an independent Tech. If it holds, then just keep a constant watch on the coolent level and also look at the underside of the oil cap (when the engine is totally cooled off, like first thing in the morning) for water droplets/frothy white crud. Good luck; like I said in your analysis post, my family is pretty familiar with GM and intake gaskets

 

[Mud]

Oil selection does not affect the poor gasket design. And lots of frequent oil changes do nothing for a leaking intake gasket. You can either fix it now or later.

To add one comment to checking the coolant system pressure - in several cases, there has been an indication of seepage (looking at the block where the heads meet it, there's a dark coolant stain. Other cases you will see a wet area below). But - a coolant pressure check revealed nothing wrong. Evidently the gasket expanded a bit when running/warm, even though the accessible intake bolts were found to be barely over finger tight. If it's discolored/wet, it's leaking period.

We're also familiar with GM, but our 99 Olds Cutlass (Malibu clone) is our last. Fed up with crappy products and dealer reps.

 

[wlkjr]

So exactly what happens when you have a small intake leak? My last oil analysis on my 3.8 said I possibly had an intake gasket problem. With 279,000 miles on it, I'm not sure what to do. I'm thinking maybe just drive it till it falls over dead.