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Intake Manifold .. Leaking

K

KennethJohnson

New member
Question!
Car and Engine type.. 1999 Pontiac Grand Prix 3.8L 3800 Series 2.
Engine intake manifold gasket is failing.
Oil is leaking into coolant.
Is engine done for? It has been ran for a lot of miles

I would like to fix the car, but I don't have money for a new engine. Can anyone help me diagnose what the problem is? And how to fix it? (Tools, parts needed... video?)
As I stated before, I am leaking coolant into my oil. I have not noticed coolant leaking into the oil..


 


Oil is getting in the coolant or is coolant getting in the oil? If the oil is just getting in the coolant then you can just flush out the coolant really good. If the oil is getting in the coolant, change the gaskets and flush the oil/coolant out of the engine block, drain old oil out and in fresh oil and filter let run for about 20 min or so, then change the oil again. Make sure to dump some oil down the lifter valley before the first oil change.
When the engine is done for you will know, from the noise it will make.
 
Can you provide a video with dialogue on how to replace the gaskets on the engine? Someone stated it might be the LIM Gasket... But shouldn't I just replace them all while the engine is taken apart?

And tips and tricks to a first time Intake manifold repair?

Looking into Aluminum gaskets...

Oil is getting into coolant. I do not notice traces of coolant in the oil...
 
This is the best video you are going to get, it is on a l67 but the l36 is the same under the blower/upper intake. And yes get the aluminum gaskets stay away from the plastic ones, they will fail again.
 
you not getting oil in the coolant, its pretty much impossible.

if you see brown slime in the rad and on the cap its just dex coolant sludge.
 


I am seeing the brown sludge! That's what me think it was oil in the coolant!! So I am mistaken????
Is there a specific way to tell if there's oil leaking in the coolant, or coolant leaking into my oil other than sight?

Just to be sure if I go about this.. I was going to flush coolant radiator clean radiator, clean overflow coolant. Try to flush and clean toobing..

Replace Lower intake gasket replace upper intake gasket.. replace upper intake manifold...

Flush engine with oil ...
 
its dex sludge. not oil.


how to flush coolant.

remove the t stat, put the t stat housing back on, take the upper hose off the radiator, then push it down to the ground to a bucket or let it fly.

get your garden hose out, put it in the rad turn it on, then fire up the car, let it run till clear water pumps out the top hose.

then turn the hose off, run the car till no more water comes out the upper hose. then turn it off.

put your t stat back in, with new gasket, the upper hose back on.



now take 1 gallon of full strength green antifreeze, not the 50/50 crap. ( parts store cheap green is fine to use) dump the whole gallon in the radiator, fire up the car, fill the rad with hose water till its full. top as needed till its ready to be bled of air. it will burp and take coolant as the water in the block warms up the t stat opens up for a few seconds till cold coolant hits it and it shuts again.

now to bleed the air out, let it idle rad cap off till the fans turn on, (when the fans are on the temp is over 195 deg, the t stat is wide open) then open the bleeder screw on top the t stat housing a few turns till a steady stream of coolant comes out the hole, shut the screw, top off the rad. cap it.

done.
 
I am also leaking oil from the top of the intake manifold gasket though. It's dripping down all the way to the transmission pain. Didn't notice till a popped a tire..
Can you go over that with me also? Thank you very much in adv.
 


Oil is splashed in the lifter valley, sure you could seep a little out the end seal. It would be very little, most likely your leak is a valve cover gasket for oil that high in the motor.
 
ScottyDoggs said:
its dex sludge. not oil.


how to flush coolant.

remove the t stat, put the t stat housing back on, take the upper hose off the radiator, then push it down to the ground to a bucket or let it fly.

get your garden hose out, put it in the rad turn it on, then fire up the car, let it run till clear water pumps out the top hose.

then turn the hose off, run the car till no more water comes out the upper hose. then turn it off.

put your t stat back in, with new gasket, the upper hose back on.



now take 1 gallon of full strength green antifreeze, not the 50/50 crap. ( parts store cheap green is fine to use) dump the whole gallon in the radiator, fire up the car, fill the rad with hose water till its full. top as needed till its ready to be bled of air. it will burp and take coolant as the water in the block warms up the t stat opens up for a few seconds till cold coolant hits it and it shuts again.

now to bleed the air out, let it idle rad cap off till the fans turn on, (when the fans are on the temp is over 195 deg, the t stat is wide open) then open the bleeder screw on top the t stat housing a few turns till a steady stream of coolant comes out the hole, shut the screw, top off the rad. cap it.

done.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the numerous plasterings of this method on the forum. I followed this method over the weekend to make the switch to green. The only thing I messed up was I didn't run the upper hose dry before reinstalling the thermostat. When I filled up the radiator with coolant and left the upper hose and radiator cap off - the radiator started spewing coolant. I didn't quite understand why this happened, does it have to do with the thermostat being closed and/or being a pressurized system?

Also, trying to capture the old coolant is a bit of a lost cause. Now I know why you phrased an alternative as "let 'er buck!" Now I just have a 5gal bucket of diluted Dex in my garage :/
 
You guys are aware that regular old green is bad for the coolant system based on the amount of aluminum in it? You'd be much better off with anycolor.
 
BillBoost37 said:
You guys are aware that regular old green is bad for the coolant system based on the amount of aluminum in it? You'd be much better off with anycolor.
Click to expand...

I really got used to everyone saying go green...

I had mine flushed at a quick fix place, they used universal....so I topped it with orange.
 
BillBoost37 said:
You guys are aware that regular old green is bad for the coolant system based on the amount of aluminum in it? You'd be much better off with anycolor.
Click to expand...

How would we know that if everyone "knowledgeable" is saying plain old green? What are we supposed to be using if Dex is the devil?
 


Haha can someone recommend me a brand or two of coolant I should use?
I''m flush my coolant system and swapping out a new Radiator..

I don't want to see sludge again =/

But I don't want my car to over-heat...
 
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