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Q's on fixing 3100 Enginge LIM

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Osvaldo0294

New member
Hey everyone,
I have a Pontiac grand prix 2003 SE 3100 engine and just recently a few months broke or ripped the Lower Intake Manifold gasket. A check engine light came up for cylinder 6 misfire and checked the engine oil and its all creamy. I seen a few videos out there on how to change the gasket and am willing to spend a weekend working on it. I just want to know if all I need to do is drain oil and clean engine with w-40 and install new gasket and new coolant. or do i need something more expensive? Like new engine or new anything besides the gaskets. The car drives fine besides the coolant all in the engine. Give me some of your experiences and what you used and did
 


Any time you get coolant in the engine, you run the risk of spinning bearings. Unfortunately, there's no real way to tell until you do the LIM gasket, and drive it around. I would do at least 1 or 2 immediate oil changes (after changing the LIM gasket, put oil in, run for a few minutes, shut car off, drain oil, and repeat at least once more with fresh oil) just to make sure you get every last bit of any lingering coolant/residue out. Most will look at this as overkill, but I don't care. I'd rather eliminate as much risk as possible for damage. After that, cross your fingers for the next few weeks.
 
I rather waste a few bucks more to double clean it than having some sludge in there. I was wondering what do people mean that I need to torque the head bolts to a certain lb-ft . How do I know to torque it to the right amount?
 


What do you mean by still use the green coolant? You have an '03. It came from the factory with Dexcool (orange), as did most cars since around '95. If you had green in the car, that might be part of the problem. Someone had to have added that in at some point, and in order to switch to green, you must COMPLETELY flush out the orange stuff first, as they do NOT get along well together. When mixed, they form a gel which clogs up coolant passages, the radiator, heater core, etc.

I would take this opportunity though to completely and thoroughly flush out the cooling system too, and go with the green/regular antifreeze. Dexcool costs more, and is more prone to high acid levels that eat away at gaskets.
 
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The last 3400 I did lims on I didnt torque anything down, runs like a champ. Just make sure to get things nice and tight but not to tight ya know.
Use whatever coolant you want just make sure to flush the cooling system real good.
 
RareGMFan said:
Still use the green coolant? You have an '03. It came from the factory with Dexcool (orange). If you had green in the car, that might be part of the problem. Someone had to have added that in at some point, and in order to switch to green, you must COMPLETELY flush out the orange stuff first, as they do NOT get along well together.
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Yea when I bought it, It had green coolant which I found weird since most cars I seen run the orange one even my corolla runs that one and has been holding on good. I will flush it and use the dexcool coolant when I change the LIM
 
slick2500 said:
The last 3400 I did lims on I didnt torque anything down, runs like a champ. Just make sure to get things nice and tight but not to tight ya know.
Use whatever coolant you want just make sure to flush the cooling system real good.
Click to expand...

Yea I was about to give up on this car but payed 5k originally and am willing to waste a few bucks to fix it myself.. Hope everything goes well. Is there any tips or advice you can give me in advance to the project?
 


I would just run green coolant. Like Rare said just make sure to do a good flush of the engine, buy at least 10 quarts of oil. I've heard of some people dumping some diesel fuel or kerosene in after dumping out the old oil. Keep an eye on it for the first 300 miles or so and listen for ticking sounds. Don't confuse the 3100/3400 normal ticking for rod knock though.
 
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RareGMFan said:
What do you mean by still use the green coolant? You have an '03. It came from the factory with Dexcool (orange), as did most cars since around '95. If you had green in the car, that might be part of the problem. Someone had to have added that in at some point, and in order to switch to green, you must COMPLETELY flush out the orange stuff first, as they do NOT get along well together. When mixed, they form a gel which clogs up coolant passages, the radiator, heater core, etc.

I would take this opportunity though to completely and thoroughly flush out the cooling system too, and go with the green/regular antifreeze. Dexcool costs more, and is more prone to high acid levels that eat away at gaskets.
Click to expand...

For a second I thought you said to use the orange coolant. My pontiac had the green one so I probably will take your advice and flush it and keep using the green coolant.
 
Sorry, I edited it to add that bit of info just as you made your post. Your car DID come from the factory with orange/Dexcool. It's not quite as horrible as people make it out to be. It's gotten a bad rap because most people just go by the 150k mile recommended service interval to change the fluid. What most people ignore or miss is that it says 150k miles.....OR 5 months, which ever comes first. So that means most people leave the Dexcool unflushed in their cars for way, way too long. When it isn't changed on time, it turns acid and eats gaskets, and so you get everyone and their mother complaining that "Dexcool sucks!!!" after it inevitably blows an intake gasket.

In any event, rather than worrying about all that, I usually recommend people just switch to the green stuff. As I said, it's cheaper, and takes much longer to become acidic, so even if you don't change it on time, it's no where near as detrimental as Dexcool is. Just have to remember to completely flush the system out before you change to the green stuff. Take off the upper and lower heater/radiator hoses, open up the radiator cap and and run a water hose with a decent amount of pressure through the top of the radiator till you see nothing but clear water coming out the bottom. Do the same for where the upper hose connects to the engine block.
 


RareGMFan said:
Sorry, I edited it to add that bit of info just as you made your post. Your car DID come from the factory with orange/Dexcool. It's not quite as horrible as people make it out to be. It's gotten a bad rap because most people just go by the 150k mile recommended service interval to change the fluid. What most people ignore or miss is that it says 150k miles.....OR 5 months, which ever comes first. So that means most people leave the Dexcool unflushed in their cars for way, way too long. When it isn't changed on time, it turns acid and eats gaskets, and so you get everyone and their mother complaining that "Dexcool sucks!!!" after it inevitably blows an intake gasket.

In any event, rather than worrying about all that, I usually recommend people just switch to the green stuff. As I said, it's cheaper, and takes much longer to become acidic, so even if you don't change it on time, it's no where near as detrimental as Dexcool is. Just have to remember to completely flush the system out before you change to the green stuff. Take off the upper and lower heater/radiator hoses, open up the radiator cap and and run a water hose with a decent amount of pressure through the top of the radiator till you see nothing but clear water coming out the bottom. Do the same for where the upper hose connects to the engine block.
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Now i understand.. Yea ill flush the original coolant and clean it all around and make sure to change the engine oil twice to get the engine clean so it can run smooth again. I just hope my car still lives after all that anti-freeze in the engine. Keep fingers crossed
 
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