GM intake manifolds

[The General]

I'm interested in finding out how many people have had the intake manifold gaskets replaced on their vehicles:

The engines mostly concerned are:

V6 3.1L
V6 3.4L
V6 3.8L (to a lesser extent)

Please reply with model, engine and milleage.

[rivsy]

i suspect you'll find that LOADS of people with the 3.4 ie pontiac montanas, chevy ventures, have had this one....i've seen as low as 70 000 kms. it was so common in fact that i heard gmac was overlooking the problem on lease returns...in fact i'd be surprised if anyone has one older han an 03 that doesn't or won't need it. 3.1 really not that common and 3.8 even less so...i'm not in the service biz though- this is just heresay. :roll:

[The General]

It sounds very like what I have been hearing.

Thanks.

[wingnut]

last week my fathers 94 Olds 88 3.8 with 250000 km blew his gasket and my brothers 2000 Grand Am with 200000km blew his intake manifold gasket also . Sounds like a common problem with these GM Models.

[The General]

At 250 000 km, anything can happen, I guess. Even at 200 000 km, it's not so unusual that something breaks.

If I recall correctly, I think I've heard a story about someone having to replace it at 50 000 km.

But, yes, it is a common problem.

[snoproblem]

They have been known to crack prematurely in some models and engines. A redesign of this part seems long overdue - surely a small price to pay to increase the rep of your vehicles?

[The General]

Well, now that the 3.1L and 3.4L (except Equinox) have been replaced, I think those with the problem will have to deal with it.

[ccaddy]

For 97 & up Grand Prix's , it is not only the int. gasket that goes , it 's the whole plastic intake phlenum that at about 100,000klm's ,cracks/warps and let's coolant leak into the cylinders .
Fortuneatly in most (my) cases , it causes hydro lock before too much get trouble happens and the engine quits running My total repair bill was $1200 .
This does'nt happen on the GTP's as they have an aluminum manifold .

[gibsonguy]

I've heard of a lot of Quad 4 (early 2.3's and the last en Cav 2.4) with head gasket problems. My parents have had 2 Chevy Celebrity with 3.1's and both never a problem (1 with over 300,000k)

[rivsy]

i heard that in the case of the older u-vans ( transport, venture etc.) that the problem was with the gasket being too thick at the front, not allowing for proper torquing of the front bolts, or after torquing they could somehow back themselves off. The new gaskets have for a few years now had some sort of a sleeve that allows tightening down of the bolts. In the meantime a guy told me yesterday that he tightened his down, waited overnight, and tightened down again, and they never backed out...i obviously am not a mechanic so don't jump on me if this is far fetched - just what i was told. if its true , i guess the backyard mechanic's could do some preventative by torquing down the bolts periodicallly. The crummy thig about these things is that as with any manufacturer, parts are outsourced, and it isn't for a few years that we see problems...by then there are millions of vehicles affected ( obviously its pronounced with big volume manufacturers and main stream models) - who knows maybe nissan has the same prob on one of its models? Unfortunately what we commonly see is consumers staying away from a product or saying the engines are bad because of a $500 repair which probably was origiinally a few dollar part. if you're looking for a used van just make sure it was done, or pay to have it done for peace of mind, if the product is otherwise a good fit for you.