INTAKE GASKET MAIN PAGE, PLEASE POST Q'S&A'S HERE!

[Wardrivr]

I don't remember the 3.1, but if it's like the 3.4 this might help. It has two vertical bolts behind the alternator and a horizontal bolt in the front that hold the alternator in place. Once the bolts and the alternator are removed there is a vertical bolt in the back that holds the bracket to the head. Also on the 3.4, there's I think 3 bolts and the belt tensioner's bolt holding the bracket in place on the right (front) of the engine. Hope this helps you find it.

[hufhouse]

Originally Posted by jadecker

How do you remove the alternator bracket on 3.1 V6 SFI. I have already remove three bolts and it is still tight on there. Is there a hidden bolt that I cannot see? Thanks.

I had the same problem on my 3400, and found that the fourth bolt was through the tensioner pulley. I think I lost a good half-hour trying to figure that one out!

[1Bradymichael]

I just finished doing the intake on my 2000 Montana and would like to thank all of those who posted all the valuable info relating to this project.

All in all it took around twelve hours to complete the job, which I am sure is way above the flat rate for this operation. But then I don't do this for a living anymore, and I get the satisfaction of doing it myself. I found that 2 of the diagonal bolts did not even require a wrench to get backed out.

Pretty pathetic for a van with 80k miles if you ask me.
Only bad part is my younger brother has a 2000 Montana, 70k miles that needs the same operation,lol. I think it should go a little faster next time.

Anyone have any idea why the van would run about 10 degrees cooler after the repairs?

[Huney1]

Congraculations and I wish you many more carefree miles of happy motoring. I talked to a man who had 180K on theirs and said never had any trouble, so it's definitely a hit & miss vehicle. Unfortunately, I got the big MISS and had nothing but various troubles including the leaky manifold gasket. No idea why it's running cooler unless you cleaned up a partialy blocked coolant passage and draining and flushing the coolant helped.

[thundermtx]

I had a small leak show up(I smelled antifreeze first), that after getting under vehicle and taking it to a Chevy dealership, was traced to lower gasket under thermostat housing. After getting a $880 quote from the dealer, I decided to get my brothers in laws to try it(they tore down and completely rebuilt their Ford F100 360 motor themselves), so I felt confident in their work. They have torn down the Venture engine, ordered parts(approx $200;they said it is MUCH easier to replace plugs while it is torn down), and are waiting for a couple of parts to arrive to begin rebuilding it. Will reply when finished to give
idea of how it went and about how hard it was in the end.

[thundermtx]

Engine is back together, ready for testing tommorrow;am doing a "hot" oil flush and refill, and then refill with final oil and filter change(to remove all traces of antifreeze from block and all areas).Haynes manual is very close to perfect on all instructions(keep ALL hoses and parts labeled, sandwich and freezer bags work well for this use.) Plugs and wires are DEFINATELY easier to change with engine rotated forward and partially disassembled. Parts cost
$200-250, including platinum plugs, professional plug wires, gaskets, acetone(for cleaning parts and gasket mating surfaces), RTV, oil, filter, antifreeze and various small parts. And two tired brother in laws for doing the work in their spare time;2 weeks).

[Huney1]

"Plugs and wires are DEFINATELY easier to change with engine rotated forward and partially disassembled." I've heard that MANY times here and I wonder why the shop that did our gasket replacement told me it was NOT easier to change plugs while doing the replacement job. Now I'm wondering if the guy in good faith gave me some bad info or flat out told me a sorry, good for nothing lie. No matter because we got rid of the problem riddled van but I'll know better than use them in the future.

[93ramvert]

O.k. new to the forum here. I am unfortunately the sorry owner of a 1999 Chevy Venture 3.4 liter with gasket issues . I've learned a lot reading these posts and I def. feel I can pull this off, I'm sure there will be swearing, bloody knuckles and flying 10mm crows feet (No animals will be hurt) A simple disclaimer for the PETA people.

My issue is I know the Intake manifold gasket is leaking, I can see it seeping out on both sides when the engine is running. Would the bad IMG cause air to enter the cooling system? I've seen that a blown Head Gasket will def. do this, but I'm wondering if the IMG could also cause this. The engine overheats, and overflows because of air getting into the system. There is no, I repeat no oil in the coolant, and no coolant in the oil, at least what you would normally be able to tell by naked eye (The lovely frothy whitish brown gunk). I'm really not looking forward to doing this and would much rather drop it off a cliff, but we bought the damn thing only 2 years ago and still owe on it (Undriveable for about 9 months now) 9 months of payments on a vehicle I can't drive. But needless to say I now have the time to put into it, I just want to make sure I get it right the first time, I really do not want to have to be taken the POS apart again in 6 months, (With any luck, I get it running and drop on the next lucky chevy fan).

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated, I will be taking digital photos and documenting as I go, to hopefully make this easier on the next guy.

Thanks,
Tom

[Huney1]

"Would the bad IMG cause air to enter the cooling system?"
I doubt it because the coolant should be under pressure and prevent air from entering where the gasket is leaking 'cause the water is leaking OUT. Mine did the same thing as yours and woe be unto those that leak inside the engine and coolant gets in the oil.

Really sorry you're having the problem but welcome to the club. We kept ours about four months and spent about a grand fixing first one thing then another before we said he(( with this POS and traded it for an 03 Ford Taurus SES.Traded April 20th and not ONE THING has gone wrong with the Taurus, not one. WHOOPS! I lied. I replaced the windshield wipers to the tune of six bucks at WalMart.

Real shame because the Venture drives and rides good and looks good but GM put that problematic 3.4 engine in so many vehicles and many thousands had trouble with it. In my opinion, GM didn't step up to the plate and make good on it and a lot of people like me got really PO'ed and said never again will a GM product sit in my driveway. Bro,' money is hard to earn and a company takes the consumers hard earned money then lets them hold it with a defective product? Way to make people madder n' a wet Hen! Mr & Mrs John Q American Public ain't totally stupid and they know the best way to fight back is do not ever again buy another one of their products, and every chance I get I put the bad mouth on GM and prevent everyone I can from buying a GM product. Like my Grandpaw said, "Don't get mad, . . . get even."

Hope you get it fixed and dump it before other things start going wrong costing you more money, and please believe me, other things *will* go wrong.

[93ramvert]

Huney

So would you say that the Head Gasket is gone too?

[Huney1]

"So would you say that the Head Gasket is gone too?" If it hasn't been overheating then no reason for the head gasket to go and I don't recall having seen many with head gasket problems, just the IMG. If you have doubts you can find a shop that has the test kit where they analyze the coolant for exhaust gases. Shops that fix radiators have a way testing for head gasket leaks. Scroll down about half way and read about it:
http://www.troubleshooters.com/tlitthypothesis.htm

Leaking head gasket usually blows the coolant out and you have to keep adding coolant and the engine runs rough at low speed. "Your car may have a seeping head gasket and/or a cracked cylinder head that is allowing antifreeze into the combustion chamber. At low speeds this would cause a misfire or your car to run rough. A slight amount of coolant in the combustion chamber at higher speeds would not be noticeable. You should have your engine checked for a leaking head gasket."

"A block tester, often called a combustion leak tester, is placed in the radiator filler neck. The engine is started and the test bulb is squeezed and then released. This will pull air from the radiator through the test fluid. The fluid in the block tester is normally blue. The chemicals in the exhaust gases cause a reaction in the test fluid, changing its color. A combustion leak will turn the fluid yellow. If the fluid remains blue, there is no combustion leak."
http://www.tpub.com/content/construc.../14264_227.htm

I never had need of one but ask the parts stores if they can get you a test kit or maybe
the Ford place offers that service. Have to go now, good movie coming on.

[kashnburn]

New to this forum and I am sure glad I found it.
Own a 1997 Olds Silhouette that just came back from the dealer diagnosed with "Leaking Intake Manifold Gasket". Symptoms were overheating (needle going up to middle position or just barely beyond), slightly rough idle, smell of antifreeze. I have no problems in doing the replacement job myself but after reading some of the threads I fear the head gasket might be affected and need to be replaced. I have no coolant in the oil, or pressure in the cooling system at least nothing being pushed out the overflow as in most cases this happens with a blown head gasket. Does anyone still think I should replace the head gasket?
Thanks,
Larry

[Blue Bowtie]

If the dealer performed both a cooling system pressure test AND a cylinder leakage test, they could say with some confidence that the problem was solely the intake gaskets. If a cylinder leakage test was NOT performed, there is a chance that leakage could be occuring from either a head gasket and/or a cracked head.

If the tests indicate that it was only an intake leak, I'd suggest using the factory replacement gaskets, since they have been re-engineered to address the leakage problem, whereas aftermarket parts may or may not have the same, updated features.

[kashnburn]

Thanks Blue Bowtie for your response. The dealership only stated that it was an intake manifold leak and made no mention of the head gasket. I at the time did not ask them about what tests they performed to determine it was a intake gasket problem. I plan on using the test "Block Tester" from Napa to see if I have a problem with my head gasket. Has anyone used this test before and have any comments on its effectiveness? Right now I am in the middle of replacing my head gasket on my Honda Civic - easy compared to the Olds. But as soon as that is done I will start on the Olds. Thanks again for the reply.

Larry

[phipps]

I have a 2001 Chevy Venture van with the 3.4L engine. The van has been using antifreeze for a while and I've just been topping it off.

Yesterday the van started running rough and missing. It is blowing white smoke from the exhaust. I'm certain that it is burning antifreeze. It seems like it is burning it about as fast as I can add it.

Is this a typical symptom of the intake manifold leaking? What should I be looking for to try to determine whether it's the intake manifold gasket, or heaven forbid something worse?


Thanks,

Gary