Leaking Intake Manifold gasket

genecpu

I recently had the "Coolant Level Low" light come on . The dealer diagnosed this as lower intake manifold gasket leaking. I had my mechanic replace the gaskets for $553.00. I also had to have the low coolant sensor switch replaced. I wonder if the gaskets really leaked? I see that the leaking gaskets seem to be a big problem for GM. Has this been officially recalled or is this a silent recall? Meaning they won't pay unless you ask them to and complain a lot! My impala has 71K miles and is a 2000 3.4L motor

just4fun2

Was the coolant low in the over flow bottle? Did you have to add coolant at some point? If the engine wasn't low on coolant and you didn't have to add any, it looks like it could have been a defective low coolant switch.

desi501

Recalls are only made for 2 reasons 1) safety issue 2) emissions issue. Any other problems they may recognize could appear in the form of a canpaign or a TSB. Neither of which entitles anybody to free repairs. Sometimes a manufacturer will (at their discretion) assist a motorist with a known problem on a case by case basis but won't advertise the fact.

Mr_Shiftright

You aren't even entitled to have the TBS done to your car.

ucdaap42

Sorry Mr. Shiftright, but I've also had my intake gasket leak on my 2000 Implala with the 3.4L. I don't beleive it's the same gasket and manifold warpage that is occuring with the 3.8L engines, but the actual gasket for the entire intake manifold.

I noticed a brown sludge in the radiator overflow tank and I was losing a quart of oil every month and a quart of coolant per month. I looked on each side of the engine along hte gasket and noticed a reddish brown stain and a pool of oil/dexcool on below the gasket. I took it into my dealer in August and had the gasket replaced in August under my extended warranty (i already had 45,000 miles) but it woudl've cost me around $500.00. They did a full coolant flush and changed my oil as well. The dealer told me that the engine casting sand and Dex-Cool was having a bad effect on that gasket compound. Chevy changed the gasket compound slightly and is not affected by the mixture. The coolant flush was to rid my engine of the excess casting sand that was still in my engine. Why it was in there to begin with, I will never know.

-seth

0patience

Almost every engine built will have casting sand in it that wasn't completely flushed out.
Sand packs into the corners of the coolant passages when it is cast. After casting, it usually flushes out, but sometimes the sand stays packed in there until the vibration of the engine running loosens it into the cooling system.