My wife's Grand Prix has started seeping oil out of the intake manifold gasket at the front of the motor. I'm just curious how much of a good time I'm in for when I try to change it out.
www.regalgs.org probably not THAT bad... just careful of the fuel rails and such.. ask on that board if you don't get a good response here. they know their 3800's very well.
I'd check to make sure it's not the timing cover gasket also. We've ran into that a couple times here at the shop. It looks like it's coming from the intake but actually the timing cover. I just thought about that too.
It sure looks like an intake leak. It almost looks like it's coming from the upper plenum but there's no oil up there. It's just seeping a little but I made the mistake of telling the wife........lol. It's accumulating on the oil pan and looks bad from underneath.
the oil pan gaskets do leak. sure it isn't the oil pan gasket? clean it off the best you can and check it tomorrow. or until you are sure you know WHERE the leak is coming from.
As a long time mechanic, I'd say that they are fairly easy to do, but that's just my experience. If you haven't done one before, get yourself and after market Hayes or Chilton Manual for your model and year and read it before you start. Then set aside 6-10 hrs to do it. Rushing will only lead to mistakes. Pete
Keith, I'm not sure if this will help but.. There have been some gasket issues with the 3.8 II and the 3.1's. Make sure that leak is oil and not coolant. My wifes 99 grand Prix GT developed a coolant leak around the plenum. Turned out the leak was actually at the gasket where the throttle body mounts to the plenum. It was sucking the coolant through the plenum and we didn't notice it until the car started to run hot. The EGR passage is adjacent to this gasket and I believe that excess heat caused the problem. (Some people blame Dex-Cool, but?) The car only had 58,000. miles but was trouble free up to this point. When I pulled the plenum, the lower intake manifold was covered with coolant. The dealer wanted $800-900. for parts and labor. I bought a new upgraded plenum and gaskets for around $200. and did it myself. If the lower intake gasket is leaking oil, you can get at it easily once the plenum is off. Replace the plenum and gaskets, though, if you have them off. I took my time and put about 4 hours into the job, just keep good records for the reassembly. Keep the injectors safe and clean and flush the coolant while your at it.
I agree with 67gs. They are failrly simple for a late model engine, just take your time, plastic does not bend like you want it to.While you have it off, check everything over good. Spend the money and replace all the gaskets you disturb, even those they tell you you can reuse.
Thanks for all the input guys. I've set aside all next weekend to do this. The car is my wife's daily driver so I can't have it down very long. I'm not looking forward to pulling the injectors out. I remember what a pain it was to get the old injectors out of my GN....... :rant:
