My Wife took in the Burb for the standard oil change. The shop indicated it needed a new intake manifold gasket & heater fitting. (She didn't get a quote. Just came straight home and told me about the issue).
the truck has slowly been losing coolant over time.
What's an average price for a shop to perform this replacement?
99 Burb, K1500, 5.7L, 4x4, Auto, 79K miles.
GM has had a lot of problems with the gasket seeping. I had mine replaced under extended warranty. You could use a lower pressure cap and ride it out for a while as long as the oil is not showing any signs of water in it.
No coolant in the oil as of yet... It's my Wife's primary driver, so I'm bound to take care of it. (To give us both peace of mind, now that she's aware of an "issue").
I paid $540 in Bay Area CA. At an indie mechanic. I replaced the heater hose fitting myself for $12.
Good luck with yours. Have 'em check the water pump too as mine went out 6K miles later, at 48K miles. Paid $240 for that.
WW
Per WaterWatcher:
I had my water pump replaced preemptively at the same time they did the gasket. Can't recall if it was any cheaper for the labor, but it had to have saved money if/when the vehicle would have had to been towed if/when the pump failed totally.
Just had our '99 done about 2K miles ago and it's only clocking 83K. It was right around $650, but I also had an injector replaced. The water pump puked the night I brought it home from the shop!!! They replaced it at their expense since it wasn't having any issues to that point. It was obviously a gray area at that mileage, but it's a good shop and was a good customer satisfaction move.
Sucks that GM has a known issue and every person with this engine gets stuck with the bill!!! Same as the crank position sensor on the '02 8.1L in a
2500HD. Another known and popular failure, but guess who gets that bill..........
Per Kevin:
And then there's the valve body thing in the 4L60 trans....
Heard a PBS discussion on why the US auto industry was hurting compared to the Japanese. They talked about all sorts of economic stuff, but nobody said anything about quality.
As far as I can ascertain, the 4L60 bug has been there for *years* with no corrective action taken - and I'd guess something similar for the manifold gasket thing. Maybe the bean counters are in charge...
If so, my reaction is that GM management an attitude problem.
Have the heater fitting replaced first. Sometimes they weep in such a mannor that a mis-daignoses of a failed intake gasket could result. Charles
Will do. I at least plan to do that one myself. Thanx for the tip.
had that one at 41K miles. GM fixed it free of charge. My warranty ended at 36K.
the alternator went out at around 55K.
by the way, I haven't looked for that just yet. But where is the heater fitting? towards the firewall?
The heater fitting is on the front left side of the intake manifold (looking in at the engine). It's an obvious growth sticking out the top! Be prepared with an "easy out" since it will most likely snap off while trying to get it out of the manifold. It's a "quick disconnect" style fitting. If it's leaking, you'll see a good amount of powdery crud around the hose fitting.
Per daddy:
You'll have it again in another 30-40k miles.... and keep on having it until the valve cylinder is re-sleeved.
I had two replacements by GM and had the third one "done right" out of pocket.
Wow that`s expensive. My '97 Z71 was $286.51 in Minnesota. Not at the dealer.
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