3.4L Intake leak

Good plan...the old "pay me now, or pay me later".

You must be referring to the oil level sensor that these engines have in the oil pan. You may just need the o-ring on the sensor.

I can't give you prices as I don't know what the cost of the intake gaskets and other parts will be. But the labour time on the intake should be around 6 hrs (that's out of the book, so you definitely don't want to pay more then that) which is more then enough time to perform the job. The serpentine belt has to be disconnected to perform the job, but the front engine mount has to be physically removed to get the belt out. I'd say another

1/2 hr would be fair, but you might be able to get them to just include the labour in the whole job. Get an oil change done "after" the intake is done, and that would be the perfect time to remove the level sensor and replace the o-ring. That should only require at most, 1/2 an hour.

Ian

I tackled one of these in my driveway about a year ago on a 1999 Cutlass. The gasket, waterpump, serpentine belt all got changed and I don't think it cost more than $100 for parts. I do not remember if the oil and antifreeze brought it over the $100 mark or not. The intake gasket came direct from a GM dealer. The one at Autozone was the wrong type. Besides that and having to buy an inch pound torque wrench (didn't have to twist my arm too hard for that purchase!!) it was not a bad job. The Hanes manual was very informative, and it took me about 8 hours with breaks and lunch.. Then again I labled every thing and when a set of bolts came off they went into a plastic bag. And I cleaned EVERYTHING.. I know when the dealer did my Monte (under warranty so I let them do it) they didn't clean jack. I charged the guy $150 labor and he was happier than a pig in slop. I fear no job, but respect the mechanics that get paid to do them for others. I just can't see paying someone to do what I am able to do myself.

I guess I don't blame dealer guys that don't clean the parts, but I happen to be one that does. And I still can do the job in 1.5 hrs, even with cleaning the parts. My theory is that even if the job wasn't well done (which it is) as least it's going to "look good".

Ian

"shiden_Kai" wrote: > Eightupman wrote: > >  > was not a bad job. The Hanes > manual was very informative, and it >  > took me about 8 hours with breaks > and lunch.. Then again I labled >  > every thing and when a set of bolts > came off they went into a plastic >  > bag. And I cleaned EVERYTHING.. I > know when the dealer did my Monte >  > (under warranty so I let them do > it) they didn?t clean jack. > > I guess I don?t blame dealer guys that don?t clean the parts, > but I happen to be one that does. And I still can do the job > in 1.5 hrs, even with cleaning the parts. My theory is that > even > if the job wasn?t well done (which it is) as least it?s going > to > "look good". > > Ian

It ended up costing $1200 (loswest dealer quote over the phone) for the intake gasket, serpentine belt, front brakes and the oil level sensor on the bottom of the oil pan. The guy also said he flushed both the oil and coolant but the engine sure didn?t get cleaned. In fact I can clearly see where the leaks WERE and where he put his hands on the fenders...

Every time I work on a car no matter what I do, I wash it after. If I work in the engine bay, I detail it. If it comes apart, it gets cleaned, unless it is getting replaced. I pride myself on my work, and it shows when I am done. Customers are impressed, and they show thier friends...and I keep busy...

The fender prints are just plain sloppiness. As for the rest, as I said, I clean the engine off, but you have to understand flat rate. Many techs can barely make straight time on the warranty jobs and so their attitude is "I'll be damned if I clean the engine, GM doesn't pay for that". Which is very true.....GM will pay .3 hrs for cleaning parts (which by the way, is not much time to clean the parts and/or shampoo off the engine) if the vehicle is over

48,000 klms.....but other then that, nothing is paid, and most warranty jobs will be performed at mileages under that.

Again, people can talk all they want about "pride of workmanship" but when you are getting shafted by the General, and it's cutting into your paycheck, (ie: instead of being paid as a professional, you are being paid what a ditch digger makes), then sometimes guys will resort to doing the absolute minimum that's required of them. The owner can rant and rave about it, but the shit is really all flowing downhill from the top...the manufacturer who doesn't want to pay properly to work on their pieces of shit vehicles.

Ian

What do you use for this? And how do you keep water out of places like the distributor, connectors, etc. 10-15 year old engines with 150,000 miles on them seem to have a lot of plastic connectors that due to age and heat, tend to crack, and reach out for whatever water they can find.

Don't forget the customers who don't want to pay more than $8,000 for their new piece of shit vehicles.

The shit flows from the customers first.

Ted

We use GM engine shampoo. You can buy cans of it right over the counter in a dealership. You have to be very careful with certain engines. Very few engines have distributors anymore, but even coil packs can get damaged from water. The other thing that is quite susceptible to shampoo and water is the serp belt. Often the belt will get a bit of shampoo or water on it, and start squeaking or squealing like crazy. Then you have to either clean it properly and use a wire brush to both clean the grooves and rough up the belt a bit, or sometimes you just have to change it. Haven't seen too many problems with actual electrical connections, but most vehicles I work on are not that old. What often does show up is bad plug wires.

Very true, something for nothing and all that.

Ian

Be glad all you could see was where he put his hands.

When my 2001 needed a new engine, the mechanic scratched the shit out of both fenders and the front of the hood. Dealership had to pay for those repairs.