GM car guys

can use advice and thoughts here from you auto tech guys,,,my kids got a 2000 gran prix small v6 in it ,,,,in the last year she put about almost $3000 in parts( 4 strut/coil spring assy's and a transmission)...now it seems she has water in the oil, my guy says it could be an intake manifold gasket or a head gasket or worse , cracked head or block,,,, he wants 700 if it an intake gasket and the prices go up from there,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,how hard are intake gaskets nowadays? i recall changing them in like3 hours or less years ago, is it that difficult? is the car even worth my time doing gaskets myself?

Not that hard of a job...Just takes a little time and patience (PS pump can be a pain)..Actual time with air tools and experience is about 1.5-2 hours

Biggest thing is...Clean everything very good..Do not knock anything down into the motor when its open and do not use sanding disks to clean the surfaces..Flush the oil to get all water out,It can kill the bearings

i do remember water kills bearings,,, we used to use a quart of trans fluid(trans fluid used to be a high detergent and low viscosity oil) in the motor oil after fixing run it then change again,,, whats the best nowadays jerry

I usually finish the job...Change the oil...Run the car for a bit..get it warm and change the oil and filter again

thanks jerry,,,,so you say patience and experience 1.5-2 hour job? i guess fat fifty and short tempered it might take me 8-10 hours even with my air tools http://www.bassboatcentral.com/smileys/Laugh.gif

DONT MIX UP THE PUSHRODS

yes push rods are of different lengths, I usually poke them through a old oil container. also make sure you torque it properly and in the proper sequence. and if you take out the rocker arms to torque them also( or you can make a tool to lift the arms up )

while your in there change the T stat and Dist seal .

last thing I can think of is to buy the updated gasket.

If I remember right it pays around 4 or 5 hours

i have to take out push rods to do intake manifold gasket? hmmmm maybe things have changed to much for me to mess with

How many miles? I just had that problem(Head Gasket) on my 03 Impala w/145,000 mi. I found a motor with 66,000 on it for $800. I counld'nt justify putting $1000 bucks into it with head work and thats with me doing all the work. Replacing the motor was actually pretty easy, got it done in a week end.